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TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > Manchester Met

Based in Manchester, the Manchester Metropolitan University is a modern university offering over 1,000 courses ranging from Art and Design to Science and Engineering.

With a high female to male ratio (60:40), and with a very large campus consisting of 6 sites (5 in Manchester, 1 in Cheshire) it is certainly one of the larger universities in the country. There is also a lot of students from overseas ranging from China to New Zealand and Australia.

With a high amount of disposable funds from the government, lottery and its own accumulative sources, there's vast amounts of money for state of the art facilities and expansion. The new add-on for the John Dalton building is an example of this, while also looking at previous phases like the Geoffrey Manton building.

Facilities

Libraries

The university has 5 libraries across Manchester/Cheshire. Most libraries tend be open 6 days a week, with the larger All Saints Library and Crewe library also open on a Sunday. The opening hours have recently been extended and now the library is open from 8.45am to 11.30pm Monday - Thursday, closing at 6pm on a Friday, and open for a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday for study only. During exam periods, the Crewe and All Saints libraries are open 24/7 with the help desk only available during certain hours.

To check library opening times, follow this link: [1]

As well as books, the libraries will give you access to electronic journals and databases, e-books and e-space (the institutional repository scheme) in addition to many DVD and CD collections. You can also get photocopying in the library for 5p per black and white sheet, and there are individual and group study spaces.

If your books are not at the libraries nearest to you, you can use the inter-library loan requests to get books sent to you from the other branches - quite useful if the book you want is miles away from the campus you study at.

IT and Computing

Across the different sites there are over 6000 computers. Most are PCs, though there are some Macs and Unix machines too. These are all located in various places for student access, including a large number in the different libraries.

The uni also has internet connections in its halls of residence and has a whole section of the website dedicated to telling you what you need, helping you set up your connection and how to report problems (just got to hope there is a computer room near by or you know someone to who's already set up so you can get a look at the guide to help you set yours up!).

Sports

The uni has three sports centres. Didsbury centre has a medium sized sports hall, large fitness suite, two all weather tennis courts and a studio. It costs about £97 for a year-long membership. Alsager centre has a medium sized sports hall, small fitness suite & free weights, six tennis courts, 25m swimming pool, a synthetic pitch and several outdoor pitches. Sugden centre has a huge fitness suite, a large sports hall, two activity rooms, two tennis courts, six squash courts and 5-a-side football courts. The prices for use of all these facilities vary so you will have to check the costs yourself. Students also recieve discounted access to Manchester Aquatics Centre (about £1.60 per swim session or on a student membership basis), one of the country's best swimming venues and directly opposite MMU's Geoffrey Manton site.

There are loads of classes making use of these facilities and you can also get involved with inter-department sports matches. If you have good ability you could also try out for one of the uni teams. The AU also has groups for many sports and for people at varying levels of ability:

Welfare

To help with your welfare, the uni has a counselling service you can go to to talk through your problems in a confidential environment. You can also get help through seeing a GP and using the chaplaincy service too.

In addition there is the learning support department to help you with academic issues and for money matters there is student finance support information available.

Healthcare

The Uni has a health centre on All Saints campus in the city. You should either register with a doctor there or at a surgery nearer to where you live. The centre offers decent opening hours on campus and have full facilities. The centre is connected to near by Hulme Medical Centre.

Shops

Manchester is a great city when it comes to shopping with pretty much all the high street chains available within the city centre including a huge Primark (ideal for a student budget!). There are also a lot of exclusive and designer shops as well as specialist ones located only in Manchester, something for everyone. Outside the city centre you'll find the Trafford Centre - a large modern shopping centre with hundreds of shops. To get there you can catch the 250 bus which runs very regularly 6 days a week.

Restaurants

MMU's Manchester campuses are located close to the city centre, so there's a wide choice of restaurants, cafes and bars to choose from. The city has the second largest Chinatown in the UK, covering Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese cuisines. Oxford Road has a range of student-friendly eateries, while Rusholme, a brightly lit strip two miles south of Manchester city centre has a wealth of Indian, Pakistani and Middle-Eastern restaurants.

