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University of Nottingham
From The Student RoomTSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > University of Nottingham  The University of Nottingham is based in Nottingham, East Midlands, although it does have campuses abroad. It is a member of the Russell Group and also of Universitas 21 (which is an international network or research universities). Nottingham University is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the country. In 2005 there were just over 32,000 students registered at the university, with about 4000 international students from over 100 countries. There are approximately 10 applicants for every place. The University's Students' Union has more than 150 student societies associated with it and another 72 clubs which are associated with the Athletic Union. The University takes part every year in the ‘Varsity series’, which are sporting events between the students and staff of both the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University. There is a student magazine ‘Impact’ which is published during term time. There is also a theatre at the University (the only student run theatre in England). There is a radio station for the University, which has won about 1/3 of all the awards from BBC Radio 1 for student radio channels. History of the UniversityThe University's history goes back as far as 1798, when it was an adult education school. The building of the original University College on Shakespeare Street (in the city centre) was started in 1877, and was formally opened in 1881, as a college of the University of London. It then moved to the campus that is now University Park in 1928, the land for which was donated by Jesse Boot. The college received a royal charter in 1948 which gave it the power to award its own degrees (rather than via the University of London) and hence it became a university in its own right. In 1947 the University merged with the Midlands Agricultural and Dairy College to form the Sutton Bonington campus. In 1999 Jubilee campus was formed on the site of the old Raleigh factory. The campuses in Malaysia and China have been added since. The King’s Meadow Campus was opened in 2005 and the new Veterinary School was opened in 2006. FacilitiesLibrariesThe University of Nottingham has several libraries to aid you with your studies. Firstly, there is the Hallward Library, which has four floors dedicated to arts, humanities, law and social sciences. It is considered to be one of the UK's finest library buildings. The Hallward Library has recently been refurbished and is looking lovely! There is a Starbucks cafe-coffee lounge with wi-fi access and computers. There are areas for silent individual study, meeting rooms which can be booked and comfy areas for group study. The library is university card-access only but non-students are able to use the reference facilities for free, and for a small fee, borrow books too. Another thing to mention is that the Hallward Library is open 24/7. Secondly, there is the George Green library. This library is dedicated to sciences, engineering and psychology. It is also only accessible by student card. There is a computer room with two printers and there are also photocopiers available. It is open 24/7 only during exam times. The Denis Arnold Music library has an extensive collection of musical scores and classical recordings. The Jubilee Campus is home to both the Djanogly Learning Resource Centre and the new Business library. Between them, they serve the needs of the Faculty of Education, computer science and business courses.
The Greenfield Medical Library is situated in the Medical School, close to University Park. It has a wide range of biomedical, nursing and healthcare books and periodicals. The Sutton Bonington Campus houses the James Cameron-Gifford Library for the biosciences. IT and computingOnce you become a student at the University of Nottingham, you receive your own e-mail address. You also gain access to the 'Portal' where you can find information on various important information such as examination timetables, results, fee payments, updating personal information. Through the Portal, you can also access WebCT, the online library catalogue (UNLOC), access to Athens e-books etc. Because it is online, students can access their Portal and e-mails anywhere in the world as long as they have web access! IT support is provided through helplines for staff and students and through online guides to enable users to get the most from their computing facilities. Training in IT skills for students and online tutorials for staff are also available. There are computers in all libraries and in designated computer rooms. Depending which room you are in, there may be a laser printer/scanner etc. At the start of the year, you get a number of printer credits, when/if these run out, it is possible to purchase more. SportsThe university has a wide range of sports teams competing in BUSA. It has a sports hall on campus, with a swimming pool. Access to the facilities is by payment of an annual optional membership fee. WelfareThe SU has a dedicated Welfare Officer with a committee who are responsible for welfare issues within the university. The Welfare Officer 2007-08 is Jenny Smith. They put on