University of Roehampton

HISTORY

The University of Roehampton, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, south-west London. The University has a strategic partnership with Laureate International Universities, a for-profit enterprise, for University of Roehampton online.

The university has its roots in the traditions of its four constituent colleges, all of which were founded in the 19th century as teacher training colleges:

• Whitelands College– Founded in 1841, the college is one of the five oldest institutions for training educators in England. A flagship women’s college of the Church of England, it was the first college of higher education in the UK to admit women. It occupies a 14-acre site overlooking Richmond Park.
• Southlands College– Founded in 1872, the college derives it ethos from its Methodist  It offers an open and valuable community for all of its members, and regularly organises a range of events and activities to help build and support the community.
• Digby Stuart College– Established in 1874 as a teacher training college for Roman Catholic  The college owes its existence to the Society of the Sacred Heart, whose members continue to support the college and the university.
• Froebel College– Founded in 1892, the college was established to further the values of Friedrich Fröbel, the German educationalist who pioneered a holistic view of child development. It is one of the UK’s major centres for initial teacher training.

All four colleges were founded to address the need to educate poor and disadvantaged children. In 1975, the four colleges joined to form the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education.

Roehampton was formerly an equal partner in the now-dissolved Federal University of Surrey (along with the original University of Surrey in Guildford). Since 1 August 2004, the University of Surrey Roehampton became Roehampton University.

Since 2011, the university has been branded University of Roehampton. However, its legal name remains Roehampton University. In 2012 the last college, Whitelands, was legally merged with the university, bringing all the colleges into a common management structure. Schiller International University degrees are awarded and accredited by Roehampton.

COURSES

• Department of Dance
• Department of Drama, Theatre and Performance
• School of Education
• Department of English and Creative Writing
• Department of Humanities
• Department of Life Sciences
• Department of Media, Culture and Language
• Department of Psychology
• Department of Social Sciences
• Roehampton University Business School
• Roehampton University Law School (opened in 2015)

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Full details of entry requirements can be found on their website.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

Today the university has a broad range of expertise across the arts and humanities, business, social sciences and the human and life sciences, at the same time as maintaining its historic strength in education.

94% of their research in Dance was rated ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, making it the best Dance department in the UK. They are the third best University in London for the quality of their research in Education, and the 4th best in London for English. Their teaching across their ten academic departments is excellent: in the 2014 National Student Survey, 87% of their students expressed satisfaction with their teaching.

TEACHING STANDARDS

Their academic teaching staff work are at the cutting edge of their subjects, which means their teaching is based on the very latest knowledge, and they have 10 National Teaching Fellows. Unlike many other universities, all of their students are taught by leading professors from their first year of study. Their size means that the students will get to know their lecturers and fellow students, giving them a more personal learning experience. The University of Roehampton achieved 86% for overall student satisfaction in the 2014 National Student Survey, with 87% of their students satisfied with their teaching. Their employment rates afterwards are testament to the quality of education they provide: the most recent DLHE survey of the employment of their graduates showed 91% in work or further study within six months of gaining their degrees.

CAREERS GUIDANCE

Career skills are central to every one of their academic courses, so no matter what they study, they will help give them the skills they will need for the job market.

They also offer a Career Mentoring Scheme, which will match them with a Roehampton graduate or friend of the university to help them to succeed.

They know it works, as the latest national figures show that 91% of their graduates are in employment or further study within six months of graduation – one of the best rates in London.