MMU in Cheshire and its surrounding areas offer everything from trendy cafes and bars to traditional British cuisine, and has just opened a state-of-the-art accommodation with onsite restaurants, bars and shops.

Banks

The All Saints Campus are within walking distance to major banks and building societies, in particular, Barclays, HSBC, and NatWest while other campuses have easy access to cash machines.

Transport

Transport links are excellent, all night buses, student fares, weekly passes all make living/commuting in/to Manchester really accessible. Weekly bus passes to/from the busiest student areas (Fallowfield and Withington) cost as little as £3.

An article on transport in Manchester can be found here

The Cheshire campus is a ten minute walk from Crewe train station with links to most major stations across the country, and it takes approximately 40 minutes to get to Manchester Piccadilly from there, costing around £10 for a return ticket.

Careers service

The uni has a lot of careers guidance for its students - you can get help both in person and online. The online side of things is pretty similar to what you can get direct from the advisers - like online careers guides and a list of events they have organised for training/skills development and in liaison with employers.

They will also provide you with help on searching for jobs and in making good applications to ensure you get it! They also have a vacancy service where same graduate jobs are advertised, though you'll need your log in to access these.

Part-time jobs

There will be loads of job opportunities if you are based in Manchester. The careers service can also help you out as their vacancy service also lists part time and temporary jobs along side the graduate jobs.

Religious facilities

The uni has a chaplaincy service for support, advice and spiritual help and can be used by students of any religion. The Chaplains are happy for you to go in to see them or they will even come to see you if you contact then, at your halls or teaching buildings. They can also provide you with loads of information about local places of worship for most major religions.

In addition to the Chaplaincy, there are some student groups including a Christian Union.

Manchester Met Discussions

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Social

With a nightlife second only to London, it is really student orientated. Students are a large slice of income for a lot of businesses, and this is reflected with countless discounts, promotions and deals.

Bars, Pubs and clubs

Manchester has a huge nightlife and offers something for everyone with its huge range of pubs and clubs. Areas in the city to try out include those around Deansgate - you'll find loads of clubs and bars here including The Living Room and the Teasers. Then there is Deansgate Locks near the canal which houses big places like Loaf and smaller places Baa Bar. You can also try out the 'urban leisure complex'. Here you'll find the Hard Rock Cafe and the popular student place Tiger Tiger. For a cheap and chilled out night out check out 5th Avenue or 42nd Street where drinks are just £1 most week nights and shorts are perfectly OK in summer.

Alternatively, if your based in Halls such as Daisy Bank and Wilmslow Park you'll be closer to Fallowfield. Fallowfield is a very 'studenty' area, and popular place to live in your 2nd year. The nightlife in Fallowfield is pretty cheap and more laid back than clubs in town. Places to go are Revolution, Font (home of the 2 pound cocktails!) and the legendary Queen of Hearts.

Events

Every night of the week there is some sort of event hosted by the SU in Manchester. Be this Rock Kitchen on a Saturday or Double Vision on a Friday or the karaoke on a Monday. There are also bigger events throughout the year especially around Freshers week, at Christmas and at the end of the year. In addition to SU events, there will be loads of special nights out and things going on right across Manchester and Cheshire.

Clubs and societies

According to the website, the societies at MMU include: Action Palestine, African Caribbean Society, Aisec (internship exchange program), Anime, Asian Society, Bangladeshi Society, Beer and Real Ale Society, Breakdancing, Computing, Choir and Orchestra, Christian Union, Dance Society, Debating Society, Fashion Society, Film Society, Islamic Society, Jewish Society, LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender society), Liberal Democrats, Morris dancing, Hindu Society, People and Planet, Philosophy Society, Poker Society, Respect, Rock Society, Role playing Society, Science Fiction, Sikh Society, Urban Unity Society, Socialist Workers Student Society, MMU Radio and Yoga Society.