various events throughout the year, including a Patient's Forum with the university's doctors' surgery and Mental Health Awareness Week, amongst other things. HealthcareSituated behind Cripps Hall on University Park Campus is the Cripps Health Centre. It is set up primarily for use by the students and staff of the University and their families. There is also a dental practice, a Boots Pharmacy and an Occupational Health unit. At the beginning of every academic year, freshers are asked to register with the practice to ensure that they can receive the services of the centre. Appointments can be made over the phone or in person, or in the case of home visits, a nurse can visit the patient's home if required, although this is only in exceptional circumstances. Emergency appointments can always be made, but as the centre normally runs apppointments by booking, sometimes one might have to wait until there is some time between booked slots to be seen by a doctor. However, they do try to minimise the wait as much as possible. The centre deals with issues ranging from contraception and travel medicine to minor surgery and physiotherapy. The staff are always friendly and are more than willing to help anyone in need. Click here to go to the website for the Cripps Health Centre. ShopsThe Portland Building situated on University Campus has a Students' Union shop which sells a variety of things: food, alcohol, stationery, magazines, University merchandise; the opening hours range from 9am to 9pm. There is also Boots for your essentials and not forgetting the Meal Deal available! Jubilee Campus also has an SU shop, and situated just outside Jubilee Campus is a Co-Op. Nottingham City centre is renowned for its shopping and for good reason! There are two shopping centres: Broadmarsh and Victoria Centre. Between these two shopping centres, there are many many shops including Marks and Spencers, H&M, Topshop, HMV, Boots, Monsoon, Zara, fast-food restaurants, Debenhams, Gap, Tesco Metro. If the city centre sounds a bit too far, there is Beeston town centre which has a huge Sainsbury's and many other shops. You can either get the bus or it's a 15-20 minute walk from West Entrance. RestaurantsIf you're interested in going out for a meal, there are plenty of restaurants in Nottingham. Popular choices include Antibo's and Wagamamas - which has student discount luckily! Situated at Corner House is also Bella Italia, TGIs.. Pizza Express, Zizzis and plenty more. BanksThe University is home to two small branches of popular high street banks - NatWest and HSBC. Situated in the Portland Building in the centre of the University Park Campus, next to each other, these banks and their cashpoints, are frequently visited by the students of the University and their staff. Other banks like Barclays can be found in Beeston's city centre which is just a 15 to 20 minute walk from the centre of University Park Campus or alternatively, a trip can be made to the Nottingham city centre where there is a branch representing every bank in the UK. TransportThe Broadmarsh Bus Station is right next to the train station. From here you can catch the Rainbow 4 (green) and Rainbow 5 (purple) buses which run 15 times an hour during the day between the City Centre and the Queen's Medical Centre roundabout. From here the rainbow 4 buses (6 an hour) serve Derby Road along the northern edge of the campus and rainbow 5 buses (9 an hour) serve University Boulevard along the southern edge. Transportation between campuses is provided free by the University's hopper bus system. There are regular buses going to the King's Meadow Campus, Sutton Bonnington and Jubilee Campus. As of the end of the academic year 2006/2007 that is, June 2007, there was also a hopper bus service to St. Peter's Court, however it is unclear whether this service still operates or not. Aside from the hopper bus, there are 3 paid bus services that pass through University Park. There is the NCT 34 and 50 service which run during term time only and go in a circle through the city centre and City Hospital respectively. The fees for these buses are the same: £1.40 for one adult trip and £2.70 for an all day bus pass. There is a £3 bus ticket called a Kangaroo ticket which enables the holder an all day pass for the different bus companies in Nottingham (The NCT and Rainbow services). Finally there is an independent bus that costs £1 which goes to St. Peter's Court and into the city centre and back through the University. There are various designated bus stops all around the campus as a result of which, students are never cut off from the outside world as they do not have to travel far to get a bus into town. For cheaper bus travel, it is possible to either buy tickets in advance and have a bus pass card (NCT) or buy tickets in bulk like with the Rainbow service. There is also a new tram service in Nottingham which goes from the city centre to various parts of Nottingham. Aside from the buses, there are a lot of taxi companies that are available to the students at any time of the day. Finally another method of transportation is the rail service. There is a train station in Beeston which is closest to the University Campus or there is the main train station in Nottingham which is in the city centre near Broadmarsh bus station