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University of SunderlandTSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Sunderland
 Though having a history dating back over 100 years, the University of Sunderland only achieved university status in 1992 when it was created out of the former Sunderland Polytechnic. The uni has three campuses, all in Sunderland: the City Campus and the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's - located on the north bank of the River Wear. The Arts and Design Centre past Park Lane is now also considered a campus. FacilitiesLibrariesThe University has two main libraries:
Situated at City Campus, the Murray library is mainly an extensive computer suite but also offers a few course book catalogues. Returns from either library can also be made here and requests from St Peters Library can be made.
At St Peters Campus. The largest and most extensive library. The library has a whole floor dedicated to journals of english and law. An extensive computer book searching facility 'SunCat' and a compliant ordering service. Both libraries are also accessible to other students; such as those from the other four north east universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Teesside. IT and ComputingAll the university accomodation and buildings have 15MB wireless broadband accessible by student ID number. Aside from that the University has two IT hubs offering over 300 pcs at the two libraries. The University which is renowned for journalism also boasts a specially built AppleMac suite and new macs in all classrooms in its media complex. At the Murray Library there is the facility to borrow a laptop if need do so. SportsVisit the Stadium of Light, and regularly watch the north east's only Premiership team in one of Europe’s newest football stadiums. On campus sports facilities at the Chester Road Campus include a 25m swimming pool, a multisports sports hall, a weights rooms and a fitness room. The centre also runs a number of classes in things like yoga and circuits. A new state-of-the-art gym and sportshall is currently being built, due to open in september 2009. The SU also runs a number of sports clubs which any student can join. You can join them for fun or take things more seriously and try out for university teams. The SU sports has a hugely popular trip to Salou each year where every member is invited to meet, socialise and play against university teams from across europe. Aswell as the fierce derby called 'Varsity' between other Tyne and Wear universities. Current clubs include:
Spark FM Radio StationThe university hosts its own radio station 'Spark FM' on 107.0FM, broadcast from the newly built City Space and hosted by students and local residents. The station was formerly known as 'Utopia' before extending the broadcast to all of Sunderland.
Welfare HealthcareThe university will encourage you to register to a new doctor and dentist if you need to do so. However the Sunderland General Hospital is fairly local to all students, and opposite Clanny House Accomodation. There is a doctors surgery here that has a special student drop in rota. ShopsSunderland city centre has The Bridges which is an indoor shopping centre with popular shops such as Primark, Topshop, H&M, Debenhams and River Island plus most high street banks, phone shops, jewellers and an indoor market selling things such as fruit and vegetables, fabrics and meat and there is also a Tesco. Sunderland has a lot of discount and economy grocery shops such as Netto, Farmfoods, Aldi, Home Bargains, TJ Lewis, £Stretcher, Heron Foods. Students will find this very useful. RestaurantsCity Campus has its own on site Greggs and St Peters Campus has a very new cafe and alfresco type eaterie. In the city centre there are all the usual mod-con take outs. But in the North East there is a total plague of Greggs shops, there is around 8 of them alone in the town centre. Sunderland and the North East region have some great restaurants – try sea views at the Tavistock Thai China in Roker, or Little Italy at Seaburn, where you can eat literally on the beach - or why not try one of Sunderland’s new city restaurants such as Hollathons or the Thai Manor – both just a short walk away from the Empire Cinema multiplex. BanksAt St Peters Campus there is a free cash machine in the alfresco dining area. In the town centre there are branches of Nationwide, Abbey, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Lloyds and Nat West. In Millfield right near Clanny House and The Forge there is a branch of The Woolwich. TransportBusesStudents at Sunderland University have access to a free Campus Express bus service, which will take you to all buildings in its main campuses. This bus is supplied by the University as part of its award-winning ecological initiatives. There is also a local bus service that runs from Newcastle, Consett, Blyth and other neighbouring areas. Aswell as other areas of Sunderland like Roker, Hylton, Doxford Park and Seaford. MetroThe metro serves Sunderland and Newcastle. Students can purchase discounted tickets for use on the Metro. An annual ticket that can be used just around the Sunderland area costs just £40. A day single anywhere is £1.30. Return £1.50. You must buy a ticket, faillure to do so will result in a fine AND the borough have the right to publish your residential details on example posters, they already use it as a scare tactic. Services run north to Newcastle and west to South Hylton. Fares can be very costly (Fare and Ticket Prices) but regular travellers get a Metro Student Card Generally, students rarely use the Metro. It's unreliable as it only comes every 25-30 minutes and you can walk between campuses by then. The service is also unadvisable to use late because it stops around 11.30pm. But there are stops right by Clanny House/The Forge(Hylton stop), City Campus(University stop) and St Peters (St Peters stop) TrainsGrand Central Trains run daily services to London Kings Cross from Sunderland. There are also local services including regular trains to Newcastle (where you'll be connected to the East Coast mainline and the country's major cities). Careers serviceA Careers and Employability Service Desk is at the Edinburgh building at City Campus. The University will try to help you in any way they can. There a number of opportunities for careers in the local area. For example, business parks like Doxford Business Park and Rainton Bridge attract a lot of large international companies who may be hiring. Part-time jobsThere isn't much in the way of student temp jobs in Sunderland. You may be able to find lucrative work at Doxford Business Park where many companies base their call centre operators. Other than that a lot of students work as PR reps for bars or in the town centre shops. Religious facilitiesThe University has a Chaplaincy service situated at City Campus in the Edinburgh building. There are also many religious societies. Sunderland Discussions
