Newcastle University

Newcastle University is a research intensive university located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 and became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne by an Act of Parliament in August 1963. Newcastle University is a member of the Russell Group,^[3] an association of leading research-intensive UK universities. The University has one of the largest EU research portfolios in the UK.^[4] The post-nominals of graduates have N'cle attached to indicate the institution.^[5]

History

The University has its origins in the School of Medicine and Surgery which was established in Newcastle upon Tyne in October 1834, providing basic lectures and practical demonstrations to around 26 students. In June 1851, following a dispute amongst the teaching staff, the School was split into two rival institutions: the majority forming the Newcastle College of Medicine, with the others establishing themselves as the Newcastle upon Tyne College of Medicine and Practical Science. By 1852 the majority college was formally linked to the University of Durham and its teaching certificates were recognised by the University of London for graduation in medicine. The two colleges amalgamated in 1857 and renamed the University of Durham College of Medicine in 1870.

Attempts to realise a place for the teaching of sciences in the city were finally met with the foundation of the College of Physical Science in 1871. The college offered instruction in mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology to meet the growing needs of the mining industry, becoming the Durham College of Physical Science in 1883 and then renamed after William George Armstrong as Armstrong College in 1904. Both these separate and independent institutions later became part of the University of Durham, whose 1908 Act formally recognised that the University consisted of two Divisions, Durham and Newcastle, on two different sites. By 1908, the Newcastle Division was teaching a full range of subjects in the Faculties of Medicine, Arts, and Science, which also included agriculture and engineering.^[6]

Throughout the early 20th century, the medical and science colleges vastly outpaced the growth of their Durham counterparts and a Royal Commission in 1934 recommended the merger of the two colleges to form King's College, Durham.

Growth of the Newcastle Division of the federal Durham University led to tensions within the structure and in 1963 an Act of Parliament separated the two, creating the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

The University has also been actively involved with some of the region's museums for many years, the currently-being renovated Hancock Museum is one such example.

Today

King's Walk, giving access to the Union Building (left) and the arches of the Fine Art Building, leading into the Quadrangle.

The university occupies a campus site close to Haymarket in central Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located to the northwest of the city centre between the open spaces of Leazes Park and the Town Moor. The University has a core population of 19,700 students (2006-2007), including more than 2,000 overseas students from over 100 countries.^[2]

The current Chancellor is Chris Patten, former Chairman of the Conservative Party and European Commissioner for External Affairs (1999-2004). He is also Chancellor of the University of Oxford. In October 2008 Patten announced that he would step down as Chancellor of Newcastle in July 2009.^[7] The vice-chancellor is Chris Brink, a mathematician and lately vice-chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch.^[8]

The university enjoys a friendly sporting rivalry with local universities: the Stan Calvert Cup^[9] is contested by major sports teams from Newcastle and Northumbria University, and the Northumbrian Water University Boat Race takes place each year between the rowing clubs of Newcastle and Durham University.^[10]

Newcastle was the only UK university to formally back the Jubilee Debt Campaign for the cancellation of debt in poor countries, and it has a strong ongoing commitment to the Make Poverty History campaign. At a recent high-profile honorary degree ceremony in January 2007, the University awarded honorary degrees to Bob Geldof, Gordon Brown MP, and Benjamin Mkapa (former president of Tanzania) among others, at an event which promoted debate on current debt-relief issues.^[11]

In 2006, the University was granted Fair trade status, and from January 2007, it became a smoke-free campus. Plans for additions and improvements to the campus were made public in March 2008 and scheduled to be completed by 2010 at a cost of £200 million. They are to include a redevelopment of the south-east (Haymarket) facade with a five-storey Student and Administrative Services building and sculpture as well as new student accommodation. Two additional buildings for the school of medicine were also announced.^[12]

Faculties and Schools

Teaching schools within the University are based within three faculties. Each faculty is lead by a Provost/Pro-vice chancellor and a team of Deans with specific responsibilities.

Research Institutes

• Informatics Research Institute (IRI)
• Institute for Ageing and Health (IAH)
• Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences (ICAMB)
• Institute of Cellular Medicine (ICM)
• Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology (INSAT)
• Institute for Policy and Practice (IPP)
• Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability (IRES)
• Institute of Health and Society (IHS)
• Institute of Human Genetics (IHG)
• Institute of Neuroscience (IoN)
• Newcastle Institute for the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (NIASSH)
• Northern Institute for Cancer Research (NICR)
• North-east England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI)
• Sir Joseph Swan Institute for Energy Research (SWAN)

