Bath Spa University

HISTORY

Bath Spa University is a public university based on numerous campuses near Bath, England. The institution was previously known as Bath College of Higher Education, and later Bath Spa University College. It gained full university status in August 2005. It is the UK’s sixth biggest provider of Teacher Education.

The university has been consistently ranked as one of the best creative universities in the UK by Which? every year since 2012, and consistently places among the UK’s top 80 universities.

The institution can trace its roots back to the foundation of the Bath School of Art in 1852, following the impact of The Great Exhibition of 1851.

In 1946 Bath Teacher Training College was opened on the Newton Park campus, as part of the post-war initiatives to fill wartime teaching shortages by a one-year course for ex-service people. The present institution was formed in 1975 as Bath College of Higher Education by the merger of Bath Teacher Training College and Bath College of Domestic Science. In 1983 Bath Academy of Art also merged into the college.

In 1992, the college was granted degree-awarding powers and in 1997 adopted the name Bath Spa University College. In March 2005 the institution was granted university status, becoming Bath Spa University in August 2005.

COURSES

The University has six schools of study

• The Bath School of Art and Design
• The Institute for Education
• The School of Humanities and Cultural Industries
• The School of Music and the Performing Arts
• The School of Society, Enterprise and Environment
• The School of Research and Graduate Affairs

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Check the complete list of entry requirements on their website.

Bath Spa has around 30% mature students.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

A strong focus on creativity, culture and enterprise.

Academic units which make up Bath Spa University: College of Liberal Arts, Bath School of Art and Design, and the Institute for Education.

Outstanding Ofsted rating for the Institute for Education’s primary and secondary teacher education courses.

Ranked a top ten creative university by Which? University.

The university ensures its graduates are socially engaged global citizens.

Employability opportunities and skills embedded into the curriculum.

Award winning students and graduates including:

• Two Gold awards at Graduate Fashion Week.
• Nathan Filer, winner of the Costa Book of the Year award 2013.
• Stephanie Kitchen, winner of 2013 Fashion Awareness Direct (FAD) and Textiles Institute Exhibition.

TEACHING STANDARDS

90% score for teaching quality in the National Student Survey (NSS) 2015.

Consistently high student satisfaction scores in NSS – 90% in 2015.

Outstanding reputation for teacher training – their primary and secondary teacher education programmes were rated Grade 1 by Ofsted in 2015.

22/24 was the average score for teaching excellence under the QAA scheme.

Bath Spa was designated a National Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in the creative and cultural sector.

Low drop-out rate of under 6%.

CAREERS GUIDANCE

Bath Spa’s Careers and Enterprise team offer one-to-one sessions, small group workshops, mock interviews, psychometric assessments, presentations and e-guidance options available to give students the right kind of support, how they want it and when they want it.

A range of industry events held on campus from, local, regional and national employers and business experts are offer great networking opportunities.

Also available are innovative programmes which develop entrepreneurial skills and provide essential commercial know-how to establish a successful self-employed career or business start-up.