Manchester Metropolitan University

About Manchester Metropolitan University

Manchester Metropolitan University was awarded university status in 1992 and is part of the largest higher education campus in the UK and one of the most extensive education centres in Europe.With a history dating back 150 years, we have a combination of the traditional and the contemporary that sets the University apart and gives us our distinct character.

Manchester Metropolitan University is one of the largest campus-based universities in the UK with a total student population of over 36,000. Our claim is to be the University for world-class professionals with an emphasis on vocational education and employability.

Our roots in higher education date back to 1824, and we are committed to a strong future through a £350million investment in our buildings and facilities.

The University was initially developed as a centre of Technology, Art and Design from Manchester Mechanics’ Institution (1824) and Manchester School of Design (1838). Later Schools of Commerce (founded 1889), Education (f. 1878) and Domestic Science (f. 1880) were added along with colleges at Didsbury, Crewe, Alsager and the former Domestic and Trades College (f. 1911), latterly Hollings College. The painter L. S. Lowry attended the art school in the years after the First World War where he was taught by the noted impressionist Adolphe Valette.

University Location

The central Manchester campus is situated close to Manchester’s city centre and we have a second campus in Cheshire, 35 miles (56 km) from Manchester.

The University is arranged into eight faculties, each providing specialist learning, teaching and research hubs for students at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional development.

• Faculty of Business and Law
• Cheshire campus
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care
• Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Science
• Faculty of Science and Engineering
• Hollings Faculty
• Manchester School of Art

We are one of the UK’s most consistently popular Universities*, we have:

• More than 1,000 courses and qualifications, the majority of which have a strong professional bias.
• The highest concentration of postgraduate taught courses in the North West.
• Links with over 70 professional bodies and associations, recognising both the quality and practical focus of our course provision.
• An extensive portfolio of training and professional development courses, including tailored courses to meet specific business needs.

*Over 58,000 undergraduate applications (from UCAS 2015).

Key Facts

• Through a 10 year rationalisation programme, we have transformed from seven campuses to two (Manchester and Cheshire) in the 2014/15 academic year.
• We awarded £16.9million in Student Support Packages in 2014/15.
• We have over 260,000 alumni across the world.
• We are a university in the global top 3%.
• We have a £200million capital investment planned over the next seven years.
• We offer 24/7 access to performance spaces for students.
• We have a £6million contemporary arts centre at the Cheshire campus.
• The Poet Laureate, Professor Carol Ann Duffy is Creative Director at our Writing School in the Department of English.
• We have invested £50million in state-of-the-art laboratories.
• The University is one of the top 3 greenest UK universities.
• Our £10million Exercise and Sport Science Centre is fitted with the latest testing and research equipment.
• We have the UK’s second largest Business School, with 5,000 students.
• Our multimedia specialist facilities and equipment meet high-level industry standards, and expose students to a professional and friendly working environment.
• We are at the forefront of development in Early Years and Childhood Studies for over 20 years at Manchester and Cheshire, longer for Youth and Community Work.
• We have connections with many sports teams including Manchester City FC, Sales Sharks and Salford Reds.
• For the second time in 2015, the Department of Nursing received the award of Provider of the Year for Pre-registration Nurse Education.

• Faculty of Business and Law

  We are one of the UK's top Business Schools, offering high quality taught responsible management and business courses with professional accreditation and transformational applied research.

  Our teaching and research portfolio is extensive. As well as undergraduate courses, postgraduate programmes and research degrees we also offer a comprehensive range of short courses to support your career and professional development.

  The teaching rooms have been configured to accommodate different teaching styles and the preferred learning styles of different groups. For example, some of the seminar rooms have a cabaret (round tables and chairs) layout to facilitate group discussion whilst others have a Harvard style (horseshoe shape) seating plan to encourage interaction between students and the lecturer.

  Our lecture theatres can seat between 70 and 250 people and are designed to be impressive arenas for any presentation – from a guest lecture to our undergraduate students to a conference keynote speech.

• Faculty of Education

  We maintain strong relations with the City of Manchester, Cheshire East Council and the wider North West region through diverse education, enterprise and community projects. Teaching is closely linked to the latest educational research led by our renowned Education and Social Research Institute. Recent research sponsors include: the Department of Education; the Wellcome Trust; the European Union, the Esmee Fairbair Foundation; Barclays, Microsoft and Siemens/Lego.

  Our work helps to deliver government objectives. The Faculty has won major contracts to deliver national projects including Early Years Teacher, Mathematics Specialist Teacher and the National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordinators. 

• Faculty of Health, Psychology & Social Care

  The Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care provides a wide portfolio of undergraduate, postgraduate and professional courses across a range of academic disciplines including; Nursing, Physiotherapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Social Work, Psychology and Social Care. 

