University of Winchester

HISTORY

The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840.

Ranked 10th for teaching excellence in The Times and The Sunday Times 2016 Good University Guide and fourth for student satisfaction in England in the National Student Survey 2015, the university continues to further strengthen its position as a top provider of higher education.

The origins of the University of Winchester date back to 1840 when the Winchester Diocesan Training School was founded as a Church of England foundation for the training of elementary schoolmasters. The school was initially quite small, located in a house at 27 St Swithun Street, Winchester. In 1847 the school moved to Wolvesey, the Bishop’s Palace, where it became Winchester Training College.

King Alfred’s College trained thousands of teachers, at first men only, and then women too from 1960 onwards. Following changes in UK government policy towards further and higher education in the early 1970s, the College looked for partners to merge with and also sought to diversify its provision. Its educational partner, the University of Southampton, was lukewarm about offering other degrees, and the College sought approval for its own BEd and then BA degrees from the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA).

The new University Centre opened in 2007, which includes the Student Union and forms the focus of the campus, providing facilities for the whole university community. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awarded the University Centre the RIBA Award for the South region in 2008 in recognition of its high architectural standards.

In 2013 the new St Alphege building received at RIBA regional award. The new Learning and Teaching Building provided additional state of the art teaching spaces for lectures and group study and adjoins the existing 1970’s St Edburga Building with a glazed atrium link. The new buildings combine to form a new landscaped Piazza space fronting the Sparkford Road entrance.

COURSES

Winchester’s academic structure consists of four faculties, each home to teaching and learning in a wide-ranging variety of subject areas.

Faculty of Arts:

• American Studies
• Choreography and Dance
• Drama
• English & Creative Writing
• English Language Studies
• Media and Film School
• Musical Theatre
• Performing Arts
• Stage and Arts Management
• Street Arts (Now Outdoor Arts)

Faculty of Business, Law and Sport:

• Accounting and Finance
• Economics
• English Language Teaching and Support Unit
• Law Studies
• Sports Studies
• Winchester Business School

Faculty of Education, Health and Social Care:

• Education Studies
• Health and Community Studies
• Inter-Professional Studies
• Modern Liberal Arts
• Postgraduate Studies in Education
• Undergraduate Initial Teacher Training

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences:

• Archaeology
• Classical Studies
• Criminology
• Forensic Studies
• History
• Politics and Global Studies
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Theology, Religion and Philosophy

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Entry requirements vary depending on the programme of study. Full details can be found on the online prospectus or by downloading a copy of the undergraduate prospectus.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

Winchester has a leading reputation for teacher training and is strong in the fields of business, performing arts, psychology, archaeology, history, creative writing, modern liberal arts, and theology and religious studies. 

TEACHING STANDARDS

The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) institutional audit concluded ‘broad confidence’ (the highest level of confidence possible within an audit) in the quality of academic awards and student experience.

Ranked highly overall in student satisfaction but particularly in Social Work, Creative Writing, Education Studies, Childhood Studies, Business Management, Initial Teacher Education, Event Management, Archaeology, Choreography and Dance, History and Journalism.

Teacher training provision is recognised at the highest level, with the last Ofsted inspection rating Winchester as ‘Outstanding’.

In 2014, the University of Winchester received the British Quality Foundation’s (BQF) Excellence 600 certification for performing to an exceptionally high standard.

CAREERS GUIDANCE

Impartial and up-to-date information, advice and guidance about occupations, graduate employment, further study/training, volunteering, and other opportunities.

Individual guidance appointments* with professionally qualified careers advisers.

Email and telephone guidance for those unable to visit the Careers Service in person.

A programme of talks and workshops from external speakers on a wide range of topics.

The Higher Education Achievement Record (HEAR) gives students a single record of their academic and other achievements during their time at university to help maximise employability.