University of Salford

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The University of Salford


Motto	Altiora Petamus ("Let us seek higher things")
Established	1896 (as Salford Technical Institute)
Type	Public
Chancellor	Professor Sir Martin Harris
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Michael Harloe
Staff	2781
Students	20,185 ^[1]
Undergraduates	16,150 ^[1]
Postgraduates	4,035 ^[1]
Location	Salford, Greater Manchester, England
Affiliations	Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities, Association of Commonwealth Universities, North West Universities Association
Website	http://www.salford.ac.uk/

The University of Salford is a large University situated in the city of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1896 as the Royal Salford Technical Institute, and gained its Royal Charter and full university status in 1967 (see also Plate Glass Universities).

The University has almost 19,000 students and is based on a green campus which includes sites such as Peel Park, Frederick Road, Adelphi, Irwell Valley and Eccles. The University is situated on the banks of the River Irwell and is one and a half miles from Manchester city centre.

The University is a popular destination with international students - at present there are over 3,000 international students studying at the University, with significant numbers from China, India, Pakistan, Cyprus, Greece, Nigeria and Malaysia. The University has recently established a presence in Chengdu, China.

[edit] History

The University of Salford has a rich educational history dating back to 1896. The story of how the University of Salford as we know it today came to exist is a rather complicated series of mergers and separations.

Back in 1896, Salford Working Men's College joined forces with the Pendleton Mechanics Institute to form the Salford Technical Institute - which quickly became the Royal Technical Institute, Salford, upon being granted royal assent. The Duke and Duchess of York (later to become their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary) officiated at the opening ceremony, and Mr Hallé's orchestra turned out to accompany the proceedings.

At the turn of the century, mechanical engineering, chemical works, textiles and construction dominated the industrial scene in Salford and led the choice of subjects on offer. Initially, students became part of one of nine departments: Mathematics, Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, Building, Dyeing, Spinning & Weaving, Domestic, and Art. 1,240 students registered for the first session, and there were only 19 members of staff.

In 1921 the Institute was renamed the Royal Technical College, Salford, but in 1958 it split into two separate parts. One part, the Royal College of Advanced Technology, went on to become the University of Salford in 1967. HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, was the first Chancellor. The other part, Peel Park Technical College, changed its name first to Salford Technical Institute (in 1961), then to Salford College of Technology (in 1970), and finally to University College Salford (in 1992).

Finally, in 1996, both organisations joined together again to form the University of Salford as it is today.

The Peel Building on the Peel Park Campus

The Maxwell Building as seen from the Crescent.

[edit] Faculties and Schools

The University is separated into four faculties containing 12 individual schools:

Faculty of Arts, Media & Social Sciences
- School of Art & Design
- School of English, Sociology, Politics & Contemporary History
- School of Languages
- School of Media, Music & Performance

Faculty of Business, Law & the Built Environment
- School of the Built Environment
- Salford Business School
- Salford Law School

Faculty of Health & Social Care
- School of Community, Health Sciences & Social Care
- School of Health Care Professions
- School of Nursing

Faculty of Science, Engineering & Environment
- School of Computing, Science & Engineering
- School of Environment & Life Sciences

[edit] Facilities

The Tom Husband Leisure Centre - Situated on the Peel Park Campus and adjacent to the Students' Union, the Leisure Centre is open seven days a week and boasts a gym, swimming pool, sauna and spa, squash courts, climbing wall, snooker room and a multi-use sports hall.

SU Bars - The University has a series of bars offering a full range of products including: beers, wines, soft drinks, fair-trade coffee plus hot and cold snacks. And for entertainment there's quizzes, big-screen sport, pool tables, gaming and quiz machines and a range of table-top games.

Banks and SU Shops - There are plenty of shops around the University, including the Students' Union shops which sells a variety of foodstuffs, stationary, university clothing etc. There are also two banks and plenty of cash machines located around campus.

