University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

About Newcastle University

Newcastle University (Officially, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North-East of England. The university can trace its origins to a School of Medicine and Surgery (later the College of Medicine), established in 1834, and to the College of Physical Science (later renamed Armstrong College), founded in 1871. These two colleges came to form one division of the federal University of Durham, with the Durham Colleges forming the other. The Newcastle colleges merged to form King's College in 1937. In 1963, following an Act of Parliament, King's College became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Newcastle University is a red brick university and is a member of the Russell Group, an association of prestigious research-intensive UK universities. The university has one of the largest EU research portfolios in the UK. Newcastle attracts over 20,000 students from more than 120 different countries.

Teaching and research are delivered in 24 academic schools and 40 research institutes and research centres, spread across three Faculties: the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; the Faculty of Medical Sciences; and the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering. The university offers around 175 full-time undergraduate degree programmes in a wide range of subject areas spanning arts, sciences, engineering and medicine, together with approximately 340 postgraduate taught and research programmes across a range of disciplines.

• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

  The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is the largest of the three faculties at Newcastle University. It comprises nine academic schools, a Graduate School and INTO Newcastle University.

• Faculty of Medical Sciences

  Newcastle University's Faculty of Medical Sciences is home to a world-leading collaboration of research scientists, engineers, medical doctors and teaching professionals. Key areas of focus include ageing, cancer, cell biology, genetics, drug development, medicine in society, and neuroscience.

  We excel in tackling challenges in health and healthcare. As a faculty at the forefront of the translational medicine revolution, our primary aim is to turn scientific advancesinto direct benefits for patients being treated in our partner NHS Trusts. This strategy has already led to major advances in the healthcare of patients within the region, as well as nationally and internationally.

• Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering

  The Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering (SAgE) is an exciting, multi-disciplinary faculty and is structured around:

  • ten academic schools
  • three inter-disciplinary research institutes
  • ten research centres

History of Newcastle University

The university has its origins in the School of Medicine and Surgery, which was established in Newcastle upon Tyne in October 1834, when it provided basic lectures and practical demonstrations to around 26 students. In June 1851, following a dispute among the teaching staff, the School split into two rival institutions. The majority formed the Newcastle College of Medicine, and the others established themselves as the Newcastle upon Tyne College of Medicine and Practical Science. By 1852, the majority college was formally linked to the University of Durham. It awarded its first 'Licence in Medicine' (Lic.Med) in 1856, and its teaching certificates were recognised by the University of London for graduation in medicine. The two colleges amalgamated in 1857 and renamed theUniversity of Durham College of Medicine in 1870.

Attempts to realise a place for the teaching of sciences in the city were finally met with the foundation of the College of Physical Science in 1871. The college offered instruction in mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology to meet the growing needs of the mining industry, becoming the Durham College of Physical Science in 1883 and then renamed after William George Armstrong as Armstrong College in 1904. Both these separate and independent institutions later became part of the University of Durham, whose 1908 Act formally recognised that the university consisted of two Divisions, Durham and Newcastle, on two different sites. By 1908, the Newcastle Division was teaching a full range of subjects in the Faculties of Medicine, Arts, and Science, which also included agriculture and engineering.

Throughout the early 20th century, the medical and science colleges vastly outpaced the growth of their Durham counterparts and a Royal Commission in 1934 recommended the merger of the two colleges to form King's College, Durham. Growth of the Newcastle Division of the federal Durham University led to tensions within the structure and on 1 August 1963 an Act of Parliament separated the two, creating the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Coat of arms

As the successor of King's College, Durham, the university at its founding in 1963, adopted the coat of arms originally granted to the Council of King's College in 1937. In the Letters Patent authorising the transfer, the arms are blazoned Azure, a Cross of St Cuthbert Argent and in chief of the last a lion passant guardant Gules (On a blue shield, a silver square cross with flared ends, and on the top third of the shield, which is silver, a red lion walking and looking towards the viewer). There is no motto.

Above the portico of the Students' Union building are bas-relief carvings of the arms and mottoes of the University of Durham, Armstrong College and Durham University College of Medicine, the predecessor parts of Newcastle University.