Reputation and rankings

Quadrangle

The university won the Sunday Times University of the Year award in 2000 and is ranked 9th best in the UK by the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities in 2007.^[13] The majority of undergraduate subjects were also ranked in the top 10 or top 20 in the Times Good University Guide 2008 and all of its subjects are awarded at least 20 points out of 24 by the Quality Assurance Agency.^[14] The University is also ranked highly for its research, and in the publication Research Fortnight Newcastle University was named as fifth best in the UK for its research carried out across departments in 2007.^[15] It was also been named the second friendliest university by the Friends Reunited website in 2006.^[16] The University Library is the only one in the UK to have been awarded the government's Charter Mark for excellent customer services five times in a row.^[17] The University has one of the best track records for graduate employment in the country, and the Careers Service has won seven prestigious national careers awards in recent years by the Institute of Career Guidance.^[18]

Newcastle University also has the second largest cavitation tunnel in the UK. Founded in 1950, and based in the Marine Science and Technology Department, the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel is used as a test basin for propellers, water turbines, underwater coatings and interaction of propellers with ice.^[19]

In 2008 a survey conducted by AccomodationForStudents.com ranked Newcastle as the number one student city in the UK, with a score of 63% across the categories of going out, shops, transport, community and facilities^[20].

Newcastle Business School

In 2002, Newcastle Business School established the Business Accounting and Finance or 'Flying Start' degree in association with the ICAEW and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The course offers an accelerated route towards the ACA Chartered Accountancy qualification and is the Business School's Flagship programme.^[21] Its success has since resulted in Lancaster University and Ernst & Young collaborating to establish a competing degree programme in 2005.^[22]

Newcastle University Medical School

The Medical School gained 143 out of a possible 144 points in its six subject areas in the Teaching Quality Assessment and was also the first institution in Europe, second in the world, to be given permission to pursue stem-cell research in human embryos. According to UCAS, Cambridge, Oxford and Newcastle are the most academically selective universities for entry to study medicine in the United Kingdom.^[23] The BMC Medicine journal reported medical graduates from Oxford, Cambridge and Newcastle performed better in postgraduate tests than any other medical school in the UK.^[24] In 2008 the Medical School announced that they were expanding their campus to Malaysia.

Newcastle Law School

The Newcastle Law School is the longest established law school in the North East of England.^[25] It is ranked 14th of law schools nationally according to The Times Good University Guide 2009^[26]. It boasts a number of recognised international and national experts in a variety of areas of legal scholarship; ranging from Common and Chancery law, to International and European law, as well as contextual, socio-legal and theoretical legal studies.^[25]

Museums and galleries

The University is associated with a number of the regions museums and galleries, including the upcoming Great North Museum project, which is at the world renowned natural history museum, the Hancock Museum. The Great North Museum will also contain collections from the University's other museums, the Shefton Museum, the Hatton Gallery and the Museum of Antiquities.

The Hatton Gallery is one of the most important university galleries in the country. It houses the Merzbarn - the only surviving Merz construction by Kurt Schwitters - as well as works by Francis Bacon, Victor Pasmore, William Roberts and Paolo di Giovanni. In 1997 the University authorities voted to close down the gallery, but a widespread public campaign against the closure, leading to a £250,000 donation by Dame Catherine Cookson, ensured the survival of the gallery.^[27]

Student organisations

The University has a vast number of student organisations, including:

• Newcastle University Union Society – the students' union.
• The Courier – weekly student newspaper
• NSR - Newcastle Student Radio

Accommodation

Main article: Newcastle University Halls of Residence

Newcastle University has many catered and non-catered halls of residence available to first-year students,^[28] located around the city of Newcastle.

Notable alumni

Main article: List of Newcastle University people

Newcastle University has had a large amount of notable alumni, including politicians, business people, authors, actors, musicians and sports people.

See also

• List of Newcastle University buildings
• ESDP-Network
• ESPRID
• Global Urban Research Unit

References

External links

• Official website

Newcastle University About Main Article • Buildings • Halls of Residence People Chancellor: The Lord Patten of Barnes • Vice-Chancellor: Professor Chris Brink • Notable Alumni Faculties Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) • Faculty of Medical Sciences • Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering (SAgE) Sport and Student Life Union Society • Stan Calvert Cup • Boat Race • Northumbrian Universities Royal Navy Unit • The Courier • Newcastle Raiders Museums Great North Museum (Hancock Museum • Shefton Museum • Museum of Antiquities • Hatton Gallery) • Centre for Life Facilities and Research University Library • Emerson Cavitation Tunnel • RV Bernicia • Global Urban Research Unit (GURU) • Culture Lab • Dove Marine Laboratory Miscellaneous Moorbank Botanical Garden • Northern Stage