Libraries - The University has five major libraries, providing a range of services including access to databases, books/e-books and journals/e-journals via the two key services - the library catalogue and e-Library. There's also photocopying, open access computing suites and document supply services.

Nursery - The University has a nursery on campus, catering for children between the ages of three months and four years. Students and staff can book children in on a sessional or full-time basis.

Open Access Computing Suites - The University boosts nearly 800 computers across campus - including 24 hour access in some places. Many of which incude Internet cafes.

Language Labs - The University has 85 high-speed multimedia PCs, data projectors, interactive whiteboards and audio/video playback systems. These state-of-the-art language labs use multimedia ways of teaching language students.

Conference Facilities - The University also has superb conference facilities and support that make the University a popular venue for conferences and meetings.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery - Salford City Council run museum and art gallery on campus, contains both permanent and temporary exhibitions. There's an exact replica of a Victorian street plus lots of traditional art in the Lark Hill Place Gallery.

[edit] Expansion and Investment

Currently undergoing a £150million investment, the University plans on renovating existing locations, erecting new, modern buildings and investing in new facilities.

A brand new, £22 million, purpose-built, Mary Seacole building has been built for the Faculty of Health & Social Care. The five-storey building includes a large, glass-walled entrance hall, lecture theatres, offices and classrooms. It also houses our new state-of-the-art Human Performance Lab. The building is next to Salford Cresent Train Station houses students of nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, sport, radiography, social work and complementary medicine.

A new £10 million building for the newly-established Salford Law School is due for completion in 2007. In the main building, the ground floor will have six seminar rooms, two of which can be opened out into a ‘moot’ or mock trial room. There will also be an informal ‘breakout’ or student social space. The first floor will house staff and administrative offices and the top floor will be the law library, with two computer training rooms and a number of formal and informal spaces. This floor will be linked by a bridge to the main Clifford Whitworth Library. With the current concerns about sustainability, the whole building will act as its own night storage heating and cooling system. This ‘Termodeck' system keeps a steady temperature by blowing air through the concrete structure of the building.

The University is currently planning brand new accommodation to house it's Arts & Media students.

[edit] Halls of Residence

Accommodation is in self-catering houses and flats. Each student gets their own single study bedroom. There are 3250 study bedrooms located on and around campus. Accommodation is also available for students with disabilities and for students with children.

Castle Irwell Student Village

Situated on the River Irwell and one mile from the main University campus, Castle Irwell is a purpose-built village for 1605 students, comprising of houses and flats. Taking the form of individual student flats or houses, each building accommodates six, eleven or twelve students in single study bedrooms. Every building has communal showers, toilets and a shared kitchen and dining area. Castle Irwell also houses a huge bar/restaurant onsite, the USSU's The Pavillion (known more affectionately as 'The Pav' and grass and astroturf pitches for sports fans. This village is often the first choice of many first years (freshers) due to the villages lively atmosphere and the main SU Club situated on site.

Horlock Court

This undergraduate accommodation is situated right in the heart of the University campus, it’s next to a bank, general shop, bookshop and launderette. Each house has a kitchen with cooker, microwave, fridge, freezer and dining area.

Constantine Court

Located adjacent to Horlock Court, these 80 purpose-built bedrooms for undergraduates combine great location with en-suite facilities. This hall of residence contains rooms suitable for disabled students.

Matthias Court

These two or three person flats for postgradutes are a few minutes’ walk from campus. The complex includes accommodation for for couples and students with children. Undergraduate couples/students with children can also apply for Matthias Court.

Bramhall Court

These are three to five person flats for undergraduates regardless of which year they are in. Bramhall is situated on the same grounds as Matthias Court.

Eddie Colman and John Lester Courts

Only five minutes walk from Frederick Road and Peel Park campuses, and a few mintues walk from the Salford City Shopping Centre these flats house 755 people. They’re very popular with nursing and health students who study at the adjacent Mary Seacole Building.

[edit] Courses offered

Information on undergraduate courses offered by the University can be found here, postgraduate courses here and research courses here.