and shopping centre. Careers serviceThe Centre for Careers Services, is located on Level C of the Portland Building. Here, jobseekers can go for advice on job searching, CV, application and interview tips amongst others. There is also a website run by the Careers office where students of the University, can search for jobs online and can obtain information they require without needing to go into the office in person. The website is updated regularly with job vacancies divided into different categories for easier searching. Part-time jobsThere are normally a variety of part-time and permanent jobs available to students in and around the University and the city of Nottingham. Although it has to be said that not many students are given permanent jobs because of the need for them to see their families during the holiday thus creating problems for the employer. It normally is advised that students try to keep their job working hours limited so as to not interfere with their university workloads. For international students, it is advised and legally enforced that they only work a maximum of 20 hours a week during term time, and can work more hours during holiday time. Note: This applied for most international students,although it is quite possible that a fixed number of hours will be stamped onto his/her passports. It is possible to get jobs on campus and off campus and how easy or difficult it is,is dependent on personal experience as there is no set pattern. Jobs available on campus included working in either the various shops (e.g. Blackwells Bookshop, SU shop etc), cafes or restaurants or in the halls. Flyering/Leafleting jobs, call centre jobs and retail jobs are more common with students off campus. The two Students' Union bars, 'Mooch' and 'The Venue' also employ approximately 70 students at any one time. To be successful in any job application, one must have an up-to-date CV, good references (preferably one from a previous employer) and the skills required for the job. To aid a job search, candidates can speak to advisors in the Careers office located in the Portland building, or they can join recruitment agencies,who will help look for a job on their behalf. Recruitment agencies can be located all round Nottingham, but most especially in the city centre. For a comprehensive list of available agencies,go here and more information on job seeking go here. To ensure that your application goes well or at least faster if called for an interview or offered a job, one is advised to have a form of ID on them i.e. passport or driving license, a P45, a CV and their bank details ready. If a P45 is not available, a P46 will be issued by the new employer. Getting a job is not an easy task and it is most likely that one will be disheartened during the process. This is normal and not the end of things. Just try harder and make sure your CV and/or cover letter stands out. Also make sure you apply early, know what sort of jobs you can and can't apply for and be ready for anything. Religious facilitiesThere is a chapel on the Lower Ground Floor of the Portland Building. Although a Christian and Catholic chapel, it is open to any faith and they are very good in pointing you out to any religious institutions better suited to your beliefs outside or on Campus. SocialBars, pubs and clubsNottingham has an awesome nightlife; something for everyone! As always, there are plenty of student nights with cheap drinks, cheap entry. It is possible to buy tickets in advance either online or from the SU. Clubs include Oceana, ISIS, Ocean, Halo, Gatecrasher, Faces, Kudos, Flares (for the hippy spirit in you!), Reflex. Alternative clubs include the legendary Rock City (which holds many many gigs!), the Pit and Pendulum pub, Rescue Rooms, Stealth and the Cookie Club. Bar lounge type places include Lizard Lounge, Templars, Skin, Tantra (for a lil bit of kink!) Geisha, Cucamara (shots for £1!), Vodka Revolution, Santa Fe, BZR (triples for singles!), the Pitcher and Piano (an old Church converted!). There are plenty of reasonably priced pubs in Nottingham, especially in Lenton (if you're a second year student living outside). EventsClubs and societiesUniversity Park CampusThe main campus of the University is ‘University Park’, (or UP). The other campuses of the University have been designed along a similar ‘theme’ to UP, keeping them as ‘garden campuses’ and featuring a lake. (The exception to this is Sutton Bonington, which predates UP, but is still a green campus, and does have a pond!) UP is about 330 acres and is one of the largest campus universities in the UK. There are 12 halls of residence on the campus. UP - Halls of Residence
Jubilee CampusJubilee Campus is where the Computer Science and Education departments are based, as well as the Nottingham University Business School. Jubilee opened in 1999 and is about one mile away from University Park. It was named ‘Jubilee’ as 1998 was the Golden Jubilee of the Royal Charter being granted to the University. The campus was designed with plenty of greenery and a lake, similar to UP. It was also designed with environmental considerations, such as grass roofs and solar panels. The library (Sir Harry & Lady Djanogly Learning Resource Centre) is in the middle of the lake (but don't worry, there is a bridge to it!).
