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TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > UWE

The University of the West of England is a Bristol based university and former polytechnic. It has been a university since 1992, although as an academic institution it's origins date back to 1970 when it became Bristol Polytechnic. The main campus at Frenchay and is a few miles from the City Centre. In Bristol, there are also campuses at Glenside, St Matthias (St Matts) and Bower Ashton. There is also a campus at Hartpury.

Facilities

Libraries

There are libraries at all campuses. The main library is at Frenchay Campus, and is called the Bolland Library. It covers 4 floors, and has silent, quiet and group study floors. This library has 24/7 access during term time, and shorter opening hours over bank holidays. There is swipe card access, and all borrowing and returning of books is electronic using swipe card.

IT and Computing

Sports

UWE Centre for Sport is a state of the art sports and leisure facility based on the main Frenchay Campus of the University of the West of England, Bristol.

It is the hub of the majority of sports activities at UWE and open to all UWE staff, students and the wider community.

"Enhancing health, encouraging participation and raising performance in sport"

The Centre for Sport offers a range of services and facilities including: Two fully equipped fitness suites, indoor climbing wall, aerobics studio, Olympic standard sports hall and the best waterbased astroturf pitch in the region.

The services we offer include: physio-massage, children’s birthday parties and 'Hotshots' sports camps for children aged 8-13. We also have a range of gym based fitness programmes and personal training.

Welfare

Student Services at UWE provides a good service to students. There are Student Advisers for every Faculty, and they are available to see everyday. There is a Healthcare Centre on Frenchay Campus. UWE has recognized the need to provide a service for students with mental health issues, and offers a Wellbeing Service, which is well used at the University. The Wellbeing Centre has practitioners and mentors available to help you through your studies. They are very switched on to student needs and demands.

Healthcare

Shops

There are two general shops at UWE Frenchay Campus, one located underneath Red Bar (SU Shop), the second is at the sports centre. The SU shop sells University branded merchandise, tinned food, frozen food, alcohol, sweets and chocolate, gifts, newspapers, cards, stationery, alcohol, medicines etc. There is also a Blackwells bookshop and a Natwest bank, also under Red Bar. There are also many cafes, with one main cafe available in each block. Phaz in the K Block does the best coffee! There is also a regular Farmer's Market on the first Wednesday of the month, and a fresh fruit and veg stall set up most days at Frenchay Campus.

For people living on Frenchay Campus, the nearest supermarket is Sainsbury's, and takes about 10-15 minute walk from the Halls. You will notice a large number of trolleys from Sainsbury's around the Student Village...

The City Centre is about a half an hour bus ride away from campus by the U1, U2 or U3 (in good traffic). The most popular bus into the City Centre is the U4, as it goes directly to the City Centre on the M32, taking onlly 15 minutes.

Fishponds (the location of St Matthias and Glenside campus) offers a good range of local shops and cafes, and can be reached by the U3.

Gloucester Road is another popular student area, with lots of independent shops and eateries, and can be reached by the U1 and U2.

Restaurants

The main restaurant at Frenchay campus is OneZone, which operates a cafeteria style breakfast and lunch service. There are a series of hatches offering a wide variety of home-cooked food, from roast joints to English classics to fresh stir-fry cooked in front of your eyes. It also has a salad cart. Red Bar, and the SU bar also offer meals.

Banks

There is a Natwest bank on Campus. Fishponds has branches of Natwest, Lloyds TSB, Barclays and HSBC.

Transport

From a current third year students point of view, the transport at the university is on the up! They now have the U-Link bus system, which is free if you live on campus in your first year! And only a £3 return from uni to the town centre, where on First Buses a student day-rider (CHEAPER THAN A STANDARD RETURN) is now £3.40! U-link bus passes can also be purchased from the students union if you do not live on campus in the first year. They are a hell of a lot cheaper that the first annual bus pass.