Accommodation

Accommodation policy

The uni has a policy of offering places in accommodation to people who live the furthest from the uni first. If you live within 30 miles of the uni, you cannot get accommodation. A priority is given to disabled students. You get to choose your preferred choices of accommodation and where ever possible the staff will try to match you to the highest preference you state.

Facilities

The University offers a wide choice of rooms, with everything from hotel-style en-suite rooms with internet access to more traditional budget rooms for the cost-conscious.

Residences

MMU is split between two sites, Manchester and Cheshire. For each campus, there are different halls.

All Saints campus: Brairfields Hall, Cambridge Hall, Cavendish Hall and Oxford Court. Aytoun campus: Mill Point Didsbury campus: Broomshurst Hall Elizabeth Gaskell and Hollings: Daisy Bank Hall and Wilmslow Park. Crewe campus (Cheshire): Booth, Davenport, Harley, Barlow.

You can read about the prices and facilities of halls here: [2]

Private sector

There are also many privately run halls that MMU students use - if you want a place in one of these you still need to a complete an application for. The accommodation office staff will be able to give you information on what these places are like and how to apply etc.

In addition there will be loads of privately rented shared student houses around the unis campuses which you can live in.

Student union

Manchester Metropolitan University students' union (know as MMUnion) represents the student body of the university, providing services ranging from help and advice, to food and drink. MMUnion operates from two main sites, providing services to the Manchester based campuses as well as the Crew campus. The union is partly run by a 6 elected student representatives, election of student representatives is on an annual basis. The positions are as follows:

President

Vice President (Cheshire)

Education Officer

Community Officer

Student Activities (Manchester)

Student Activities (Cheshire)

The Manchester arm of the student union, located at 99 oxford road consists of 4 floors;

Floor 1: Reception, ATM, The Union Shop, Icycle and the Student Officers Office.

Floor 2: "The met" club, formerly K2 nightclub.

Floor 3: Student Activities Centre, The met bar

Floor 4: Student Advice Centre, Union Administration, Finance Office, Committee Meeting Rooms and Conference Facilities.

The student union shop, located on the ground floor provides everything from cheap stationary, university clothing (i.e. Freshers Hoodie) to meal deals. There is a sandwich bar offering subway style baguettes with a range of fillings at a reasonable price.

The club located on the second floor is rarely used outside of Welcome Week.

The 3rd floor is home to the Student Activities Centre, this is home to Manchester Student Actives Officer. The Met Bar is also located on this floor, providing cheap food and drink. Food is very reasonably priced, with a small but well thought out student menu. Food quality is variable. Drink prices vary depending on time of year and events. Generally the cheapest pint of larger is £1.95 and the cheapest cider £1.50. There are a number of options, though there is a distinct lack of bitter or ale. On certain nights all pints are £1. There are often drink exchange nights, where drink prices follow a stock market style system of supply and demand (the lower the demand, the cheaper the drinks become. Once punters buy a drink, it's price will increase.) The union is home to a number of pool tables at 30p a play, though you will need to provide bar staff with your student ID for a pool cue occasionally.

On the 4th floor you will find a number of advice services, including: Academic support Funding and Benefits Debt and Money Housing Other advice including Advice, medical needs, transport or work. There are also a number of meeting and conference rooms, which can be used by students.

Construction is due to start in Summer 2013 on a new £10m purpose built students union building located on Cambridge street.

Environment

Architecture

Local area

Teaching quality

Manchester Met gets decent teaching ratings and regularly appears mid-range in league tables.

Applying to Manchester Met

Thinking of applying to Manchester Met? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here?

Other Manchester Met Articles

Why not read these other Manchester Met Articles?

Links

• Our Manchester Met Discussion Forum
• Manchester Metropolitan University Homepage
• A-Z of Universities