City University, London

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51.527264° N 0.10247° W

City University London
Motto: To serve mankind
Established: 1894 as Northampton Institute
Type: Public
Chancellor: The Lord Mayor of the City of London ex officio
Vice-Chancellor: Professor Malcolm Gillies[1]
Students: 23,835[2]
Undergraduates: 14,655[2]
Postgraduates: 9,180[2]
Location: London, United Kingdom
Website: www.city.ac.uk

City University London (CUL) is a British university based in Northampton Square, Islington, London. The university has a research experience of over 100 years and has often been highly ranked for its graduate employability and graduate salaries. [3]

Contents

[edit] History

City University traces its origin to the Northampton Institute, established in 1894, and named after the Marquess of Northampton, who donated the land on which the Institute was built, between Northampton Square and St John Street in Islington.[4]

The Institute was designated a "College of Advanced Technology" in 1957, and received its Royal Charter in 1966, becoming The City University.[4] Since then it has moved significantly up the educational rankings achieving in many disciplines awards of international excellence.

[edit] City University London today

The University offers traditional Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees as well as certificates and diplomas at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

The University's mission, as outlined in its Strategy, is to "provide rigorous research and education for the world of work".[5]

The Northampton Square in front of the main building
The Northampton Square in front of the main building

The current Vice-Chancellor is Professor Malcolm Gillies.[1] The Chancellor of the University is the Lord Mayor of the City of London ex officio. For a number of years, students have taken part in the annual Lord Mayor's Show, representing the University in one of the country's largest and liveliest parades.

Birth place of City Technology plc (a LSE listed spin-out of City University, London), the world's leading manufacturer of fuel-cell gas sensors used in worker safety, automotive, medical and emissions monitoring applications. Part of Honeywell (USA) since March 2006.

[edit] Teaching and research ratings

City University gained 22nd place overall out of 122 Higher Education Institutions in the UK in The Guardian University Rankings 2006, a drop of 2 places on the 2005 standings. City was ranked fourth in the UK for its employment record by The Times Good University Guide in 2005.[6]

In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, the Higher Education Funding Council for England rated 13 of City's research areas as being of "international" or "national excellence". These areas are applied mathematics, arts policy, business, computer science, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, information science, law, music, nursing, optometry, psychology and sociology.[7]

[edit] Students and courses

There is a wide range of taught courses offered; some are quite specialised, designed to help students prepare for professional careers. More than two thirds of City's programmes are recognised by the appropriate professional bodies such as the BCS, BPS, CILIP, Institute of Electrical Engineers etc. in recognition of the high standards of relevance to the professions. The University also has a specialist Online Careers Network where over 4,000 former students offer practical help to current students.

The City Law School offers courses for undergraduates, postgraduates and professional courses leading to qualification as a solicitor or barrister, as well as continuing professional development. Its Legal Practice Course is the only one in London to be rated 'Excellent' by the Law Society.

City is home to one of the world's leading centres for the education of journalists, its Department of Journalism. The department has been teaching journalism since 1976 and has nearly 4,000 alumni in over 80 countries. It has the UK's first chair in reporting, the Anthony Sampson professorship. It now runs MA courses in Creative Writing and Publishing.

The School of Informatics at City is at the forefront of international excellence and leadership in education and research for the information and computing professions, offering undergraduate programmes such as Computer Science with Games Technology or Artificial Intelligence. Within the School is the Department of Information Science, which is established internationally as a pioneer and leader in the field of information science education, offering postgraduate courses in Information Science, Library and Information Studies, Information Management in the Cultural Sector, and Information Systems and Technology. Since the introduction of a course on "Collecting and Communicating Scientific Knowledge" in 1961, City University has been at the forefront of Information Science education and research. The department's interests encompass the theory and practice of information management, processing and retrieval, information-related legal and policy issues, and geographic information handling.

City University London also owns the St Bartholomew School of Nursing & Midwifery situated in West smithfield and Whitechapel. Student's mainly train in Barts and the london as well as other clinical areas.

