The University of Warwick

The University of Warwick is a leading university in England. An established member of the renowned Russell Group (sometimes referred to as Britain’s version of United States’ Ivy League), the University of Warwick is one of the country’s highest performing universities, with the last research assessment exercise ranking it 5th highest research institution in the UK. The University of Warwick was also ranked 6th overall in the Times Good University Guide. The university lies on the outskirts of the city of Coventry, lying 5 km (3 miles) from the city centre, rather than in Warwick itself. London is less than two hours away by rail or road. The university offers students and visitors excellent academic, sport, leisure and arts facilities and a wealth of famous people have studied and taught here.

Famous alumni of the University of Warwick include: the comedian, Frank Skinner; journalist and broadcaster, Jennie Bond; 1980s television entertainer, Timmy Mallett; disc jockey, Simon Mayo; comedy writer, director and actor, Stephen Merchant and the Conservative former shadow home secretary, David Davis. Some household names also teach and research at the University of Warwick, notably the writer and feminist thinker, Germaine Greer and the popular science author, Ian Stewart.

The University of Warwick is a campus university, established in 1965, which covers 2.9 square kilometres (721 acres). The buildings are modern (1960s) in contrast to many other universities’ buildings of a classical appearance. The campus includes academic buildings, halls of residence, leisure facilities, shops, lakes, parks and woodland. The main campus is skirted by two smaller campuses, which altogether comprise the university as a whole. The coat of arms of the University of Warwick depicts a DNA helix and atoms of two isotopes of lithium, both to represent science. The coat of arms also has images of the traditional Bear and Ragged Staff of Warwickshire and the famous Elephant and Castle of Coventry.

The University of Warwick has 29 academic departments and over 40 research centres and institutes, in four Faculties: Arts, Science, Medicine and Social Studies. In 2008, there are 1,607 academic staff, 844 research staff and 5,168 total staff. In 2008, the student population of the University of Warwick is 16,646.

This population is mostly undergraduates with a third of students being postgraduates. The University of Warwick has quite a large percentage of overseas students, who make up 25% of the student body as a whole; there are over 114 countries represented at Warwick. The international flavour of the university is enhanced by the fact that many students choose to spend a year at a European university under the SOCRATES/ ERASMUS exchange scheme.
As well as academic excellence, the University of Warwick strives to offer both students and visitors to the univerity the highest quality entertainment facilities. Then university houses the largest arts centre in the UK outside of London. The arts centre is situated on the main campus and its centre piece is the grand Butterworth Hall, a 1500-seat capacity concert hall. Also inside the modernist building is a theatre, a studio, a cinema, and the University of Warwick’s own art gallery, The Mead Gallery. For those who prefer sport, the university sports centre offers everything from rock climbing and water polo, to judo or squash in the large purpose built building with fitness centre, 25 metre pool, climbing wall, dance studio, squash courts and sports hall.

The University of Warwick’s central library houses one million books, as well as vast archives of journals and e-journals. As well as regular borrowing the library has a short loans collection where books can be borrowed for a shorter period such as 3 days or overnight. External borrowers can also join the library for a fee. The university offer the special learning grid as an alternative to the traditional library. The grid is open 24-hours a day and here group work and discussion is encouraged with the provision of sofas and group work areas. The University of Warwick students also have access to a range of film, editing and presentation equipment available free of charge.

The students of the University of Warwick are active culturally and politically on the international circuit and host a huge international event every year in January called One World Week. Indeed, the university has many events run entirely by students, including, Warwick International Development Summit, People & Planet's Go Green Week, RAG Week, Warwick Student Arts Festival and Warwick Economics Summit. A popular event is the largest student-run Real Ale Festival in Great Britain. This event takes place annually, organised by the Warwick University Real Ale Society and it allows everyone to taste dozens of beers from around the world. The University of Warwick Students' Union altogether has over 200 societies and around 70 sports clubs. The Union has an annual turnover of around £6 million and any profits are used to provide Union services and to employ its staff and Sabbatical officers.

Students coming to the University of Warwick can stay in a room in one of the University’s halls of residence. There are 5,700 rooms on-campus and 1,500 off-campus. The residences vary in style. Some provide en-suite facilities whereas others have shared bathrooms; all have shared kitchen facilities and communal areas. Some residences are very central and sociable, others further away and quieter: there is a style of accommodation to suit everyone. All the halls of residence at the University of Warwick are surrounded by the parks and lakes of the picturesque campus.

It is worth stepping outside the university campus to explore the local area. The city of Coventry in which the University of Warwick resides, is a medieval city. Bombed to devastation in WWII, it was fully rebuilt, restoring the famous cathedral. Coventry itself has a population of around 300,000 and has plenty of attractions, such as the transport museum, Herbert gallery, the stunning cathedral and a busy shopping centre, which includes the old timber craft shops set out along medieval Spon Street. There are plenty of other places to explore near the University of Warwick. Stratford upon Avon, the birth place of Shakespeare, is only 15 miles from the campus; Warwick Castle is a fine medieval fortress in excellent condition and a huge visitor attraction; another castle situated near the University of Warwick is Kenilworth Castle, a stunning ruin, dating from 1120. Nearby Kenilworth is a delightful town with splendid old public houses, and Leamington Spa is a regency spa town, with niche shops and a ‘trendy’ reputation.