Plenty of taxis are around the university in the evening, however you would suggest booking a taxi in advance, as that way it works out cheaper. B&D taxis do a £12 taxi into town in the evening for up to 7 people. Make sure you say you are students, B&D taxis usually advertise at freshers fair, so pick up some info!

Watch out for illegal taxis in Bristol, they prey on students, they charge you cheaper prices, but they have no insurance to carry you as passengers, so if their is a crash, you are a bit screwed! Also if you lose any items such as wallets or phones in illegal taxis (unlicensed) they no chance you will ever get them back. Believe me it happens a lot.

Careers service

The Employability and Enterprise Zone

Opening Hours

Term time: 08:30 to 17:00 (Monday - Thursday), 08:30-16:30 (Friday). Vacation: 09:00 to 16:30 (Monday - Thursday), 09:00 - 16:00 (Friday).

About E-Zone

• A large and welcoming open access resource area

• Dedicated information team to help answer your questions and enable you to find the right information or resources.

• Computers to access web based careers resources.

• Specialist books, leaflets and directories for reference and take away.

• A range of events take place during the year in E-Zone and other locations across UWE.

E-Zone services

• CV checks: Get early feedback on the layout and content of your draft CV from our Careers Information team who will point out any obvious areas for improvement and refer you to a Careers Consultant for more in depth advice if needed.

• Graduate Jobs Link: Our Recruiter Partnership team will help you find specific job or work experience opportunities.

• UWE Volunteering: Drop in and speak to our volunteering team.

• Appointments with a Careers Consultant (see below for details)

Part-time jobs

UWE has an excellent job shop both online and on campus which emails weekly with jobs at the university, in Bristol and other surroundings areas. They can also advertise holiday jobs so they look after you all year round. I found my last part-time job from this and it was actually with the University which is the most convenient and very well paid. The job I had was a Student Ambassador and absolutely brilliant as it paid £7.87 per hour and you had a calendar of events which you then signed upto so you could do as little or as much as you wanted to. The events usually lasted between 9am and 3pm and you were paid for travel time if it was at a school/college but first you travel to UWE and then got transport to the location. Children/teens would usually be the audience and the goal was to show the different routes into higher education and to promote this in general, not the university. We gave campus tours, presentations, had to know about the system so if you are in it for the money and not to make a difference then it isnt the job for you.

But my point is that they have jobs that are flexible around study and recognise the need for jobs as important with a very competant service that has many jobs in various forms so almost anyone can find some employment.

Religous facilities

multifaith chapel

Social

Bars, Pubs and Clubs

There are bars, pubs and clubs all over the place in Bristol and regardless of what scene you're into there will be something to cater for your needs. Each Club usually has its own Student Night which means whatever night you want to go out there will be at least a couple of clubs packed full of students with cheap drinks. Unlike most cities Bristol also has a Drum n Bass scene which is a bit like Marmite you either love it or you think its decidedly naff. My personal favourite event of the week is Propaganda @ Syndictate which is Alt/Indie and it is a quality event.

Ramshackle, Friday nights at the Carling Academy, Bristol - what a Friday night! If you are into indie music such as The Kooks, Go!Team, Maximo Park, We Are Scientists and The Subways, you are in for a real treat. There are two floors and a huge network of stairs and balconies for those who don't like to dance. The bar is very long and service is good as long as you don't mind waiting, as the club gets very busy. Drinks cost around £2.20 for a pint of Carling, £3.50 for a famous Yo Yo, which is basically a pint glass filled with blue WKD, a shot of vodka and topped up with Coke (rather sweet and stains if you drop it but good value for money if you think about it). The atmosphere is just brilliant, you will have the classics playing and every single person in the club shouting the words as loud as possible, it is a great feeling! However, it's suggested to go in a group of 4+, a) so the taxi back to Frechay/Glenside (which will work out about £10 to £12) or St Matts isn't too expensive and b) because the club is a big place so if you get separated it can be difficult to find the stragglers. Phone reception is also usually rubbish in there, so be careful. Entry is £4 before 11.30pm (£3 with NUS) and £5 after that (£4 with NUS) and the club is open between 10 and 2. It is situated on Frogmore Street in the city centre, a short walk from the Hogs Head and the bus station.