School of BiologyLocated at the heart of University Park, the school of biology is not to be mistaken with the 'school of biosciences' (located at SB) or the 'school of biomedical sciences' (located at QMC). Within the School of biology it is split into various courses. These are: Zoology, Biology, Genetics, Human Genetics, Biochemistry and genetics (joint with the school of biomedical science) and Biochemistry and human genetics The School of Biology Website address: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/biology/ (this is a very good website with lots of information if you click "undergraduates" and you can look at different modules this university has to offer etc. Approximately they take in 82 students a year for biology, 25 for biochemistry and genetics, 12 genetics, 12 human genetics and 33 Zoology. Halls of Residence
Southwell and Newark Halls are catered, and all the halls at Jubilee are en-suite. There is a free hopper bus between Jubilee and UP, which runs every 10 minutes. Both Newark and Southwell halls have their own bar and Common Room. Residents here eat at the Atrium, a modern dining glass room with colourful chairs! As with other catered halls, students receive breakfast, lunch and dinner on their meal card. Despite being away from University Park campus, residents at Jubilee Campus have every opportunity to join in with the fun! Sutton Bonington CampusThe Sutton Bonington Campus (SB) is where the ‘School of Biosciences’ department is based. It is also where the new ‘School of Veterinary Medicine and Science’ opened in September 2006. SB is about 12 miles south of Nottingham, there is a shuttle bus which runs between UP and SB for students (the shuttle bus is approximately every hour on week days during term time, and takes about 25 minutes). Other transport to the campus is limited, the Rainbow 5 (trent barton bus), goes from Loughborough to Nottingham via Sutton Bonington, and whilst using this to get into Loughborough is fine, it takes about 1hour 30 to get to Nottingham as it goes through every little village on the way! The East Midlands Airport is close to the campus (with many of the flight paths being over the University). The nearest train stations are at Loughborough or Nottingham. SB has its own library (The James-Cameron Gifford library), teaching and research facilities and halls of residence. It also has a 400-acre farm (University Farm) and a dairy. SB has its own café and canteen, a student bar and JCR, a small branch of Natwest, Blackwell’s bookshop, and a Londis store. There has also been one cashpoint recently installed on the campus. SB has a small gym, sports hall, and an astro-turf pitch. The sports facilities at SB are being reorganised and extended summer 2007. The Sutton Bonington campus used to be the ‘Midlands Agricultural and Dairy College’ (and was based at Kingston-on-Soar), but merged with the University of Nottingham in 1947. The campus was built (but was not being used), and during the First World War, it was used as a prisoner of war camp. BiosciencesThe school of Biosciences is made up from 5 divisions, Plant Sciences, Food Sciences, Animal Physiology, Nutritional Sciences and Agriculture & Environmental Sciences. It has 65 staff member, 700 undergraduates, 120 taught postgraduates and 150 research postgraduates. Veterinary Science and MedicineThis opened in September 2006 and had its first intake of students. It is the first new veterinary school in the UK for 50 years, and had a lot of criticism from some of the veterinary schools and professionals. It is an innovative course, with some new approaches to the teaching of veterinary science. The course is not yet accredited from the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons), and will not be until the first year’s intake has completed the course (in 5 years times). SB has its own ‘branch’ of the Students' Union – the Sutton Bonington Student Guild. The SB guild runs its own clubs and societies, and there is also a student run JCR committee. OKA (the Old Kingstonian Association) is an association of old students, both from the original campus at Kingston-on-Soar and from the SB campus. OKA produces a publication annually (and has done since the 1920s) known as ‘Agrimag’, it also organises a reunion weekend on the third weekend in November every year for old students to return. SB – Halls of ResidenceThe SB halls of residence come under the name of ‘Bonington Hall’ which is the largest hall in the university. In reality though Bonington Hall is made up of a series of smaller halls.
