The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, England. It received its Royal Charter in 1966. The University has established a strong reputation in teaching and research, being consistently placed as one of the top elite universities in the national university league tables. With 20 out of its 26 subjects being ranked within top 10 in the UK, Bath is placed the 6th in the table of Who's in Top Ten of Their Subjects from the Complete University Guide published by the Independent in April 2009. In addition the Guardian University Guide 2010 placed Bath 9th nationally. Furthermore, in the latest Research Assessment Exercise released in December 2008, two thirds of Bath's individual subject submissions are ranked in the top ten nationally, including over a third in the top five.
History
Despite being granted university status only forty years ago, the University of Bath can trace its roots to a technical school established in Bristol 100 years earlier, the Bristol Trade School of 1856. In 1885 the school became part of the Society of Merchant Venturers and was renamed the Merchant Venturers' Technical College, an institution founded as a school in 1595. Meanwhile, in the neighbouring city of Bath, a pharmaceutical school, the Bath School of Pharmacy, was founded in 1907. This became part of the Technical College in 1929.
In 1949, the college came under the control of the Bristol Education Authority and was renamed the Bristol College of Technology, which was subsequently changed again, in 1960, to the Bristol College of Science and Technology when it became one of ten technical colleges under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education. The college was mainly housed in the former Muller's Orphanage at Ashley Down, Bristol, which still houses part of the City of Bristol College whilst the remainder has been converted into residential housing.
In 1963, the government completed an inquiry into the state of higher education in the United Kingdom. This was known as the Robbins Committee report. It was this report that paved the way for the college (along with a number of other institutions) to assume university status.
Although the grounds of Kingsweston House were briefly considered, the City of Bristol was unable to offer the growing college a suitable site. Following discussions between the College Principal and the Director of Education in Bath, an agreement was reached to provide the college with a new home in Claverton Down, Bath, on a greenfield site overlooking the city of Bath.
Construction of a purpose-built campus in Bath began in 1964, with the first building, now known as 1 South, completed in 1965, and the Royal Charter was granted in 1966. Over the subsequent decade, new buildings were added as the campus took shape. A campus in Oakfield, Swindon, was opened in 2000.
In November 1966, the first degree ceremony was held at the Assembly Rooms in Bath. Discoveries from city records reveal that there were plans in the 19th Century to build a college of the University of Oxford on the very same site, which would have resulted in a university of a very different character. Such plans, however, did not come to fruition.
Campus
The university's main campus is located on Claverton Down, two kilometres from Bath. The campus is compact; it is possible to walk from one end to the other in fifteen minutes.
Research and Expertise
The University of Bath is recognised for research excellence across a range of disciplines in science, engineering, social sciences and the humanities. The results of RAE 2008 confirm the University's position as one of the UK's best research universities with 60% of submitted activity judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent.
Current research covers a wide range of areas from developing new drugs to tackle cancer and diabetes to studying poverty, inequality and the quality of life in developing countries.
Academic reputation
The University of Bath is one of the UK's leading universities.
We are a vibrant and innovative academic community. Our research has worldwide impact and our high quality teaching equips our graduates to become future leaders and innovators in their chosen fields.
Our small, friendly campus overlooks the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath.
We value working collaboratively with others and have a global network of contacts in business, the professions, the public sector, and the voluntary sector.
We were ranked ninth in The Independent Complete University Guide, April 2009 and The Guardian University Guide, 2010.
Academics and Courses
The university's major academic strengths have been the physical sciences, mathematics, engineering and technology. Today, the university is also strong in management, humanities and the social sciences. Courses place a strong emphasis on vocational education; the university recommends students to take a one-year industry placement in the penultimate year of the course, although it there is no formal recognition of these placements on students' final degree certificates.
According to the latest government assessments, Bath has 15 subjects rated "excellent" (the highest on the scale). These are: Pharmacy & Pharmacology; Business & Management (AMBA accredited); Architecture & Civil Engineering; Economics; Computer Science; Electronic & Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering (IMechE accredited); Mathematics, Statistics and Operational research; Education; Molecular Biosciences; Biosciences; Physics and Astronomy; Politics; Hospitality, Leisure, Recreation, Sport and Tourism; Social Policy and Administration.
According to the Complete University Guide published by The Independent, Bath has 23 out of 26 subjects being placed within top 10 in the UK. In addition, Bath's biosciences, physics, mathematics and statistics all achieve maximum points (24/24) in the latest Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA).
Admissions and students
Admissions generally require top grades at A-Level with seven applications for each place, the number of applications rising by 16 per cent in 2007.
The university has grown rapidly, particularly in the last few years. As of December 2006, 11,965 students were studying at the university; of whom 8,985 (75%) were undergraduates (full-time and part-time) and 2,980 (25%) were postgraduates.
Over 25% of students are international students (those with non-British domicile), reflecting the university's strong international reputation, with the largest number coming from China (including Hong Kong), Germany and Greece.
Faculties, Departments and Schools
- Architecture and Civil Engineering
- Biology and Biochemistry
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Division for Lifelong Learning
- Economics and International Development
- Education
- Electronic and Electrical Engineering
- Engineering and Design, Faculty of
- European Studies and Modern Languages
- Health, School for
- Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of
- Management, School of
- Mathematical Sciences
- Mechanical Engineering
- Natural Sciences
- Pharmacy and Pharmacology
- Physics
- Psychology
- Science, Faculty of
- Social and Policy Sciences
University of Bath was ranked 152 in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking.
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