Don't forget, if you just want a quiet night at the university all campuses have their own bar, a great place to begin the night before going off clubbing. Not to mention the theme nights at the club on Frenchay campus, brilliant if you are in halls there so you can just fall into bed after. On Friday nights, its Crunchie at the Red Bar, which offers great drinks prices, and saves the taxi charge for people who live on Campus.

Events

There are many events organised throughout the year by the students union from feel good fridays to the gradutes ball. The year always begins with the freshers fairs and a huge freshers party a great way to start the new year, always bigger and better every year. Then there is a ball later in the year a little more pricy than the freshers event but you get what you pay for. Each campus organises its own events and there is always something going on throughout the week, so just keep an eye out for the posters that periodically go up. One event not to be missed....drink the bar dry

Clubs and societies

There is a thriving and ever growing list of activities and societies from singing in the centre for performing arts to snowboarding, and if you have enough support for a new society you can start your own. Each group has its own social nights and commitments so for better and more detailed insight into what is available visit the student unions website.

UWE Discussions

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Accommodation

Accomodation is quite good depending on where you are located. The more you pay, the better quality you get, simple as it goes. On Frenchay campus is generally seen to be the best place to stay with well over 1000 students living there and lively bars on the campus you are able to fill up your time. Glenside campus and The Hollies, leave much more to be desired. They are quite old fashoned and not very well maintained most of the time. A lot more restrictions are also implemented, such as no bbq's, no ball games etc.

If you are a student at Bower Ashton campus there is no accomadation there and you will have to move to the nearby Bedminster.I live on the other side of town and find it takes me up to an hour to get in plus there is about 50 car spaces which is awful.

Accommodation policy

Facilities

Residences

Private sector

Student union

The 2 student bar is always full however the student night club on site does quickly empty after freshers week with the exception of crunchie on a Friday night! Although there are awesome student nights every night of the week in the centre and you will usually find that someone will come round offering you the chance to get on the guest list or VIP of clubs such as Oceana, Carling Academy and Warehouse.

Prices

Environment

Bower Ashton (Art and Design)is very small and can feel quite clicky at times including the staff and tutors who at times tend to favor the "cool" students.

Architecture

Local area

Teaching quality

I can only speak for fashion and art. But found the tutors often defensive and irritable. They help some but not others depending on their mood that day. And often make you feel like they are doing you a favour speaking to you at all. If you are over confident you will be fine here, but if you are looking for support in your studies you will likely have a rough ride here as I'm having. And I'm a polite patient person.

A top five university Bristol UWE has been ranked fifth in England out of 83 Higher Education institutions in the latest Teaching Quality Assessment league table published in the Times Higher Educational Supplement.

Existing institutional scores have been adjusted by removing the link with research that previously skewed the league tables. This has allowed new universities to be clearly recognised for the quality of their teaching. In the latest table, compiled by a team of academics led by Robert Raeside, Director of Research at Napier University, UWE was one of the universities placed at the top alongside Oxford and Leeds.

Teaching Quality Assessments Bristol UWE has an excellent and well-deserved reputation for quality teaching reinforced by its teaching assessment record.

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in its programme of subject review assessed the quality of the teaching in universities and higher education colleges. Six aspects of teaching and learning were assessed on a four-point scale, giving a potential maximum score of 24. Bristol UWE scored very highly in these assessments particularly in the following subjects:

Art, Media and Design (22/24) Biological and Biomedical Sciences (24/24) Building and Quantity Surveying (21/24) Business and Management (23/24) Cultural and Media Studies (22/24) Economics (23/24) Education (24/24) Electronic Engineering (21/24) English (Excellent) French, German, Spanish and Linguistics (21/24) Land and Property Management (22/24) Law (Excellent) Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research (21/24) Nursing and Midwifery (22/24) Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Radiography (21/24) Politics (21/24) Psychology (22/24) Sociology (23/24) Town and Country Planning and Housing (23/24) In 1996, in 1999 and again in 2000, the University’s Legal Practice Course was awarded the highest assessment of ‘excellent’ by the Legal Practice Course Board.

