Introduction

The University of Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research and teaching at the highest academic standard. It has a small, friendly campus near the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath.

We have a distinctive approach that emphasises the education of professional practitioners and the promotion of original inquiry, as well as innovation in partnership with business, the professions, public services and the voluntary sector.

In the annual university league tables in 2007, the University was ranked top ten in the: The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times and The Guardian.

Our students

As of 1 December 2007 we had 13,023 students. Of whom:

Full-time undergraduates - 8,945
Part-time undergraduates - 277
Total undergraduates - 9,222 (71% of total students)

Full-time postgraduates - 1,548
Part-time postgraduates - 2,253
Total postgraduates 3,801 (29% of total students)

Of all students:
Male students - 7,205 (55%)
Female students - 5,818 (45%)

Of all postgraduates:
Taught degrees - 2,803
Research degrees - 998

Of all students:
International students 3,373 (26%)
(defined as those with non-British domicile)
Home students 9,650 (74%)
(those with UK domicile, including Channel Islands and Isle of Man)

For more details see Student numbers statistics.

The top ten countries from which our students come by number (excluding UK):

China (Mainland & Hong Kong)
Germany
Greece
France
Cyprus
Malaysia
Spain
India
Italy
= Thailand
= UAE

60% of our undergraduates go on placements as part of their course.

Our staff

As of 31 July 2007 we had 2,614 staff, of whom:

Full-time - 2,058
Part-time - 556

Of all staff:
Clerical - 642
Technical - 153
Manual & ancillary - 361

Our teaching

In 2005/6, the completion rate for fulltime undergraduates at the University was 90%, placing us in the top ten for retention rates in the UK.

The destination of our first degree UK and EU graduates in 2006 was:

Employment only - 56%
Further study - 18%
Combined employment & study - 14%
Unemployment - 6%
Information not available - 6%

Our research

The value of our research portfolio (grants and contracts) as at 31 July 2007 was £92,043,202. The research income per member of academic staff was £32,673 (based on income for 12 months to 31 July 2007 of £27,478,000 and the number of academic staff – professor, reader, senior lecturer, lecturer, research fellow – as totalling 841 on 31 July 2007).

Examples of key research areas:

Complex systems
A major programme to develop analytical and numerical tools to tackle problems in complex systems in disciplines including mathematics, biology, engineering and physics.

Drug development
The development of novel therapeutic approaches using steroids and related molecules mainly in the areas of cancer treatments, women's health, diabetes and hormone-associated diseases.

Embryonic development & regeneration
The study of how a highly structured organism can be formed from a simple egg. Results from animal models are very likely to apply to humankind, leading to a better understanding of the causes of human malformations.

Energy
The University is involved in six multi-million pound consortia funded by research councils which carry out fundamental and applied research in the engineering and science of sustainable power generation and supply.

Genomics
This research focuses on dissecting the molecular nature of single major genes in insects. It uses associated knowledge and tools derived to analyse fitness traits and the behaviour of the underlying mutations in natural populations.

Innovative manufacturing
The research looks at ways of making machines and systems in industries including aerospace, vehicle, construction and packaging more efficient and flexible.

Wellbeing & development
The study of poverty, inequality and the quality of life in developing countries. Current research aims to develop a coherent way to understand wellbeing in specific developing societies.

Around 70% of our academic staff work in departments awarded a 5 or 5* rating in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise.

Our enterprise

The University has had close links with industry since it began, and the majority of its courses have a placement year in which students work in one of more than 2,500 public, private and voluntary sector organisations.

It is part of the SETsquared Partnership with the universities of Bristol, Southampton and Surrey. The collaboration, the largest of its kind in the UK, was established to encourage enterprise and to work more effectively with industry.

The University hosts an innovation centre that provides practical support and expertise to local technology enterprises, and companies that emerge from the University’s student and academic research base.

Sterix Ltd, a University spin-out company, is in the final stages of developing a treatment for breast cancer in postmenopausal women. It is one example of the University’s successful academic-industrial partnerships. Formed by Professor Barry Potter, Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology and Professor Mike Reed at Imperial College, London, Sterix was acquired by the pharmaceutical company Ipsen in 2004. Ipsen provided the University with an initial grant of £4.2 million.

Our finances

For the year ending 31 July 2007:

Income - £149.458 million
Funding council grants - £51.877 million (35%)
Tuition fees & education contracts - £40.117 million (27%)
Research grants & contracts - £27.478 million (18%)
Endowment & investment income - £1.936 million (1%)
Other income - £28.050 million (19%)

Expenditure - £147.336 million
Staff costs - £88.903 million (60%)
Other operating costs - £46.976 million (32%)
Depreciation - £7.468 million (5%)
Interest payable - £3.989 million (3%)

Our campus

The University’s campus at Claverton was begun in 1964, in preparation for the University receiving its Royal Charter in 1966. The small, safe campus is a short distance from the centre of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage city.