SocialBars, Pubs and clubsUniversity of Sunderland has two union bars: The Bonded Warehouse: Situated on Panns Bank, the Bonded is the more commonly used union bar now that Manor Quay has been taken over. Popular student nights take place here: Curry Monday, Pint for Pounds, etc. Because the union own it the bar is often transformed for games nights. Campus the American Frat House(Formerly Manor Quay): Situated by St Peters Campus and just beyond the northern side of the river. Manor "Manky Key" Quay union bar was bought by the Scottish campus nightclub entrepreneur in 2006 and transformed into an American nostalgia type bar. The bar now boasts two floors and a balcony of space, with pool tables, hanging LCD televisions and luxury seated booths. Because Campus is now owned by a seperate company than the University you may have to pay some nights. But most regularly attending students are given a freebie keyring that allows free entrance. Drinks are cheap and there are good events nights here. Campus is now gone, and we've got North Shore instead. Isn't open very much after Freshers week, but it did have some good drinks offers on. In the city centre there are a number of nightclubs and bars. These include: -Varsity, -TTonic, -Dakota, -Walkabout, -Liquid, -Varsity, -Glass Spider, -Bud Bigalows (£5 entry, free drink all night!) The nightlife is OK, 5 nightclubs, about 50 bars and pubs. A taxi from Newcastle late at night can cost you about £40. You can get the metro there though which is more reasonable, at £2.50. NME have called Sunderland the best city in the UK for underground music – but you don’t have to go underground, visit the Independent, a favourite venue for bands such as The Zutons and the Klaxons. There are more details about the Sunderland nigthlife in its own article. EventsThe Sunderland Empire is one of the only venues outside of London with the capacity to show West End Shows - from Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang to We Will Rock You to AbbaMania! Clubs and societiesThere are a number of societies at Sunderland and you can create your one if you want something diferent. Current socs include:
AccommodationAccommodation policyThey say they will try to accommodate anyone who needs a uni room, though they do have priorities. First undergrads, EU and international students and postgrads have a priority over others. You'll not get your application form until you have an unconditional offer - for most people this will be after A Level results day. To maximise your chance of getting a room in uni accommodation you should send your form back as soon as you can and then return any subsequent letters and documents regarding accommodation as soon as you get them. FacilitiesEvery university of Sunderland accomodation offers wireless internet, on site parking and its own laundery room. All of the halls are all served by the free bus to other halls, town or campus that runs 7 days a week. ResidencesAll Saints: All Saints is the only university accomodation on the northern side of the river wear and nearer to St Peters Campus. It is the most popular student accomodation and also the most expensive. Clanny House: Known as just 'Clanny'. Situated 30min walk from St Peters campus and 10mins from City campus, Clanny is the largest student accomodation block, consisting of 16 three story buildings housing 12/24. Allocated to freshers. On site parking. Wireless. Right opposite Sunderland General Hospital. The Forge: Built behind Clanny House, The Forge was originally built for backup accomodation but due to high university intake The Forge is now allocated to most international students and freshers. Panns Bank: Panns is situated right on the river side of the Wear and is a prime location for second and third year students as it is next to the union bonded bar and has its own catered suite. Scotia Quay: Scotia is next to Panns Bank and is for mature students only. Placed on the Quay right beside the Wearmouth bridge/river and opposite the student bonded warehouse. On site parking. Catered hall opposite if needed. The Precinct: The Precinct is a small halls of 4 buildings situated opposite from City Campus. Usually allocated to those who study at City Campus or the Arts and Design Centre. Private sectorAs is typical of the north east, accomodation costs in the private sector are relatively cheap; usually ranging from 40 to 65 pounds per week. Student unionThe Students' Union, the building of which is located beside the St Peter's campus, regularly holds a range of suitable events. PricesThe recent Independent cost of living survey revealed that Sunderland is 5th cheapest place to study in the UK, in terms of accommodation, drink and grocery prices. EnvironmentSunderland has some of the cleanest, unspoilt beaches in Europe. Roker, Seaburn, Whitburn, South Shields – you can literally walk all day and never run out of golden sands. ArchitectureThe campus is VERY state of the art and newly built. St Peters Campus is a new build and is on the river side is situated in a beautiful location with a promenade next to it. It was noted in The Times top 5 university 'wow' buildings. City Campus is currently being modified and is starting to look very technilogical. The Arts centre is a very classical building set far away from the other two campuses, often forgotten as its own seperate campus the Arts centre is more of a traditional building that looks sort of almost gothic. St Peters is also situated next to proposed 2010 world heritage site St Peters Church, which if granted will bring more attention to the University. Local areaSunderland is defo a good city on the up and up - it doesn't get a good press but its much better than most people think it is - loads of regeneration going on, getting direct rail links to London soon and loads of stuff going on. Shopping is OK, the beaches are really good - some good countryside nearby - riverside is quite nice too where one of the campuses is. Teaching qualityThe uni has particular strengths in Pharmacy, Medicine related courses and ICT though offers generally range from a very low 80 UCAS points up to a more modest 240. Over all, teaching was scored 3.9 out of 5 in the 2006 National Student Survey, while healthcare subjects had their teaching commended in 2005. History, business and management and social work have had 'excellent' ratings for their teaching too. Applying to SunderlandThinking of applying to Sunderland ? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here? Other Sunderland ArticlesWhy not read these other Sunderland Articles? Links |
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