University of Keele, details of University of Keele

Keele

University ranking

• 2010  42
• 2009  40
• 2008  50

History

• Keele University began as the University College of North Staffordshire in 1949, the first post-war university and received full university status in 1962.

Location and Transport

• Set in over 600 acres of parkland in the north Midlands, midway between Birmingham and Manchester, Keele is one of the largest single-site campus universities in the UK.
• A one-hundred acre area of the estate, adjacent to the 19^th Century Keele Hall, has conservation status confirmed by the local Borough Council.  The campus also holds Grade II listed status from English Heritage.
• Keele also has a small academic campus at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, which houses both educational activities and research.
• Keele is a green campus, with sustainability as a focus, building upon excellence in teaching, research, and award-winning energy management practices.  Keele is one of the few organisations to have attained accreditation under the Carbon Trust Standard Scheme, designed to reduce Co2 emissions.
• Local buses run between campus, the hospital site and surrounding towns every 10-20 minutes. 

Accommodation

• 3,200 rooms on campus, over 740 of them en-suite and many recently refurbished, costing £64–£105 per week, inclusive of utilities, with 70% of students living on campus.
• For first year undergraduates, there is a guarantee for all firm applicants, with the majority of insurance applicants also able to be accommodated.  Every effort is made to offer a place to Clearing applicants, subject to availability.
• There is a guarantee of accommodation for final year students and for international students for the duration of their course.  
• A team of Residential Managers and Resident Tutors support students living in hall.
• Private sector rents are around £50–£55 per week net of utility and transport costs.
• For more information on accommodation at Keele University, click here.

Entry standards

League Table

• Three-year degree courses ask for between 240 and 360 entry points. Some courses ask for a grade offer (AAB-BBB).
• Students entering Keele are required to have, as a minimum, two A-level passes or the equivalent in other qualifications and GCSE grade C (minimum) in English Language and Mathematics or a Science. Some subjects require GCSE Mathematics for entry, sometimes at grade A or B. A-level General Studies (AQA syllabus) is acceptable in lieu of GCSE Science and English Language.
• For more details on entry standards at Keele University, click here.

Bursaries and Scholarships

In receipt of full Maintenance Grant £800

In receipt of full maintenance grant but in receipt of other public funding e.g. social work/PGCE £319

Progressing from outreach Bursary

Academic achievement Scholarship       

• Tuition fees (2009): £3,225
• The university provides a range of bursaries and scholarships, all of which are competitive.
• Keele Bursary of £800 for all UK undergraduate students in receipt of full HEMG who enrol in September 2009 and pay the full fee of  £3,225, except students in receipt of other public funding e.g. BA Social Work, all nursing and midwifery courses, and BSc Physiotherapy.
• Keele Scholarship worth £1,000 for students in receipt of full or partial MG with gross annual household income below £40,000 who obtain three grade As at A level or equivalent tariff points.  Students must also make Keele their first or insurance choice.
• KeeleLink Award worth £400 for students enrolling from partner school or college. Conditions apply.  
• Care Leaver's Bursary: £1,000 in year one rising to £2,000 in the final year, subject to satisfactory completion of the course.  Conditions apply.
• Study Abroad Bursary application after enrolment. Conditions apply. 
• It is possible to receive more than one bursary or scholarship.
• For more information on bursaries and scholarships at Keele, click here.

Student mix

• Local students 27%.
• Male : Female 43% : 57%.
• UK+EU : Overseas 92% : 8%.
• State : public school 9 : 1.

Course flexibility

• Keele prepares its students for their future careers by providing opportunities to study two subjects at degree level.  The choice of dual honours degree subject combinations allows students to both prepare for their chosen careers or to broaden their future career prospects if they are undecided on their choice of career when they begin their studies.  Keele also provides a range of vocational and professional courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, for example in Medicine, Health, Social Care, Education, Law, and the Sciences.

Teaching standards

League Table

• Rated 24 out of 24 in American studies, law, education, philosophy, politics and international relations; 23 in economics, psychology; 22 in maths and statistics, physics and astrophysics, organismal biosciences, sociology.
• The Quality Assurance Agency, in its recent institutional audit, confirm that confidence be can be placed in the soundness of the University's current and likely future management of the academic standards of its awards. It will also confirm that confidence can be placed in the soundness of the University's current and likely future management of the quality of the learning opportunities available to students. 

Research standards

League Table

• Some 85% of Keele University's research is now classified as world leading and of international importance as a result of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). 
• Some 11% of the university's research submitted for assessment was judged to be world leading. This compares to 6% achieving the top grade in the previous RAE in 2001. 
• Subject areas which performed particularly well include: Music, Applied Mathematics, Applied Sciences, Social Policy & Administration and History. 

Academic strengths

• The university provides high-quality courses across all three of  itsFaculties: Health, Natural Sciences, and Humanities and Social  Sciences. The majority of the degree courses are two-subject Dual Honours degrees, with Single Honours degrees in the health and professional subjects.
• Courses offered include Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery, , Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Law, Business Management, Intermational Relations, Criminology, Biomedical Sciences, Forensic Science, Mathematics.

Student facilities, including Library and Computing

League Table

• The newly renovated library includes a wide range of digital resources and new study areas. Broadband internet access is available in study bedrooms and in the PC labs.
• Keele is a unique community in which people can work, study, and relax.  The campus has a full range of facilities and services for all the community, including 35 bars, eateries and retail outlets.  The campus also has a leisure centre with recently updated fitness suite, a post office, bank, GP, and dentist.
• There is an inter-denominational chapel for Christian worship in a variety of styles, and an Islamic Centre. 

Disability Services

• The university has a Disability Services unit which is part of the Centre for Learning and Student Support.
• Disability Services provides support, advice and information for students who have different needs. The aim is to maximise student potential and find the best way of doing this across the University experience.
• The primary contact is Jane Higgins, Disability Services Administrator, telephone 01782  734105.

Students’ Union

• Recent Student Union gigs include Scouting for Girls, Pigeon Detectives, The Hoosiers, We are Scientists, Wombat and CSS. 
• More than 60 societies, catering to all of the student population.  Societies include Afroc Caribbean, DanceSport, People & the Planet, and KUBE radio station
• KUBE Radio was recently awarded the Gold Medal Award for Best Online Radio at the New York Festival's Radio Programming & Promotion Awards 2007; KUBE also won the Best Internet Only Radio Station 2007 at the NAB European Radio Awards.
• More information on all the activities on offer is available here.

Sport

• 20 hectares (50 acres) of sport facilities including playing fields, a new all-weather pitch, eight tennis courts, six squash courts, two sports halls and state-of-the-art fitness centre.
• Over 30 different sports clubs within the Athletic Union, known as Team: Keele.  The activities on offer cater for students of all abilities, from the beginner to the elite athlete.
• Keele University Athletic Union won the ‘most improved university’ award at the British Universities Sports Association awards in 2006.
• More information about sport at Keele University is available here.

Recent/prospective new builds

• A 28-hectare (70-acre) site is being developed in a £73-million project, with proposals for commercial buildings for knowledge-based companies, academic research facilities, a specialist conference and training centre and student residential accommodation.
• A new building to house research in Humanities and Social Sciences, the Claus Moser Research Centre, was opened in June 2008.

Availability of Part-time Work

• The Jobshop in the Independent Advice Unit is a free service that helps students to find part-time, term-time work or full-time work during the vacation periods.

For further information

• www.keele.ac.uk
• undergraduate@acad.keele.ac.uk
• Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG 
• +44 (0)1782 734005
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