  Our innovative, vibrant programmes reflect new and emerging research and ideologies in addition to providing the multi-professional academic theory required to prepare our students for their future professional lives.

  Based in our new £139 million state of the art Birley Building, our students are part of a thriving, collaborative academic community, providing a diverse and inclusive learning environment, which encourages discussion, shared learning and enhances the student experience.

• Hollings Faculty

  Our established links with organisations worldwide is unparalleled, including hundreds of the worlds’ leading companies and brands, and partnerships with distinguished international institutions.

  Our courses are continuously developed to reflect the changing needs of industry to ensure you graduate with the skills and knowledge required to succeed in your chosen profession.

  You will benefit from high quality teaching delivered by staff experienced across industry and research. Hollings graduates are highly employable with a global reputation for being creatively and commercially responsive. Interconnected with an extensive network of industry partners, placements are central to many of our courses, allowing you exclusive access to work experience opportunities across the UK and beyond.

  Hollings Faculty is home to the Department of Apparel, the Department of Tourism, Events and Hospitality Management and the Department of Food and Nutrition. The departments offer a unique portfolio of programmes connecting the arts, business and sciences and are recognised internationally as leaders in these dynamic subject areas. Technology and creativity are at the heart of our departments, with placements opportunities and international industry links providing our students with unique and exciting opportunities.  

• Faculty of Humanities, Languages & Social Science

  The Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Science is home to a thriving community of creative thinkers who specialise in disciplines that shape and underpin the modern world. 

  The Faculty offers a wide range of programmes at Diploma, Undergraduate and Postgraduate level in Humanities, Languages and Social Science, attracting more than 4,000 students. The programmes provide a variety of study opportunities and students in this faculty are encouraged to develop skills relevant to employment both through their curriculum and through a range of extra-curricular activities. Students’ studies and career prospects are further enhanced by the Faculty’s strong local, national and international links which provide opportunities for a range of extra-curricular activities, alongside a broad network of links with overseas institutions which provide students with the opportunity to study overseas either as part of their programme, or as an optional extra.

• Manchester School of Art

  Based in the heart of Manchester, a vibrant and multicultural city, we are a pioneer of art and design education in the UK, celebrating our 175th Anniversary in 2013. As the second oldest design school in Britain, established to provide design training to the manufacturing industry, we offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses that are still very much influenced by the specialist needs of industry to provide our students with the essential skills and knowledge for their chosen career.

  We place importance on experimentation and generating creative surprise. We have a playful yet serious approach to media, materials and processes. We are intellectually and academically challenging. We have mutual respect for each other's disciplines and foster an art and design community within the school and the City. We are creative, unconventional and professional.

• Faculty of Science and Engineering

  The Faculty is a thriving community of over 5,000 students and staff dedicated to scholarship and learning. Our expertise spans the subject areas of

  • Health Science
  • Computing , Mathematics & Digital Technology
  • Engineering
  • Biology, Chemistry, Environment and Geographical Sciences

  Our courses are designed for applicants from a broad range of backgrounds.We offer qualifications from HND and BSc to taught postgraduate Masters and research degrees up to PhD level and short courses for industry; with the option to study part time, full time or by distance learning our students benefit from a portfolio designed to meet their needs. 

  Which ever course you study with us we aim to provide you with the skills needed to secure or develop a rewarding and fulfilling career. Our graduates in science and engineering are employed in a wide variety of jobs in areas as diverse as health care, environmental protection, transport, manufacture, education and the leisure industry.

History of Manchester Metropolitan University

The university developed from mergers of various colleges with various specialisms, including Technology, Art and Design, i.e. Manchester Mechanics' Institution (1824) and Manchester School of Design (1838). Later, Schools of Commerce (founded 1889), Education (f. 1878) and Domestic Science (f. 1880) were added along with colleges at Didsbury, Crewe, Alsager and the former Domestic and Trades College (f. 1911), latterly Hollings College.

The painter L. S. Lowry attended Manchester School of Art in the years after the First World War where he was taught by the noted impressionist Adolphe Valette.[6] It became Manchester Polytechnic in 1970. On 1 January 1977, the polytechnic merged with the Didsbury College of Education and Hollings College, and on 1 January 1983 with City of Manchester College of Higher Education. In 1987 the institution became a founding member of the Northern Consortium. Having previously been a local authority institution, the polytechnic became a corporate body on 1 April 1989, as allowed by the terms of the Education Reform Act 1988.

It was granted university status as "Manchester Metropolitan University" by the Privy Council on 15 September 1992 under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The university absorbed Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education on 1 October 1992 and the Manchester School of Physiotherapy in 2004.

Manchester School of Physiotherapy: The Manchester School of Physiotherapy (MSOP) was a higher education institution based in Manchester, United Kingdom. It provided undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes within Physiotherapy and additionally offered NVQ level qualifications for unqualified Physiotherapy Support Workers. The School of Physiotherapy was affiliated to the Victoria University of Manchester and all degree level courses were validated and conferred by this institution.