Other ResidencesThere are several other residences which are owned by the University, but which are not based on UP (and are self-catered, unlike the halls on UP.) Albion HouseThis is in Beeston and houses 160 postgraduates. Cloister HouseThis is in Dunkirk and houses 70 postgraduates. Riverside PointThis is near to Jubilee Campus and probably the closest hall to Queen's Medical Centre. Like St. Peter's Court, it is a self catered fully en-suite hall run by Unite, with 486 rooms arranged in 2-6 bedroom apartments. Rent per week is slightly more expensive than SPC, as the building is newer and was only opened in September 2006. Residents also have to pay a £250 refundable deposit and a £250 non-refundable capped utilities charge. Internet, insurance and bills are included in the rent. There is no car parking available at this site. St. Peter’s CourtThis self catered residence run by Unite has about 800 students housed in flats of 3-7 people. All rooms are en-suite. There are two blocks to SPC, the newer of which was opened for September 2005. I stayed at SPC in the 2006/7 academic year. Rent was £79.95 per week but you also have to pay £250 refundable deposit and £250 non-refundable utilities charge, supposedly to protect you from rising energy prices. Internet, insurance and all energy bills are included in these prices. Around 50 car parking spaces are available with permits costing £280 for the year. SPC is located in Radford, which is a slightly rough area of Nottingham, but security around the site is good and the grounds are inaccessible to anyone without a key fob. The site is around a 5 minute walk from Raleigh Park and 15 minutes from Jubilee Campus. From there you can get a free bus to University Park or you can walk, taking a further 35 minutes. SPC also run a bus to the University Park which runs approximately every hour, costing £1 per journey. Unfortunately, this bus does not always run on time. It is the closest residence to the city centre with good bus links. A small retail park housing Aldi, bingo and Dunhelm Mill is a 5 minute walk away and there is a large Asda slightly further away in Hyson Green, or a Tesco Metro in the city centre. There is no bar at SPC but the newer block houses a communal lounge with a pool table and Sky TV. It is popular with returning students and foreign students and in my experience the lack of a proper social area and an inactive JCR after the first week made it difficult to meet people. For a fuller social life, I would advise applying to University halls or, for those who prefer self catered accommodation, Raleigh Park or Broadgate Park. Raleigh ParkThis is a 5 minute walk from Jubilee Campus. It is a self catering complex made up of five ‘courts’. Sillitoe, Roddice, Byron and Chatterley (which are flats) and Madison (which is flats and houses). Most undergraduate flats and houses have shared bathrooms, with en-suite flats usually being reserved for postgraduates. Raleigh Park is run by Derwent Living and is built on the former Raleigh bicycle factory site. It is situated close to Jubilee Campus and is in a good position to get to the city centre. Raleigh Park has its own bar and car parking is available on site. Broadgate ParkThis is made up of self catering flats and houses just outside University Park (UP), and houses about 2,400 students. It is located on the edge of Beeston and it is run by UPP and is about a 15 minute walk into the centre of University Park campus and a possible 45 minute walk into Nottingham's city centre. However, the city centre is easily reachable thanks to the 2 major bus routes that pass right by it's entrances. Broadgate Park is home to a vast majority of UoN students and their families, but it's rooms can also be rented out by non-students of the University and anyone who would like to live there.Broadgate park offers contracts of 44 and 51 week lengths and prices for rooms start at £64/week. Broadgate or BGP is made up of modern apartment blocks which are either standard rooms, en-suite rooms, normal en-suite studio rooms or large en-suite studio rooms. The rent includes utility bills (electricity, gas and water), high speed internet provided by the University and contents insurance of up to £3000 (more cover can be purchased if necessary and the basic cover does not include laptops, mobile phones, credit/debit cards, digital cameras etc. The basic cover is for damage and loss due to natural disasters like flooding, forced entry into the room etc etc). A damage deposit of £250 is also paid which is refundable at the end of the contract. The facilities include:
