From The Student Room

TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Derby

---

The University of Derbyshire was created in 1992 out of the Derbyshire College of Higher Education. Since then it has grown and gradually developed itself as a university. The university has a reputation as more of a 'locals' university with a large number of it's students being from the immediate area. The uni is also popular for further education courses with nearly 10,000 students on this type of course. Derby has developed a lot in recent years too, but many of it's facilities still haven't been fully developed or updated since it's days as a HE College - hopefully this will change over time.

Facilities

Facilities are OK, lots of new building being done and plenty of money being thrown at it. There is no campus as such, it is spread out on various sites in the city which are linked by buses.

Libraries

The library at the Devonshire Campus in Buxton has reasonable opening hours, open until 9pm weekdays and for a few hours on a Sunday. It has decent collections for any subject taught in Buxton and unusually for a uni library, a general fiction section.

Kedleston Road Campus has a learning centre which houses collections for science and social science subjects. It also houses collections for use by education and PGCE students when on placement. It has the best opening hours for all the libraries, staying open until 10.30pm of some nights of the week for it you need to do late night studying. You can also use one of around three hundred networked PCs and use study rooms or get help from the study advisor service. The library also has a seminar room.

There is a new Learning Centre at Britannia Mill which covers collections for arts subjects and some vocational subjects like social work and occupational therapy. Again the opening hours are decent with 9pm closing during the week and open on Sunday afternoons.

IT and computing

All univeristy accommodation has superfast internet that has just been upgraded this year. It's not wireless though, but to be fair its jsut a small wire that clips into your phone line right behind where you'll put your computer on your desk. I haven't really had any problems with it. It is way faster than my connection at home

Sports

Welfare

Healthcare

	General Information
	Visit our discussion forum.
	Established:	1992
	Location:	Derby, UK
	Address:	Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB
	Telephone:	01332 590500
	Website:	www.derby.ac.uk
	SU/Guild website:	UDSU
	UCAS Code:	D39
	Type:	'New' uni
	Statistics
	Total students:	24,150
	Undergrad:	12,210
	Postgrad:	2,515
	Part-time:
	International:	7%
	Mature:	51%
	Male:female	44:56
	Staff:
	Typical offers:	160-300
	Applicants per place:	5

Shops

Now that the new Westfield center has opened, there are lots of shops including Allsaints, Topshop, H+M, (the new primark is opening soon!) lots of music shops, River Island, Dorethy Perkins, G-Star etc. Overall the Westfield centre is a really nice place to shop (some of the shops are a little expensive) and also a really nice place to eat, with eateries such as a chinese, KFC, a thai bar etc..

Restaurants

Well, it depends what you class as a restaurant. There are lots of little cafes where you can have tea and cake, or a bit more if you want. There are also places where you can have a pub lunch, carvery, fast food (KFC, Macdonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express and maybe more). So if you like eating out try eating out in Derby - you're sure to find something you like whatever your taste!

Banks

The Kedleston Road campus has a Natwest bank on site and a number of cash machines. In the city centre, there are a number of different banks including HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Natwest, Yorkshire. There are also lots of cash machines for if you don't want to go into the bank and talk to someone. You can go to the little hole in the wall and get out your cash.

Transport

For those of you who do not have your own transport or choose to use public transport there there is an excellent bus connection from the train station to the university during term time. The number 6 bus runs every 15 minutes from the campus to the city centre then to the train station and back again. There are many trains for people that live outside of derby but choose not to move here.

If you wont to go shopping in town there are a number of buses which will take you there (university 6, city center 40,44+45). There are some bus stops on the opposite side of the road to the station, or you might decide to take the short walk in to the city centre instead but that is your decision.

Careers service

Within the university main site on Kedleston Road, there is a careers advice center which will talk to you about what you want to do after you have finished studying. Not only are they there while you are a student but the service is also available for 2 years after you have left the the university. They are there for all students who wish to use this service, but if you choose not to then you don't have to.

Part-time jobs

Within Derby, there are a number of ways in which you are able to find part time work if you want to. The university has some support with this, and there are also some jobs within the university which student can do. There are 2 or 3 Job Centre Plus within the city centre, where part time jobs might be found. As well as this, there is also another place similar which will help you find part time work. With the new Westfield centre now open, I'm sure there are lots more part time jobs around.

Religious facilities

The University of Derby has a fantastic multi-faith centre and chaplain team which are there for you to talk to and have a free drink of tea with. You can also just go to the multi-faith center to chill out and have a few minutes to get away from the busy student life. The chaplain team also have contact details of other representatives from other faiths and will help you to get in contact with them if you want to. They are all very nice and supportive and are there to talk about anything from assignments (not that they can write it) to faith.

Social

Bars, pubs and clubs

Nightlife- well there is pretty much something for everyone. For indie/emo you have first floor and various other places. For cheesy pop, indie, R n B & dance, you have Zanzibar & Blu Bamboo. & there are loads of good bars such as revolution, coyote wild, Yates, etc or for cheap drinks, weatherpersons, and cheap student pubs.

Events

Clubs and societies

Accommodation

Accommodation policy

Facilities

Residences

Accommodation is mostly new and OK, but not spectacular.

Private sector

Student housing is plentiful, cheap and grotty.

Student union

Prices

Environment

Architecture

Local area

Derby is supposedly on the up as a city and is under going a lot of redevelopment.

Teaching quality

It has very low entry requirements, a large proportion of part time students and a massive drop out rate. And, although it is spending vast amounts of money, some of its teaching and facilities are still not much better than when it was a college of Higher Ed. But due to the spending you could see a steady improvement in Derby's standing in years to come.

Applying to Derby

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

Other Derby Articles

Why not read these other University of Derby Articles?

Links

• Our University of Derby Discussion Forum
• University of Derby Homepage
• A-Z of Universities