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Bath + Bath Spa

Im guessing these are not the same university correct?
Could someone give me a brief of whats the difference, where they are situated, how big they are, the range of subjects they offer...etc
thx :wink:

Reply 1

SpaceMagic

University of Bath is 'up the hill' in bath, whereas Bath Spa is a short distance out. Academically University of Bath is much higher in the league tables but only really offers the sciences/engineering/etc. Bath Spa provides a huge range of subjects like most unis and the people who go there, as far as i can tell, are not geeks like in my uni (Bath). hehe.

Bath Spa is riding the league tables however and is quickly gaining pace on many universities.

Reply 2

gooey

Bath although a new University is a traditional redbrick university and is in the Russel Group of the so called 'top 19' which includes Oxbridge,LSE,UCL, Bristol,Durham etc.Bath Spa is an old polytechnic therefore has not got that high a reputation as its not one of the 'traditional universities', although it is one of the better 'old polys' along with Oxford Brookes.So in a nutshell University of Bath is a proper Uni as its a traditional one, Bath Spa isnt

Reply 3

amie

14

Ouch! That's a bit harsh, both of the Bath universities are 'proper' universities! Also, the University of Bath isn't part of the Russell Group, (neither is Durham, just fyi), nor is it redbrick - it's a 'Plate Glass' university. And the Russell Group isn't the 'Top 19', it's a self-selected group of research intensive universities that share a common interest.

So yeah, get your facts right :p:

Anyway, Bath Spa has a wider range of subjects than Bath Uni which mainly focusses on sciences (including the social sciences like politics and economics) and management. Bath University is generally found at the higher end of the league tables whereas Spa is usually further down, though that's only as important as you make it yourself.

My suggestion would be, rather than just listening to our biased thoughts on here have a look at both universities websites and see what takes your fancy, what you like and don't like. Also, your chosen subject will be a huge factor: if you want to study English or Art or something, Bath University don't offer it so it'd have to be Bath Spa (or somewhere not in Bath, obv!). Here are the websites:

http://www.bath.ac.uk
http://www.bathspa.ac.uk

Hope that helped! :smile:

Reply 4

gooey

Damn I apologise, I was told Bath and Durham were in it.I know its about research etc but they can be seen as the 'top 19' obviously this isnt the case but you know they are all excellent Unis.Yer I know the building are redbrick i just got used to the phrase of redbrick Unis being traditional Old Universities i.e not the old polys.And I understand that old polys are know 'Universities' but it still has that stigma attached to it being an old poly

Reply 5

-me-

OP

gooey

Damn I apologise, I was told Bath and Durham were in it.I know its about research etc but they can be seen as the 'top 19' obviously this isnt the case but you know they are all excellent Unis.Yer I know the building are redbrick i just got used to the phrase of redbrick Unis being traditional Old Universities i.e not the old polys.And I understand that old polys are know 'Universities' but it still has that stigma attached to it being an old poly

ok, i wasnt going to ask, but now i am.... what do you mean by "old poly"? Im useless see :p:

Reply 6

IzzTheGreat

10

-me-

ok, i wasnt going to ask, but now i am.... what do you mean by "old poly"? Im useless see :p:

Hmm. It's pretty hard to define, but traditionally I think the polytechnics were colleges that did vocational courses, eg bricklaying, carpentry, etc. But then I think political correctness kicked in and every higher education establishment had to be called an university.
That's pretty much a generalisation. But calling somewhere an old poly implies that the same town has a more traditional univeristy offering subjects like sciences and languages

Reply 7

Rosemarie

erm polytechnics are the old technical training places aren't they?? then about 1970 the government decided to increase the number of uni placements by 2 1/2 times the size (most of the old red bricks would only take 5 000 students at the time) so they up graded the technical colleges to polytechnics, which have now become universities. there is a stigma with the poly's because they tend to have less research funding and tend to not attract the best lecturers. *This isn't my own thoughts, this is what I heard in the background on Radio 4 whilst i was packing yesterday* - moving house and going to uni at the same time - madness!!

Bath + Bath Spa

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