The majority of the central buildings around the Parade were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and the University has developed continuously since. The University is currently working on projects worth £50 million as part of a construction programme that continues to 2009. By September 2008, the University will have 3,300 bedrooms for students, of which two-thirds will be located on campus.

Our community

ICIA: Our Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts is nationally respected both artistically and academically. It runs a programme of professional performances, exhibitions, talks, workshops and classes open to the general public, alongside activities for students. It develops and commissions new and innovatory arts projects at a local and national level while offering continuing professional development for artists, arts professionals, academics and educators. It is also an academic research centre which devises arts projects, symposia, conferences and publications, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary practice.

Courses: The University runs a series of language and arts courses in collaboration with colleges across Wiltshire. It delivers a programme of free public lectures in Bath, and offers a range of foundation degrees. The University is involved in community schemes such as projects using students as mentors for local schoolchildren to encourage them into higher education.

Student activity: Our students have raised over £1 million for charity since 1966. The Student Community Partnership actively promotes good relations between students and local residents and businesses.

Our sport

Since 1976, when it became the first university in the country to offer sports scholarships, Bath has been a pioneering force in university sport. Its Sports Training Village, used more than half a million times a year by both the public and Olympic athletes, was completed in 2004 at a cost of £35 million.

Athletes who have trained at the University include Kristan Bromley, who won his second Bob Skeleton World Cup series title in 2008, Olympic gold medallist sprinter Jason Gardener, and Mark Foster, one of the most successful British swimmers of all time.

In summer 2008, the Universities of Bath and Bristol will jointly host the UK School Games. Over 1,500 children are expected to compete in the games, which will the first in the London Olympiad following the end of the Beijing Olympics.

The University has gained international recognition for its academic programmes and research in the field of sport. The Guardian has rated Bath in the top two UK universities for sports science for the last seven years.

Our leadership

The Chancellor of the University is Lord Tugendhat of Widdington, former Chairman of Abbey National and Blue Circle Industries, and former Conservative MP for City of London and Westminster South. As Chancellor, Lord Tugendhat is the ceremonial head of the University and one of its most prominent ambassadors.

The Vice-Chancellor is social scientist Professor Glynis Breakwell. A chartered health psychologist, Professor Breakwell specialises in research on leadership, identity processes, risk communication and military cultures. As Vice-Chancellor, she is both the academic leader and chief executive of the University.

Our alumni

We have over 45,000 alumni with whom we keep in regular contact. The top ten countries, by number of alumni, (excluding the UK), are:

USA
China (excluding Hong Kong)
Malaysia
France
Greece
Germany
Hong Kong
Spain
Italy
Canada

Our alumni include:

Don Foster, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath
Neil Holloway, VP Business Strategy, Microsoft International
Neil Fox, DJ
Justin King, CEO, J Sainsbury
Heather Stanning, gold medallist at World under 23 rowing championships
Peter Butcher, UK Ambassador to Turkmenistan
Bill Whiteley, Managing Director, Rotork
Bob Wigley, Chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe, Middle East & Africa
Sandra Gidley, Liberal Democrat MP for Romsey
Katherine Roberts, Children’s Author

The Development & Alumni Relations Office seeks to secure major gifts and legacies to support key areas of the University.

Our Alumni Fund raises money for:

• scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate students
• hardship grants for undergraduate and postgraduate students
• enhancing the quality of the student experience with grants to the arts sports, clubs and societies, the library and the Students' Union
• enterprising initiatives including placements, projects and expeditions.

Those interested in helping should contact: Beatrice Purser-Hallard on 01225 386922. 

Our future

The University’s future strategy includes ensuring that its research and teaching are of the highest quality. It will devote more resources to strategic planning and develop stronger collaborative links, internationally, nationally and regionally, with other universities, further education colleges, businesses, the professions, the public services and the voluntary sector.

The University will continue developing its Claverton campus in Bath. Investment in the estate includes the new 4 West - a £17-million, multi-purpose building, and 355 new student bedrooms.

As one of the top universities in the country for sport, Bath is gearing up for the London Olympics 2012 by co-hosting the UK School Games in 2008. Olympic hopefuls from the University include athletes Craig Pickering and Steve Green, swimmer Matt Tutty and badminton player Mariana Agathagelou.

The University remains committed to reducing its environmental impact. It was the very first UK university to take part in the Higher Education Carbon Management scheme, and is one of only 15 universities with Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme approval.