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Join The Student Room TodayBe part of the UK's largest and fastest growing student community. It's free to join and a lot of fun - Get inspired, express your ideas, interact and share University of BradfordFrom The Student RoomTSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Bradford
 The University of Bradford is located in the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire in the the north of England. The university is situated to the to the west of the city centre on it's own site, but is still close to all the city centre action. Facilities
LibrariesThe University has its own Library which is quite big and spread over 3 sites. Law, social, and "real" sciences fill the main 4-level J.B. Priestley building, and there are specialist Management and Health libraries elsewhere. Only University students can get in since there is an access card entry. It is open nearly all the time, though shuts up earlier at the weekends, and over exam periods it often stays open 24-7. In your first couple of weeks at the Uni you will be given a tour of the library. It is really essential to go to since there is no central map of where different subjects can be found. There are areas of the library dedicated for quiet study and also there are rooms for private and group study. Within the building is also the main computer base and computer services. The library also holds a few Bradford-related special collections on subjects from industrialisation to the Independent Labour Party. IT and ComputingThe main computer base is on the basement floor of the library. This can be access any time that the library is open and only requires you have a University ID card (to get into the library) and login details (given to you in you first IT lesson). These computers have internet access and basic applications like MS Office and Adobe reader. A second computer base is located on the 3rd floor of the engineering building. These computers have a wide variety of engineering applications on them, and are dedicated use for engineering students. These are available when lectures are not taking place, and access outside of 8am-5pm is only given to those who have bought a access card. This gives you access to the building and your computer login will work outside of these times. Internet access is available wirelessly ("RoamNet") in most areas, and wired points & power are ubiquitious. Login details are all that's needed to get online but each user is restricted to a maximum 64k speed. Guests can sign on to their own machines with an email address on the main campus but access is limited. The main halls of residence and the recently privatised Laisteridge Lane halls are connected to the University network with free access in all rooms. A recent experiment in allowing games to be played over the network has been rescinded; any kind of suspicious activity be it too much downloading or too many 'ping's will result in an immediate 24-hour access ban. SportsThere is a sports centre in the middle of campus. The sports hall can be used for badminton, five-a-side football, trampolining, archery, hockey, basketball, volleyball, tennis, cricket nets, climbing, netball, golf and martial arts. The small gym can be used for things like fencing, tai chi, and and kick boxing. There is also a studio which can be used for fitness/exercise and dancing. In addition there are two squash courts, weights room and a fitness suite with loads of machines. Perhaps the best bit about the sports centre is the swimming pool - a feature so many unis do not have. It tops of the sports centre's great selection of facilities. The sports centre offers a better choice than the nearby Fitness First gyms and is significantly cheaper. At the former Pharmacology campus on Laisteridge Lane there are two large astroturfs where matches of all kinds are played. To make great use of these sports facilities, the SU has a load of student run sports clubs. These include:
WelfareThe Union provides prayer rooms for most faiths as well as drop-in & appointment-based counselling services. HealthcareThe University has its own surgery located behind the accommodation on Laisteridge Lane. If you do not live locally then sign-up here for medical care. Making an appointment is easy and most times can be made within 2 days. Staff are extremely friendly and easy to talk to. Nextdoor is the university creche and childcare facilities. ShopsBradford Union run a shop selling the bare NUS essentials: hoodies and instant noodles, as well as some stationary and other food. Regular book, music, and poster fairs are held in the courtyard of the Communal Building every week. There is a Waterstone's next to the Sports Centre stocking all books on the courses and a few more but as usual you'll be paying top dollar for them. Daley's is a local bookshop opposite the nearby college which is excellent. As for the city itself; you will find most of the normal shops plus LOADS of "family run" ones. If you can find the ones which do great deals on thing then great. The city is well stocked with markets too, in upper Kirkgate and near the Rawson quarter. However the credit crunch has bit Bradford hard and much of the shops in the merchant quarter lie either empty or in a bit of a state. Once things get going then developments like the Westfield arcades and a revamped Beehive will bring more in more upmarket shops that can currently only be found in Leeds or Halifax. Morrison's is a Bradford firm and the biggest Morrison's in the country is about 40 minutes on foot from the campus. Wilkinson's and Netto are great places to get shopping and household items. Beware of those closest to the uni, such as the tiny Sainsbury's; they charge more for the convenience. If you can get out of the city to the bigger supermarkets you will save a lot of money. Catering/RestaurantsThere are around 5 cafes in the various buildings, operated by the same company but with varying prices. The more ethically minded can try the very local volunteer-run Treehouse Cafe, the UK's first Fairtrade cafe back in the 1990s, and now home to acoustic events and a Peace Library. It's really cheap to go out for meals, with a lot of choice too, and you're not restricted to currys or kebabs. Though there are lots of those around. BanksNatWest is currently the only bank