University of Hertfordshire, details of Hertfordshire university

Hertfordshire 

University ranking

• 2010  45
• 2009  54
• 2008  94

History

• Post-war technical college (Hatfield), reincarnated as Hatfield College of Technology and Hatfield Polytechnic.
• Gained university status in 1992.
• A model 21st-century university, international business-facing and business-like in its approach.

Location and Transport

• Sites in Hatfield, St Albans and Bayfordbury (a rural field station and observatory outside Hertford).
• The £120-million de Havilland campus opened in September 2003. Humanities and Education and Business are based on this campus.
• Good transport links to the rest of the UK, well located with London only 25 minutes by train to London King’s Cross tube and rail station.

Accommodation

• Guaranteed accommodation for all first years. Variety of accommodation on-campus to suit every budget. Costs from £76 to £92 per week.
• At College Lane Campus, the accommodation is fully furnished, single study bedrooms with shared bathrooms. All rooms have network points.
• The de Havilland Campus student village comprises 1,600 fully furnished single study bedrooms with en-suite, network points and shared kitchen/diner.
• More information on accommodation at the University of Hertfordshire is available here.

Entry standards

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• Applications welcome from those from non-traditional backgrounds and without formal qualifications. Applications are considered on an individual basis.
• More information on entry standards at the University of Hertfordshire is available here.

Bursaries and Scholarships

In receipt of full Maintenance Grant: £1,000

Shortage subjects Scholarship

Academic achievement Scholarship

• Tuition fees (2009): £3,225.
• Fees for placement year and year abroad are normally 50% of full-time fee.
• There are two types of Chancellor's Scholarship: The Chancellor's Entrepreneurial and Excellence Scholarship, worth £3,000 a year for the duration of a course; and the Chancellor's Gifted and Talented Scholarship, worth £2,000 a year for the duration of a course.
• Science and Engineering Scholarships (worth up to £3,000 over 3–4 years) on certain science and engineering degrees available to every student who achieves at least 280 UCAS points and accepts a place on year one on one of the specified degree programmes.
• We offer 135 externally funded scholarships, sponsored by a range of companies including Tesco and T-Mobile as well as individuals.
• For more information on bursaries and scholarships at Hertfordshire, click here.

Student mix

• More than 23,000 students studying at the university.
• Over 2,000 international students from more than 85 countries enrolled across a range of degree courses.
• There are more than 99 different cultures represented on campus.
• The male to female ratio is 47:53.

Course flexibility

• Courses are up to date, relevant, and responsive to the needs of the students. All courses are devised with input from industry and the professions to create relevant degrees for employable graduates.
• Blended learning, work and industrial placements, part-time, full-time, distance and international learning.

Teaching standards

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• An excellent reputation for learning and teaching, with accreditation by professional bodies for many of our courses. 
• Shortlisted for a University of the Year award in 2008.
• For seven consecutive years, members of staff have achieved lifelong Fellowship Awards as outstanding teachers, as part of the National Teaching Fellowship.
• The university’s Collaborative Provision in April 2006 found that broad confidence can be placed in the university's present and likely future management of the academic standards of its awards made through collaborative arrangements.

Research standards

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• The university has three research institutes: Health and Human Sciences Research Institute; Science and Technology Research Institute; Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities Research Institute. Also an expanding research profile with key strengths in areas of nursing, psychology, history, philosophy, physics and computer science. 
• Over 470 research students enjoy benefits such as the free generic training program.

Academic strengths

• Centre for Excellence in Blended Learning awarded by the Higher Education Funding Council.
• Lifelong Fellowship Awards for our outstanding staff.
• Around 90% of our students secure full-time employment (or go into further study) shortly after graduation. Around 20% of them choose to work in Hertfordshire.

Student facilities, including Library and Computing

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• Students are well served in information technology. The library and resource centre on the College Lane Campus is one of the country’s largest, offering 24-hour access to hundreds of computer workstations.
• A second centre on the de Havilland campus provides another 1,100 workstations.
• The virtual learning environment has been a leader in its field, giving all staff and students their own storage space. Students can use it for study, revision or communication, as well as to access university information.
• A brand new nursery with 80 places for student and staff children.

Disability Services

• For information on disability services at the University of Hertfordshire contact Lena Kloose, Disability Officer: telephone 01707 284454, email or visit the website.

Students’ Union

• The Students' Union at the University of Hertfordshire represents all students in the university by organising campus activities and running different clubs and societies, from sports to entertainment.
• The main source of nightlife is the union’s Font Bar offering two large bars, dance floor with dedicated sound and lighting system playing a wide selection of music.
• A new Student Forum is opening in 2009 which will be central to the student experience, covering 8,000 square metres including a main auditorium, a balcony bar, style bar, refurbished student bar, mini club, a restaurant, a coffee bar and a convenience store.
• The ‘local pub’ on campus, the Ele house holds comfy seats, big screen TVs, and pool tables providing a convenient location to socialise. Open daily from 11–11 with food served everyday.

Sport

• The £15-million Hertfordshire Sports Village, situated on the de Havilland campus, offers some of the best university-based sporting and fitness facilities.
• The 25-metre pool is rated in the country’s top 50 and other facilities include a state-of-the-art gym and climbing wall.
• The Sports Village hosted 2008 Olympians for their pre Beijing training.
• There is a 12-court sports hall accommodating all indoor court sports, 3 artificial turf and 4 grass pitches, squash courts, a cricket hall and an aerobics studio.
• More details on sport at the University of Hertfordshire are available here.

Recent/prospective new builds

• New facilities include Film, Music and Media Building, a Health Reseach Building, which houses simulation laboratories and a training pharmacy, and the Maclaurin Building that houses the university’s business facing activities.
• Graduate Futures, a professional service, opened last year to help students and graduates develop their careers throughout their lifetime.
• The university has acquired a world class research and development centre, BioPark in Hertfordshire. This has been taken over from Roche and provides a focal point for the regions bioscience and healthcare industries.
• Our range of foundation degrees encourages wider participation through links with four local FE colleges.
• The £38m Student Forum will open in September 2009. The 8,000 square metre development is designed for students and the wider community housing a main auditorium, a club, and several bars.
• The university is ranked in the top ten out of 120 universities in a league table of environmental performance (People and Planet Green League 2008). The new Student Forum is designed to be water efficient, energy saving and waste management effective.

Availability of part-time work

• The student employment service helps students to find part-time work.
• There are part-time employment opportunities in the local area including retail and office work as well as at the university, for example, working for its own arts organisation, as a student ambassador or EcoRep.  

For further information

• www.herts.ac.uk
• ask@herts.ac.uk
• University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts AL10 9AB
• +44 (0) 1707 284000
• Travel and maps