[edit] University Scarf

The university scarf consists of four panels of colour, namely Navy, Black, White and Gold Panels.

[edit] Student Life

[edit] Students' Union

Main article: University of Salford Students' Union|University of Salford Students' Union]]]]

The University's Student's Union, USSU, is based on the main campus in University House. The union hosts two bars; The Pavillion (known more affectionately as 'The Pav'), situated in Castle Irwell Student Village, is the main drinking and entertainment venue within the union and The Lowry Bar, situated in University House, is a more relaxed and traditional bar.

As well as providing students with entertainment venues, the union also provides over 40 clubs and societies including Campaign For Real Ale Society, Diving Society, Football, Cricket, Rugby Union, Hockey, Roller Hockey Club and the United Against Fascism Society. A full list of societies can be seen here.

The Students' Union shares its newspaper, Student Direct, with the University of Manchester. ,

[edit] Fire

On the evening of Thursday 25th of January 2007, a fire tore through University House which was reported on the Salford Students' forum to have been started in The Lowry Bar. The Lowry Bar has been completely destroyed and is expected to remain out of action for quite some time. The financial implications for the Student Union could be great, with fears relating to major revenue loss and expected job losses associated with the damage within the bar. This is coupled with the temporary closure of the SU bar at the Castle Irwell campus. No casualties have been reported.

Pictures of the fire and aftermath are available to view here.

[edit] Campus Media

Student Direct is Greater Manchester's official student newspaper and the widest circulating student publication in Europe serving the University of Salford, the University of Manchester and the University of Bolton. The University of Salford Edition of aims to represent the views and interests of students and communicate the work of the Union, as well as informing members about local, national and international issues that effect them as students. It differs from the Manchester edition with 12 pages (cover, inside cover and an eight page centre spread) The Salford Editor is the current elected Communications Officer.

Shock Radio is the University's award winning student run radio station. The station broadcasts for one month every year in November. The station holds an RSL and broadcasts on 87.7FM.

Channel M, is Manchester's very own award winning terrestrial TV station and is partly owned by the University of Salford along with Guardian Media Group and City Broadcasting. Students at the University assist with the creation and production of television programmes, which are broadcast on various channels, including Channel M, Manchester's city-television station. Programmes such as Reel North and Hitting Home have won several Royal Television Society awards. Originally carried on Granada Television, Hitting Home is now aired exclusively on Channel M. In 2006, Reel North won the award for Best Regional Programme, beating stiff competition from the likes of the BBC and ITV.

[edit] NHS Hospital

The University's Faculty of Health & Social Care has strong links with a top teaching NHS hospitals in the north west of England and maintains a presence at Salford's Hope Hospital.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Business

Andy Bond: current Chief Executive of Asda
Dato Paduka Dr Hj Ismail bin Hj Duraman, Vice-Chancellor, Universiti Brunei Darussalam

[edit] Creative/ Design

Rasshied Din: designer of the Princess Diana memorial at Althorp
John Norafizan (Norafizan Mustaffa): Malaysian Author of two books - Tunjukkan Aku Satu Bintang, Sempadan Tanpa Seri - The latter depicting the life of Malaysian students at the University

[edit] Entertainment

Emma Atkins: former actress on Emmerdale who played Charity Dingle/Tate.
Wes Butters: radio DJ
Christopher Eccleston: Actor - the 9th Doctor Who
Steve Edge: Comedian and actor
John Hammond: BBC weather presenter
Stephen Fretwell: British musician (studied at the University, but didn't complete)
Shobna Gulati: Actress and former Coronation Street Star
Peter Kay: comedian from Bolton
Sir Ben Kingsley: Actor
L. S. Lowry. Awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters in 1975 - also studied at the university.
Jason Manford: Manchester Comedian & Perrier Nominee
Maxine Peake: Actress from Bolton, one of the stars of Shameless
Kaye Wragg: British actress
Long-view: British band formed here
Faithless, Doves, Elbow and Fingathing members also studied on the Popular Music and Recording course