physically on campus, beneath Waterstone's. Lloyd's and HSBC have branches next to the University Post Office opposite the Richmond building. In the city you can find Yorkshire, Bradford and Bingley, Barclay's, Nationwide and a few others. The main hill up to the campus, Quebec Street, is peppered with commercial machines charging nearly £2 a pop; it's worth walking a bit further either up to the Uni branches or down to the Centenery Square hole-in-the-wall. TransportThe two main transport areas are The Interchange (bus and train) and Forster Square (trains). Both of these have taxi ranks and cabs are available all hours that the stations run at. Taxis are fairly cheap and will cost about £5 from either of these two places to the University, though make sure you get a taxi, with a white or green light, and not a minicab (red light). In addition, The Interchange also has a help desk that is open most hours and has a security detail at it. Buses are extremely reliable and again, very cheap. A Free City Bus goes round the city centre and some of the periphery with stops at the University, College and Morley Street within 5 minutes of all halls. A day rider for the whole of West Yorkshire is available for 'First' buses, for only £5. Careers servicePart-time jobsReligious facilitiesFor Christians there is a wide range of Churches to go to. The Salvation Army in Wibsey (http://www.bradfordcitadel.org.uk/) has a bus stop right outside the doors and buses go from the interchange. There are also Catholic chaplaincies. The Union operates a sizeable Islamic prayer room and there are several local mosques with a new one opening off Laisteridge Lane imminently. Bradford Discussions
SocialBars, Pubs and clubsThe social life is great. Campus pub is nice and cheap, the club has good going on's and in general it's very friendly, safe and fun. I'm quite liking the city, and the block of commercial clubs by the Alhambra are good too. More underground happenings can be found at the Mill on Preston Street, the Love Apple on Quebec Street, and the anarchist 1 in 12 club on Albion Street. However local pubs are closing here as everywhere else: student favourite The Shearbridge and University affiliate Delius have called time. Several are still open and within walking distance of all halls and the campus: the Black Swan is a cheap and cheerful karaoke haven, the Fighting Cock is an esoteric beer-drinker's paradise, the New Union at the Westleigh Hotel is modern and friendly, the Mannville Arms is the definitive local "rock pub", and the mill-themed Wetherspoon's, the Titus Salt, is huge. Other good local pubs include the Lord Clyde, the City Vaults, Jacob's Well, and the Shoulder of Mutton, while treks to the Albion and the New Beehive will be rewarded.
EventsThere are loads of uni events through the year, especially in Fresher week. Here is an example of what Fresher week can be like (it's the 2006 Freshers Week):
If that wasn't enough there are also two "Refresher's" fairs a year. Clubs and societiesAs well as all the sports clubs mentioned about, there are dozens of student societies and organisation which you can join. The university seems to organise these in to various types of society:
Accommodation & ResidencesThe uni has a few rooms for students at the moment, around 350, and the remaining 1500 or so are run by private companies. Some halls are located on the main campus (or at the Management School site) - these are uni-run halls. Other halls are run by different groups (such as Malik's Imtiaz Hall and Cosmopolitan's Wardley House). Some years the University will have agreements in place, usually with the Laisteridge Lane halls and some others. All are self-catered. You usually share with between 3 and 12 other students; Dennis Bellamy and Revis Barber have 2 kitchens to 12.
Prices range from £49.50 to £106 with considerable variation in facilities: students in Forster and Arkwright halls pay top dollar for big rooms with en-suites and a party atmosphere, while those in Bradford or University halls pay significantly less for dark narrow corridors and tiny rooms. Wardley and Kexgill are closest to the Club Quarter, the City Centre, and Bradford Interchange; Charles Morris and Edmund Street are the furthest out. Unity and Vernon Barnaby are Health and Management only respectively. Accommodation policyIf you are going to be a new first year undergraduate you will be guaranteed a place in uni-organised accommodation for your first year if you apply by the deadline. If you are a postgrad student there are also around 300 accommodation places reserved just for you. International students are also guaranteed uni accommodation during their first years too. Private sectorCompared to most places, rooms in private shared houses are very cheap - often around and average of just £40 a week! And Bradford is a very big place with lots of otherwise empty houses, so there will be loads of options on where to find somewhere to stay. You can get help with finding a place and get loads more info from Unipol. Student unionPolitically active, left-leaning, and critical of the NUS although remaining a member. Turnout in elections hovers around the 10% mark or about 1200 students. PricesEnvironmentArchitectureLocal areaThe university is very close together and only a 5-10 minute walk from the city centre. The city is not known to be an amazing place to live and council plans to improve the city centre have recently hit funding problems. That said, the city does have some really good examples of 19th century architecture and the wider areas beyond the city has some wonderful scenery with both the Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales only a short distance away. Teaching qualityBradford seems to have a policy of ruthlessly pruning inefficient departments. The School of Management is the 3rd best business school in the UK and the 25th best in the world according to a recent Times survey. The Department of Peace Studies is considered the best in the world. Overall the university scores well in assessement exercises but teaching can sometimes be hampered by the facilities. Applying to BradfordThinking of applying to Bradford? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here? Other Bradford ArticlesWhy not read these other Bradford Articles? Links |
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