People who live in the standard rooms share bathroom and kitchen facilities with no more than 8 people in a flat. Large en-suite rooms share kitchen facilities with no more than 8 people in a flat and studio rooms come equipped with their en-suite facilities and kitchenettes. A kitchen comes with fridge and freezer, electric oven and plates for cooking, and large storage space. Every room comes with a notice board, shelves, wardrobe (with a mirror), chair, desk, bed (with storage underneath) and internet access point. Campus 14This is a well known ‘bar crawl’ at the University. It was officially banned by the uni in 2001, but the tradition still continues to some degree. It involves having a drink at each of the 12 hall bars on campus and an initial and end drink at ‘Mooch’ and 'the Venue', making it up to 14 bars. Recent variations include Raleigh Park, Broadgate Park, Jubilee or even SB into this list. Generally you are ‘meant’ to drink a pint in each bar, or a double spirit of your choice! Bars may refuse to serve anyone who they believe is attempting campus 14. King’s Meadow CampusThis is a newer addition to the University. They purchased the former Carlton TV studio site on Lenton Lane in March 2005. This now houses a lot of the administrative departments of the University along with the Department of Manuscipts and Special Collections. One of the former studios has been kept as it was and is hired out to Film and TV Companies to provide the University with an income stream. It is also hired out as a function venue for Balls and Dinner events such as the annual Athletic Union Ball International CampusesThere are two international campuses of the University of Nottingham. MalaysiaThe university also has a campus based in Malaysia, in Semenyih (which is near Kuala Lumpar). This campus was opened in 2000 and was the first purpose built UK campus in a foreign country. There are currently about 1,200 students there. The degree certificates issued from here are identical to the certificates issued from the UK campus – they cannot be told apart. ChinaThis is one of the more recent additions to the university and is based in Ningbo, China, in the Zhejiang province. This campus had its first admission of students in 2004 and was officially opened in 2005. TriviaNottingham uni has set some ‘strange’ records over its time, including: the radio station breaking the world record for the longest ever continuous radio broadcast – 42 hours; fitting the most people into a Ford Sierra (27!); the longest line of dancing drag queens (49) (haven’t got a clue why!) - set by Broadgate Park Karni reps and residents. Student unionExecutive 2007/08President: Gerald Bates EnvironmentArchitectureNottingham University campus has some beautiful buildings, most notably the Trent Building and the Portland Building, which overlook the lake. London architect Morley Horder created the Trent Building in the classical architectural style. The building is topped by a campanile (clock tower), is built of Portland stone and is protected as a grade II listed building. King George V and Queen Mary presided at the building's opening in 1928, and the building's Great Hall has hosted many distinguished visitors, including Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Queen Elizabeth II. The writer D. H. Lawrence described the building as looking like an 'iced cake'. An identical version of the building has been built at the University's Ningbo Campus. Local areaTeaching qualityApplying to NottinghamThinking of applying to Nottingham? Why not read some Personal Statements which were used for applying here? Other Nottingham ArticlesWhy not read these other Nottingham Articles? Applying is easy; obviously you go via UCAS and fill out your form on their site. Your school checks everything you put down, writes a reference and then check your grades before submitting it to UCAS. UCAS send your application off after about two weeks to Nottingham and then it’s down to the individual school you're applying to, to make a decision. I applied to Neuroscience at the School of Biomedical Sciences which is a sub division of the Medical school. They took their sweet time to reply but obviously the Medical school is occupied with applications for medicine. They replied in early January after I applied in October so it wasn't too bad. I think many people have the opinion that as Nottingham is such a top quality university, that very high grades or predictions at AS are needed for an offer and this isn't the case. BBB is needed for neuroscience and I got CCC at AS with predictions even lower than that so I thought applying here was a joke. They gave me an offer; no interview required just attendance to the open day [You would be silly not to go anyway]. Of course you have to meet your offer, although in some instances they may be willing to sway [You have high AS grades and good predictions...] if you screw up in the summer which does happen unfortunately. Top tip, dont worry too much about AS, but make sure you sort everything out by the summer exams. Get A's and B's and dont dont dont even consider retaking any exams after the summer in year 13. This is a major mistake and will pretty much prevent you from applying to any were near half decent university in the future. Links | 
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