Colleges
Welcome to the University of Durham forum: where prospective and current students can discuss everything from the differences between colleges to the nightlife, an abundance of Rahs to the Stockton campus.
-
- Reputation:
- Peer Of The TSR Realm
- Location: Durham/Birmingham
- Posts: 1,561
Durham has a great range of colleges. What you need to do is decide whether you want a large/small/medium sized college, whether you want to be at a more traditional (ie. Bailey) or more modern (ie. Hill) college, and how close the college is to your department. Stuff like sports facilities might also be important to some people...
But they're all great really, much as we might joke about some of them *cough, Castle*. Everyone ends up loving where they are, really, even if they don't get into their first choice.
Now, if you're looking for a medium-sized, friendly, central college which is about as close to the language department as you can get, great at sports, music and drama, and has an excellent social life, Hatfield's the place for you...
-
- Reputation:
- Vengeful, Imperial Overlord of The Student Room
- Location: Cardiff
- Posts: 3,866
If you are really that clueless you could always take pot luck and go for an open application, that's what i did.
As was said above, it really doesn't matter where you end up you will love it wherever you are. -
- Reputation:
- Peer Of The TSR Realm
- Location: Durham/Birmingham
- Posts: 1,561
Shh! Go back to bed and take your pills. The men in white coats'll be here soon to take you away. Honestly, these Castle delusionists...(Original post by Rebecca/Becca)
Castle is the best, as I've already informed you by invading the Cambridge forum. Hehe. I'm everywhere!
And I thought I could stay mature and unbiased. Ha!
-
- Reputation:
- Respected Member
Subject-wise, it doesn't matter which college you apply to live in, because teaching and admissions are all central (i.e. it's got nothing to do with the "college" at all). Wherever you end up, if you're doing, say, Physics, you'll end up with the same teachers as someone who landed up at a different "college". Durham is NOT Oxbridge - remember.(Original post by kellywood_5)
I've decided to apply to Durham for Modern Languages, but I'm clueless as to which college to apply to, so this is your chance to sell your college/the one that made you an offer!
...
SM -
- Reputation:
- Peer Of The TSR Realm
- Location: Durham/Birmingham
- Posts: 1,561
College does NOT need to be in inverted commas - just because our colleges are pastoral rather than academic bodies doesn't mean that they're any less of a community or any less important as a part of the university! You get a very different experience at different colleges, and keeping academic commitments in departments ensures a better level of pastoral care. In fact, our collegiate system is far less insular - I actually know people from outside Hatfield, unlike most people at Oxbridge who rarely look outside their own quad.(Original post by SpyMaster)
Subject-wise, it doesn't matter which college you apply to live in, because teaching and admissions are all central (i.e. it's got nothing to do with the "college" at all). Wherever you end up, if you're doing, say, Physics, you'll end up with the same teachers as someone who landed up at a different "college". Durham is NOT Oxbridge - remember.
...
SM -
- Reputation:
- Overlord in Training
- Location: Southend-on-Sea, Essex
- Posts: 2,874
Durham's colleges are legally colleges in the same way that OxBridge colleges are. Other "collegiate" universities have colleges more akin to arbitrary houses like in school (e.g. Lancs). The colleges here are separate legal entities, with individual bank accounts and different hierachies according to how/when they were founded, the exception being Cuth's which is a society, and is even more independant than the colleges. St. John's is less independent than Cuth's, (and so, I believe is Chad's), but still slightly moreso than the other colleges. Unfortunately with Castle being the founding college, it couldn't really be particularly independent of the university, what with it BEING the university (in effect) for about a decade, at which point Bishop Hatfield's Hall was built (which is why Hatfield is referred to as a college in inverted commas in Castle's MCR handbook - as a mocking gesture towards its oldest "rival").
In short, we are one of three universities in the country with a true collegiate system, as opposed to an arbitrary one, since at one point, there was teaching within the college, but this was centralised at some point in the last 173 years. -
- Reputation:
- Exalted Member
- Location: Oxford
- Posts: 348
True, in that they're specified in charities law as recognised bodies, unlike those of York, Lancaster, kent et al(Original post by Mattmoy_2000)
Durham's colleges are legally colleges in the same way that OxBridge colleges are.
Not true, other than Chads and Johns - the maintained colleges haven't had their own bank accounts for ten years, and moves are afoot to make their bursars line managed centrally rather than through the college staff(Original post by Mattmoy_2000)
The colleges here are separate legal entities, with individual bank accounts
Not true, Cuths is a maintained college, i.e. the property of the contral university, whereas Johns and Chads are legally seperate bodies and could leave the university tomorrow if they so desired.(Original post by Mattmoy_2000)
Cuth's which is a society, and is even more independant than the colleges. St. John's is less independent than Cuth's, (and so, I believe is Chad's), but still slightly moreso than the other colleges.
Only four (IIRC) colleges have ever taught internally: St. Johns, Ushaw and St. Chads for ministry, and the now-defunct University College Stockton, where all subjects were taught "internally" until it became UDSC in about 1997). The rest have had lectures centrally since foundation: that's what the Exhibition Hall on Palace Green was built for.(Original post by Mattmoy_2000)
since at one point, there was teaching within the college, but this was centralised at some point in the last 173 years. -
- Reputation:
- Respected Member
http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/about/colleges.asp Mostly nineteenth century Christian foundations, though, I think.(Original post by durhamdosser)
Thanks
You just know SpyMaster's going to come back and shoot it down though, don't you? Cos that's the kinda guy he is... -
- Reputation:
- Adored and Respected Member
- Location: Perth/Durham/Southport
- Posts: 598
(Original post by fredsmith365)
True, in that they're specified in charities law as recognised bodies, unlike those of York, Lancaster, kent et al
Not true, other than Chads and Johns - the maintained colleges haven't had their own bank accounts for ten years, and moves are afoot to make their bursars line managed centrally rather than through the college staff
Not true, Cuths is a maintained college, i.e. the property of the contral university, whereas Johns and Chads are legally seperate bodies and could leave the university tomorrow if they so desired.
Only four (IIRC) colleges have ever taught internally: St. Johns, Ushaw and St. Chads for ministry, and the now-defunct University College Stockton, where all subjects were taught "internally" until it became UDSC in about 1997). The rest have had lectures centrally since foundation: that's what the Exhibition Hall on Palace Green was built for.
Wow...good knowledge. Do you sit and study this stuff?
But they're all great really, much as we might joke about some of them *cough, Castle*. Everyone ends up loving where they are, really, even if they don't get into their first choice.
