The Ranking of Durham University
Durham University is a university in Durham, England. It was founded as the University of Durham (which remains its official and legal name) by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837. It was one of the first universities to open in England for more than 600 years, and is claimed to be England's third oldest after Oxford and Cambridge (although other higher education institutions also make this claim – see third oldest university in England debate).
"Long established as a leading alternative to Oxford and Cambridge", the University attracts "a largely middle-class student body" according to the Times Good University Guide. Durham is a collegiate university, with its main functions divided between the central departments of the University and 16 colleges. In general, the departments perform research and provide centralised lectures to students, while the colleges are responsible for the domestic arrangements and welfare of undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral researches and some University staff. Colleges decide which students they are to admit, and appoint their own fellows (senior members). In Durham, "the university" often refers to the University as opposed to the colleges.
According to the latest University League Table 2010 Durham is ranked 5th in the UK after Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and LSE. The University was also named Sunday Times University of the Year in 2005, having previously been shortlisted for the award in 2004.
The Chancellor of the University is Bill Bryson, appointed by the University's Convocation on 4 April 2005. The post-nominal letters of graduates have "Dunelm" attached to indicate the university.
Campus
Durham University is a world-class university in two locations: in the city of Durham and at its Queen's Campus in Stockton. In both locations the University is engaged in:
- high-quality teaching and learning
- advanced research and partnership with business
- regional and community partnerships and initiatives
- services for conferences, events and visitor accommodation.
History
The University was founded in 1832, and developed in Durham and Newcastle until 1963, when the independent University of Newcastle upon Tyne came into being. The University is collegiate and is located in the city of Durham and the nearby town of Stockton-on-Tees. The colleges are not teaching bodies, nor are they purely residential - typically they provide a centre for students' sporting, social and residential activities.
The University's Queen's Campus, Stockton opened in 1992. Over 2,000 full-time students are now studying in purpose-built accommodation 23 miles south of Durham, on the banks of the River Tees.
Library
The Durham University Library system holds over 1.5 million printed items. The library was founded in January 1833 at Palace Green by a 160-volume donation by the then Bishop of Durham, William Van Mildert. The library operates four branches: Main library, Education Library, Queen's Campus Library and the Palace Green Library which holds the special and heritage collections. The Bishop Cosin's Library (contains over 5,000 medieval titles) and the Sudan Archive ("the pre-eminent archive on the Sudan outside Khartoum") of the central library were granted Designation Status in 2005 by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The national importance of the Chinese and Egyptian collections can been seen in the Designated Status from the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council achieved in 2008.
Research
Research, creativity and scholarship are at the heart of Durham University, where generations of the world's finest minds have pursued ideas and knowledge that have made a profound and lasting impact on the world. The pioneering work of its academics has enhanced human life and well-being, deepened its knowledge of the universe and everything in it, and created new industries that diversify and strengthen its national economy.
Few universities have comparable research strengths across the Sciences, Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. Yet Durham is small and interactive enough to develop new approaches, questions and research ideas that transcend interdisciplinary boundaries.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise 90% of Durham University's research was found to be of international Quality.
Academic Reputation
According to the latest league tables of British universities many courses of Durham University are among the best in the country with English being ranked as the number 1 in the UK:
Durham is in the Top 3 Universities (including English) for Archaeology, Chemistry, French, General Engineering, Geography, History, Iberian Languages, Italian, Theology & Religious Studies;
Durham is in the Top 5 Universities (including former mentioned subjects) for Biological Sciences, German, Classics & Ancient History, Mathematics, Middle Eastern & African Studies, Philosophy, Physics & Astronomy, Russian & East European Languages, Social Work, Sociology, Sports Science;
Durham is the Top 10 Universities (including former mentioned subjects) for Accounting & Finance, Anthropology, Asian Studies, Economics, Education, Geology, Law, Linguistics, Medicine, Music, Politics, Sociology.
In April, 2009 Durham Business School joined an elite group of academic institutions worldwide who are accredited by the three major bodies – AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS . In 2008, the MSc Management programme was ranked 34th in the world by the Financial Times' European Masters Ranking along with the MBA program being ranked 80th in the world and the Executive MBA being ranked 83rd in the world by the 2008 Financial Times EMBA Ranking.
Durham was ranked 12th overall in the Sunday Times University Guide's cumulative table over ten years of study (1997-2007), along with being a member of the 'Sutton 13' of top ranked Universities in the UK.
Durham is also one of the few to have won University Challenge more than once. Teams from Durham won University Challenge in both 1977 and 2000
Schools and faculties
The teaching departments of the University are divided into three faculties: Science, Arts and Humanities, and Social Sciences and Health.
- Faculty of Social Science & Health
Department of Anthropology
School of Applied Social Sciences
Department of Archaeology
Durham Business School
(Including the Economic, Finance and Business Departments)
School of Education
Department of Geography
School of Government and International Affairs
(Including the Politics department and the Institute for Middle East and Islamic Studies)
School of Medicine and Health
Durham Law School - Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Department of Classics & Ancient History
Department of English
Department of History
School of Modern Languages and Cultures
(Includes Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish Departments)
Department of Music
Department of Philosophy
Department of Theology and Religion - Faculty of Science
School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Department of Computer Science
Department of Earth Sciences
School of Engineering
Department of Mathematical Science
Department of Physics
Department of Psychology
Durham University was ranked 122 in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking.
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