Training the teachers During their first year, all new teaching staff take a Professional Development Certificate in Higher Education. More experienced academics are also encouraged to take part in the Professional Development Programme. UWE was one of the first universities in the country to offer this kind of systematic staff development.

Research Assessment Exercise In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise conducted by the Higher Education Foundation Council for England with other UK higher education funding bodies, the quality of research was assessed in the following subjects.

The rating scale ranges from 5* (best) to 5, 4, 3a, 3b, 2 and 1.

Accounting and Finance 5 Art and Design 4 Cultural and Media Studies 4 English 4 History 4 Law 4 Politics and International Studies 4 Applied Mathematics 3a Business and Management Studies 3a Computer Science 3a Education 3a European Studies 3a Professions Allied to Medicine 3a Sociology 3a Town and Country Planning 3a General Engineering 3b Library and Information Management 3b Nursing 3b Environmental Sciences (Plant Science) 2(3a) Geography 2

PERSONAL VIEW: I have finished two years, each with 6 modules and usually two different members of staff to each of these. I think the main thing about UWE is they ensure that you understand, first you have the lecture, then you have the tutorial/seminar where there can be as few as a handful of students to roughly thirty but usually in the teens.

You are supposed to do some reading or a set of questions before the tutorial/seminar but if you havent then they almost never will kick you out- only had one person with this policy and that was the lecturer of my core module so its reasonable that if youre not studying for the subject that your degree is in then youre supposed to be punished.

Additionally UWE has lecturers/teachers that are more than happy to have you meet at their office for help if you dont understand. There is also this wonderful set of helpful study skills guides on their general website and even more they have Blackboard which has a copy of all lecture slides, handbooks and activities/solutions.

Something that is important for learning is that the staff at this university are enthusiastic and some of the methods for teaching can really help you to learn the material. I had one class that actually worked out how we learnt- listening, seeing etc.

Applying to UWE

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

How to apply for entry 1 UCAS applications For entry to all years of full-time and sandwich first degrees (including foundation years), Foundation Degrees and Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) programmes you must apply online through [1].

Art, Media and Design applications can be made through UCAS Route A or Route B.

The institution code for UWE Bristol is BUWE B80. Our course codes can be found in the course descriptions. Please note, the course codes for courses at Hartpury College and our associated colleges include a campus code.

PLEASE NOTE: We will consider applications received after the UCAS deadline of the 15th January for any programme which still has vacancies.

2 University applications Applications for all part-time undergraduate programmes are made direct to the University. Application forms are available from Admissions and International Recruitment.

Programmes subject to approval If the course you are interested in is marked *subject to approval or *subject to validation, it means that it is still in the process of being approved by the University. If you are interested in one of these courses, you should apply in the usual way, and the University will keep you informed of the latest developments.

A year out - the gap year We welcome applications for most programmes from applicants who wish to take a gap year. If you decide after you have applied that you wish to defer, please contact Admissions and International Recruitment. Most Faculties are willing to hold open for one year any offer of a place which has been accepted.

What happens to your application? First, UCAS or the University will acknowledge receipt of your application within seven days. UCAS send on your details to the University, and UWE then carefully considers your application. We will normally be able to notify you (and UCAS) of our decision within 14 days, unless we require you to attend an interview, or we need further information.

You will have an opportunity through our programme of Open Days to visit UWE and meet staff and students.

Admissions and International Recruitment Admissions and International Recruitment deals with enquiries and applications for all full-time undergraduate programmes. Contact us by

telephone: +44 (0)117 32 83333 fax: +44 (0)117 32 82810 e-mail : admissions@uwe.ac.uk letter: Admissions and International Recruitment, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK

Other UWE Articles

Why not read these other University of the West of England Articles?

• Personal Statements

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• University of the West of England Homepage
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