The School was officially formed in 1991, through the amalgamation of the Manchester Royal Infirmary (M.R.I.) and the Withington Hospital Schools of Physiotherapy. From these two institutions it can date its history back to 1911 and during the 1980s via its M.R.I. routes, became the first NHS School of Physiotherapy to offer a three-year undergraduate honours degree programme. The Manchester School of Physiotherapy was based at the Manchester Royal Infirmary and from 1993, was housed within purpose built accommodation converted from the hospital's former outpatient department. The academic building consisted of two large raked lecture theatres, a number of practical rooms, a gymnasium, seminar rooms, a library, office facilities and a student common room.

In 2004 the Manchester School of Physiotherapy officially joined the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and initially became known as the Department of Physiotherapy. It was at this point the last NHS School of Physiotherapy to join a UK higher education institution. It subsequently became the Department of Health Professions and is currently based at the Birley Fields Campus of MMU in Hulme. All students now have their degrees conferred from the Manchester Metropolitan University.

The final cohort of Manchester School of Physiotherapy students graduated in 2005, with their degrees being conferred by the University of Manchester.

Accreditation

Institutional Accreditation or Recognition - Privy Council

Rankings

• #57 - by Complete Ranking
• #77 - by the Guardian
• #89 - by Times/Sunday Times

Student Life @MMU

UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA)

You can also get additional help and advice from the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), an organisation that promotes and protects the needs of international students in the UK. They offer a telephone advice service and also, publish guidance on a wide range of international student matters, such as, how to apply, visas, working in the UK and living in the UK.

University accommodation

All international students are guaranteed accommodation in our University student halls, as long as you are in your first year of study and apply before 15th August 2016.

We offer an excellent choice of accommodation, from en-suite rooms in shared flats to traditional bedrooms with shared kitchens and bathrooms, which are set in residential areas close to our campuses. All of our student accommodation is near local facilities, including shops, restaurants and cafes, and has excellent transport links to help you explore the area.

Other accommodation options

There are a number of private sector housing options available in Manchester and Cheshire, including private student halls, houses and flats for rent and shared houses. The price will vary depending on the option you choose but there is accommodation available to suit all budgets.

• Private accommodation in Manchester
• Accommodation in Cheshire

Get involved in university life – The Union

Manchester Met’s Students’ Union is one of the largest student organisations in the UK, representing the rights and interests of our 37,000 students. The Union is led by a team of students who are elected by you and your fellow students. Once you have enrolled at the University, you automatically become a member of The Union and have access to a range of services and facilities. Visit The Union for more information.

Sports and societies

Whether you already participate in sport or would like to try new activities, there are more than 100 clubs and societies to showcase your talents. Many of our teams compete in official leagues against other UK universities and colleges. Whatever your ability, anyone can join and coaching is often available. Find out more about sport at Manchester Met.

You are never alone!

The Counselling, Health and Wellbeing Service is a team of professionally qualified counsellors, and a wellbeing advisor, experienced in helping students with problems.

Services of MMU

Coaching for Academic English

To make the most of your time here at Manchester Met, you need good English language skills. An ability to communicate freely in English will give you a major advantage in all aspects of life – and make studying easier.

Coaching for Academic English provides free English classes for international students in every faculty during the autumn and spring terms, with all classes taught by qualified and experienced tutors. We focus on the skills needed for good quality academic writing, listening, reading, and speaking.

Faculty Student Support Officers

At Manchester Met, we have a student support officer based in each faculty. This officer is available throughout the year to provide advice and guidance on any aspect of University life, including finding your way around campus and Manchester, presentation skills, exam tips and dealing with stress.

Students with Disabilities

Manchester Met is committed to providing equal opportunities in education for all students. We will work with disabled candidates to help them access our programmes and overcome any substantial disadvantage that they may encounter as a result of their disability. If you have a disability please bring medical information with you, translated if not in English, to support your Personal Learning Plan here.

The university library

The university library, renamed the Sir Kenneth Green Library, is on the All Saints campus. It houses a number of special collections mainly relating to the fine and applied arts, like the Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection, a collection of 32,000 Victorian and Edwardiangreeting cards. The library is in the All Saints Building where it occupies three floors. It was planned as a single central library in 1972 but after the mergers with the Didsbury College of Education and Hollings College it became a central library and administrative centre for seven library sites. From 1975 a catalogue was produced with the aid of the Birmingham Libraries Co-operative Mechanisation Project.From 1992 the library was part of the Consortium of Academic Libraries in Manchester (CALIM) which was extended in 2002 to become NoWAL, the North West Academic Libraries.

• International Postgraduate Scholarships
• Vice-Chancellor International Scholarship