University of Manchester

HISTORY

The University of Manchester (UoM) is a public research university in Manchester, England, formed in 2004 by the merger of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and the Victoria University of Manchester. The University of Manchester is a red brick university, a product of the civic university movement of the late-19th century.

The main campus is south of Manchester city centre on Oxford Road. In 2015/16, the university had 39,700 students and 10,400 staff, making it the second largest university in the UK. The university had an income of £987.2 million in 2015–16, of which £273.5 million was from research grants and contracts. It has the third largest endowment of any university in England, after the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. It is a member of the worldwide Universities Research Association, the Russell Group of British research universities and the N8 Group.

In an employability ranking published by Emerging in 2015, where CEOs and chairmen were asked to select the top universities they recruited from, Manchester was placed 24th in the world and 5th nationally. The university owns and operates major cultural assets such as the Manchester Museum, Whitworth Art Gallery, John Rylands Library and Jodrell Bank Observatory and its Grade I listed Lovell Telescope. The University of Manchester has 25 Nobel laureates among its past and present students and staff, the fourth-highest number of any single university in the United Kingdom. Four Nobel laureates are currently among its staff – more than any other British university. The University of Manchester traces its roots to the formation of the Mechanics’ Institute (later to become UMIST) in 1824, and its heritage is linked to Manchester’s pride in being the world’s first industrial city.

In the 1873 the college moved to new premises on Oxford Road, Chorlton-on-Medlock and from 1880 it was a constituent college of the federal Victoria University. The university was established and granted a Royal Charter in 1880 becoming England’s first civic university; it was renamed the Victoria University of Manchester in 1903 and absorbed Owens College the following year.

By 1905, the institutions were large and active forces. The Municipal College of Technology, forerunner of UMIST, was the Victoria University of Manchester’s Faculty of Technology while continuing in parallel as a technical college offering advanced courses of study. Although UMIST achieved independent university status in 1955, the universities continued to work together. The Victoria University of Manchester and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology agreed to merge into a single institution in March 2003. The current University of Manchester was officially launched on 1 October 2004 when Queen Elizabeth handed over its Royal Charter. The university was named the Sunday Times University of the Year in 2006 after winning the inaugural Times Higher Education Supplement University of the Year prize in 2005.

COURSES

The University of Manchester was divided into four faculties, but from 1 August 2016 it was restructured into three faculties, each sub-divided into schools. On 25 June 2015 Manchester University announced the results of a review of the position of life sciences as a separate faculty. As a result of this review the Faculty of Life Sciences was to be dismantled, most of its personnel to be incorporated into a single medical/biological faculty, with a substantial minority being incorporated into a science and engineering faculty.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

The University of Manchester welcomes applications from students achieving excellence in a wide range of UK and international qualifications. The university does not use the UCAS tariff system, but makes offers based on A level grades or equivalent qualifications. Applications will be assessed against academic and non-academic selection criteria specific to the course of study for which an application has been made. Applicants are advised to check information on course-specific entry requirements that are published on their website. For many courses, these will exceed the general minimum institutional requirements, which are:

• Applicants for all courses must normally demonstrate a broad general education including acceptable levels of literacy and numeracy, equivalent to at least grade C GCSE in English Language and Mathematics.
• Applicants for taught postgraduate courses must normally possess or expect a relevant undergraduate degree at a minimum level of 2.2 (Lower Second class) Honours, or equivalent alternative qualifications or experience.
• Applicants for research degrees must normally possess or expect a relevant undergraduate degree at a minimum level of 2.1 (Upper second class) Honours, or equivalent alternative qualifications or experience.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

The University of Manchester’s vision is to be one of the leading universities in the world by 2020. The university had one of the broadest submissions to REF of any university in the UK, with research evaluated in 35 discipline areas. Their research beacons are advanced materials, cancer, addressing global inequalities, energy and industrial biotechnology. The researchers in these fields are at the forefront of the search for innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.

TEACHING STANDARDS

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has expressed confidence in the soundness of the university’s management of both the academic standards of its awards and the quality of the learning opportunities available to its students. The University of Manchester has three Nobel Laureates on its staff. Many programmes run by the University of Manchester (both undergraduate and postgraduate) are accredited by professional and regulatory or statutory bodies. The student can find out which programmes this applies to by reading their course profiles on their website.

CAREERS GUIDANCE

At Manchester they encourage their students to incorporate career development activities into their student life and degree from day one. The university is the most targeted institution by the UK’s top graduate employers (High Fliers Research 2016). The university’s Careers Service offers:

• Practical skills-development courses and workshops to boost capabilities and commercial awareness
• Support securing internships and placements
• Professional career guidance consultants providing tailored advice via face-to-face appointments, phone and email
• One-to-one career mentoring with experienced professionals from all sectors
• Regular career fairs, presentations and workshops where students can meet, learn from and network with potential employers
• News, information and events via their comprehensive careers website and social media channels.