Rankings

World rankings

• 79th in the UI Green Metric World University Ranking 2015
• 88th in the Times Higher Education’s world's most international universities ranking 2016
• 114th in the Leiden Ranking published 2016
• 162nd in the QS World Ranking published 2015
• 190th in the Best Global Universities, published by US News in 2015
• 196th in the Times Higher Education World University Ranking published 2015
• 198th in the University Ranking by Academic Performance published 2015

National rankings

• 1st in the Russell Group in the People and Planet University League and 12th overall
• 23rd in the Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2015
• 25th in the Complete University Guide 2016
• 37th in the Guardian University league tables 2017 (Published 2016)

Student experience

• 3rd in the UK for High Quality Lectures in the Times Higher Student Experience Survey 2015 and 10th overall.
• 6th for overall student satisfaction among comparators in the National Student Survey 2015
• 9th for career prospects in the Guardian University Guide 2014
• 11th in the British University and Colleges Sports league 2015
• 12th in the world and 8th in the UK (among participating institutions) for overall student satisfaction in the International Student Barometer 2015

Student life @Newcastle University

Students' Union

The university has many student organisations. Newcastle University Students' Union (known as the Union Society until a 2012 rebranding) includes student-run sports clubs and societies.

Unlike the majority of other students' unions in the UK, Newcastle University Students' Union (NUSU) owns the building where it is housed. The Union building was built in 1924 following a generous gift from an anonymous donor, who is now believed to have been Sir Cecil Cochrane, a major benefactor to the university. It is built in the neo-Jacobean style and was designed by the local architect Robert Burns Dick whose firm designed the Laing Art Gallery, the towers of the Tyne Bridge and The Spanish City in Whitley Bay. It was opened on 22 October 1925 by the Rt. Hon. Lord Eustace Percy, who later served as Rector of King's College from 1937 to 1952. It is a Grade IIlisted building. In 2010 the university donated £8 million towards a redevelopment project for the Union Building. This work won the Education Interior Design category of the National Mixology Interior Design Awards 2011.

The Students' Union is run by six sabbatical officers and fifteen part-time unpaid officer positions. The current leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron was President of NUSU in 1991-1992. The Students' Union also employs around 300 people in ancillary roles including bar staff and entertainment organisers. Artists that have performed at Students' Union include Maxïmo Park, Snow Patrol,Kosheen, The Fratellis, Coldplay, Low, Mercury Rev, Goldie Lookin' Chain, Chicane, The Hoosiers and Damien Rice.

The Courier is a weekly student newspaper. Established in 1948, the current weekly readership is around 12,000, most of whom are students at the university. It is published every week during term time, usually on a Monday unless a major news event warrants a delay. The Courier has won The Guardian's Student Publication of the Year award twice in a row, in 2012 and 2013. In 2008, The Courierdesign editor Kerry Hyndman came runner up in the Guardian Student media award for Design for her work on the newspaper's entertainment pull-out, Pulp. As part of a re-design of the paper in 2009/2010 Pulp, originally a separate publication was replaced by a lifestyle section in the main body of The Courier.

Newcastle Student Radio is a student radio station based in the university. The station aims to cater for a wide range of musical tastes, anything from Metal and Punk to R&B and swing music.

Student accommodation

Newcastle University has many catered and non-catered halls of residence available to first-year students, located around the city of Newcastle. Popular Newcastle areas for private student houses and flats off campus include Jesmond, Heaton, Sandyford, Shieldfield andSpital Tongues.

In 2008 a survey conducted by an independent website ranked Newcastle as the number one student city in the UK, with a score of 63% across the categories of going out, shops, transport, community and facilities. Newcastle is also considered one of the world's friendliest cities. In another 2008 survey, by MSN Travel, Newcastle was named as the number one university.

St Mary's College in Fenham, one of the halls of residence, was formerly St Mary's College of Education, a teacher training college.

Sport

Newcastle is one of the leading universities for sport in the UK and is consistently ranked within the top 12 out of 152 higher education institutions in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings. More than 50 student-led sports clubs are supported through a team of professional staff and a network of indoor and outdoor sports facilities based over four sites.

Why us?

Research and teaching excellence

We are a research-intensive university and have a global reputation for research excellence. We spearhead research in three themes that have a significant impact on global society. These themes are Ageing, Sustainability and Social Renewal.

Our world-leading research enriches the teaching on our degrees. We have a 95% satisfaction rate for Expert Lecturers (International Student Barometer Autumn 2015).

Student experience

Our city-centre campus is in the heart of the student-friendly city of Newcastle. International students at Newcastle report high levels of satisfaction with the campus environment. This includes a 93% satisfaction rate for safety (International Student Barometer Autumn 2015).

On campus you'll find a range of facilities and services to support your learning, including:

• our award-winning library
• IT services such as computer clusters and free Wi-Fi
• the Language Resource Centre

You will get support during your studies from a personal tutor. We also have specialist teams who help with finance, wellbeing, accommodation and more.

Our high student satisfaction rates reflect our exceptional student offer. We're ranked joint 7th in the UK for overall student experience (The Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2016).

Graduate success

At Newcastle we foster a culture of independent learning, critical thinking and enterprise.

Our award-winning careers service provides opportunities for personal and professional development. With strong employer links and industry relevant degrees we prepare our students for life after university.