[edit] Partnerships and collaborations

[edit] Simfonec

Simfonec was launched in March 2003 by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Simfonec was created through four of London's leading universities (Royal Veterinary College, King's College London, Queen Mary, University of London and City University) as a collaborative Science Enterprise Centre (SEC) for the exploitation and transfer of knowledge, ideas and resources among three key sectors - academic, financial and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Simfonec encourages the development of an entrepreneurial outlook amongst researchers in science and technology and orchestrates the delivery of science ideas to the commercial marketplace.

[edit] Willis Research Network

In September 2006, City joined the Willis Research Network (WRN), a major, long-term partnership between leading international scientific institutions (including the universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Durham and Imperial College London) and the global insurance broker, Willis Group Holdings. The purpose of the network is to evaluate the frequency, severity and impact of catastrophes such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and terrorism.

[edit] CETL

City University and Queen Mary, University of London were awarded Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) status by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in recognition of their work in skills training for 3,000 students across six healthcare professions.

[edit] Hanover Research Council

City University London becomes the first UK member of the Hanover Research Council (HRC) - a Washington DC based research firm serving more than 17 Industries and over 100 American higher education institutions.

[edit] City of London

The University has excellent links with businesses in the City of London.[8] City University has also joined forces with other universities such as Queen Mary and the Institute of Education (both part of the University of London) with which it jointly delivers several leading degree programmes.

[edit] Schools and academic departments

[edit] Campus

The main City University building in Northampton Square.
The main City University building in Northampton Square.

The University has sites throughout London, with the main campus located at Northampton Square. Other academic sites are:

Apart from academic activities, the University's supporting departments are also contributing to the development of the institution's reputation as a provider of excellent courses and facilities. As such, the Property and Facilities department embarked on a major overhaul of university buildings across all sites:

The Grade II listed College Building.
The Grade II listed College Building.

[edit] 2000–2002

  • Following a donation from the Sir John Cass's Foundation, a multi-million pound building, Bunhill Row, was built for the Cass Business School.
  • A new Research Centre for Energy and the Environment was completed in 2001/02. One of the very few of its type worldwide, the Centre boasts some of the most advanced engine research facilities in Europe.
  • Construction of the Fight for Sight Optometry Clinic - a new £5m facility dedicated to optometry teaching, clinical practice and research.

[edit] 2004–2006

  • A £23m landmark building to house the School of Social Sciences and the Department of Language and Communication Science opened in 2004. The building uses the latest construction ideas for low-energy design and includes computing and experimental laboratories.
  • Accommodation at One Canada Square was acquired in 2006 for Cass Business School's Executive Education programme.
  • The reconstruction and redevelopment of the University's Grade II listed College Building (following a fire in 2001) was completed in July 2006. It houses a new high-tech Human Computer Interaction Design lab, supported by The Vodafone UK Foundation.
  • In 2006, the Department of Radiography gained a brand-new purpose-built clinical skills suite. The suite is equipped with some of the most up-to-date imaging and radiotherapy equipment available; the Department claims this to be the best-equipped radiography clinical skills suite in England

[edit] 2007–2008

  • City's School of Arts is going to receive £10m building refurbishment: In June 2007, work began on creating state-of-the-art accommodation and facilities for the School of Arts in College Building. The project will run until autumn 2008, and will see the complete redevelopment of parts of Old College Building.
  • A brand new Students' Union venue is set to open in October 2008. It will provide a hub to socialise in during the day between lectures and host a wide range of evening entertainment including club nights, society events and quiz nights. In September 2007 many classrooms were installed with cutting edge classroom technology including touch-screen control, video conferencing software and high-quality audio to increase the focus of student generated input.

[edit] Notable academics and alumni

[edit] Academics

[edit] Alumni

[edit] Arts, science and academia

[edit] Government, politics and society

[edit] Business and finance

[edit] Media and entertainment

[edit] References

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)
  1. ^ a b Council officers. City University London. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  2. ^ a b c Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07 (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
  3. ^ Another top five ranking for City in The Times Good University Guide 2008. City University London. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
  4. ^ a b Our history - City University London. City University, London. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  5. ^ University Strategy. City University London. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  6. ^ City ranked 4th in the UK for employability. City University London (2005-05-24). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  7. ^ City's areas of international excellence. HERO (2001-12-14). Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
  8. ^ Links with businesses. QAA (2005-05-24). Retrieved on 2007-12-21.

[edit] External links