University of Liverpool

History

• One of the first civic universities, Liverpool's history dates back to 1881.
• The college attracted pioneers including Professor Oliver Lodge who made the world's first public radio transmission in 1894 and demonstrated the first surgical use of x-rays two years later.
• The university has nine Nobel Laureates.

Location and transport

• Liverpool is well served by air, rail, coach and road.
• The university is a city centre campus, situated 10 minutes from the main railway station.
• The university and halls of residences are serviced by regular bus routes.

Entry standards

• Average tariff points for new full-time undergraduates is 410.
• Find out more about entry standards at the University of Liverpool online.

Student mix

• Current gender ratio is 1.00 male to 1.12 femaleGender split: 47.7% male and 52.3% female.18,000 students from the UK,  650 European Union students and 2,600 from the rest of the world. 15,000 students from the UK, over 1,000 European Union students and 4,100 from the rest of the world.
• 86% of new undergraduates attended a state school.86% of new young undergraduates attended a state school.
• Approximately eight applications per place available. Applications for September 2011 entry are up 22% on the previous yearApproximately 6 applications per place available.

Course flexibility

• Non-clinical courses (both undergraduate and postgraduate) are modular, allowing a wide choice of optional modules on many courses.
• Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, China is an independent university established by the University of Liverpool and Xi’an Jiaotong University. An international collaboration (XJTLU) with Xi'an Jiaonton University in china at Suzhou means that Liverpool-based students may undertake work experience at Suzhou Industrial Park, where XJTLU is based, home to76 84 Fortune-500 companies.
• From September 2011, students of electrical engineering and electronics, computer science and mathematics will have the opportunity of spending a year of their programme studying at XJTLU.
• As well as offering students the opportunity to study in a European country under the Erasmus programme, the University has launched a network of collaborations with universities in Chile, Mexico and Spain in order to allow Liverpool students to complete part of their degree at one or more of these institutions via a range of options such as projects or placements. The aim is to give Liverpool students the opportunity to become global citizens, benefiting from an international curriculum and experience and empowered to address global challenges. Students have access to a full range of student support services to ensure that they draw maximum benefit from learning in a different socio-cultural environment and gain the confidence to face future challenges in an increasingly competitive job market.
• The University also now offers all first year undergraduates in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences the opportunity to learn Mandarin.
• The university is the largest provider of wholly online degrees in Europe.

Teaching standards

• There is a strong tradition of 'education for the professions' and many courses are professionally accredited.
• Liverpool is the only UK university with full clinical education coverage i.e. Clinical Medicine, Health Sciences, Dentistry and Veterinary Science.
• The university's philosophy is that learning and teaching are research-led. Teaching curricula are designed and modified in the context of cutting-edge research.
• Outstanding National Student Survey (NSS) results for 2010 were: 1st in Russell Group and 4th UK university for NHS Practice Placements; 1st in Russell Group and 5th UK university for Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy; 2nd in Russell Group and 2nd UK university for Nursing; 1st in Russell Group and 2nd UK university for Zoology; 2nd in Russell Group and 2nd UK university for Veterinary Science; 1st in Russell Group and 2nd UK university for Animal Science; 1st in Russell Group and 3rd UK university for Publicity Studies.
• The University achieved an overall satisfaction rate of 86% – 3% higher than the sector average.
• 88% of students were satisfied that the library resources were good enough for their needs, compared with 81% nationally, ranking the University 7^th in the Russell Group.
• 89% of students were satisfied that they could access IT resources when they needed to, compared with 83% nationally, ranking the University 6^th in the Russell Group.
• At subject level, high satisfaction rates were recorded in the following subject areas: Archaeology (97%), Biology (91%), Chemistry (90%), Dentistry (94%), English (96%), French (96%), History (96%), Music (90%), Nursing (95%), Physics (96%), Classics (97%) and Veterinary Science (93%).

Research standards

• A total of 53% research staff were ranked in the highest categories of 4* (world-leading) and 3* (internationally excellent) for their research in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
• University research contributes to the world's 'grand challenges', focussing on inter-disciplinary themes such as climate change, energy and ageing.
• The university has 1,300 leading researchers, 680 research staff, 2,860 research support staff and 1,480 postgraduate research students. There are more than 50 specialist research centres including: Liverpool Cancer Research UK Centre; Centre for Material Discovery; Centre for Virtual Engineering; National Centre for Zoonosis Research; Centre for Marine Sciences and Climate Change; Institute of Cultural Capital; UK Centre for Tissue Engineering; Liverpool Institute for Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology; and The Institute for Sustainable Water,; Integrated Management and Ecosystem Research.

Academic strengths

• The university is a member of the Russell Group, representing the UK's top research-led universities.
• Professional subjects, including Medicine, Health Sciences, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Engineering, Law, Architecture and Town Planning.
• Additionally, the university is well regarded for Physical, Biomedical and Life Sciences, Arts and Humanities.

Student facilities, including library and computing

• Two main libraries holding over 1.9 million books, following a £17-m redevelopment in 2008; many different specialist collections in the libraries including extensive special collections of rare books, archives and manuscripts; a growing portfolio of over 40 560,000 e-books and a vast collection of over 1944,000 electronic journals which can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection; online access to major academic databases; 1,370 computer workstations in the two main libraries and numerous other computer workstations on campus. All halls of residence rooms have internet access and there are 32 computer rooms, each with a number of computer workstations.
• Access to the City Library and the libraries of Liverpool Hope University and Liverpool John Moores University.
• 88% of students were satisfied that the library resources were good enough for their needs, compared with 81% nationally, ranking the University 7^th in the Russell Group.
• 89% of students were satisfied that they could access IT resources when they needed to, compared with 83% nationally, ranking the University 6^th in the Russell Group.
• According to the 2010 National Student Survey, 89% of students were satisfied that the library resources were good enough for their needs, compared to 80% nationally, while 90% of students were satisfied that the could access IT resources when they needed to, compared to 83% nationally.The university received the highest rating among the 11 Russell Group participants in the most recent 2009-10 Student Barometer Survey for its library and internet access.

Disability services

• Please telephone 0151 794 4714/5117/6674, email disteam@liv.ac.uk or visit the website for information about the disability services at the University of Liverpool.

Students' union

• The Guild of Students (Liverpool's name for the Students' Union) is a student-led, student-focused, not for profit organization with the principles of representation, democracy and informed campaigning at its heart.
• A £9-m refurbishment will be completed by September 2013.
• The Gguild is led by an executive team, elected annually and made up of either current students or recent graduates.
• It works closely with the university to ensure the needs of the students are fulfilled and that the services the university provides are relevant to the students.

Sport

• The University’s indoor and outdoor sports facilities are undergoing a £4.5-m refurbishment programme. 
• The University has a Sports Development Team which is responsible for elite athlete support, recruitment of coaches, intramural competition, healthy initiatives and student club development.
• The sports centre contains two multi-purpose sports halls, a dance studio, a 33-metre swimming pool, four squash courts and a fitness suite with over 100 resistance and cardiovascular machines. There is a team of professional sports development officers, responsible for elite athlete support and student club development.
• The sports grounds occupy 29 hectares (74 acres) located near the two main halls of residence site. Playing areas for football, rugby, cricket, hockey and lacrosse are provided on 21 grass pitches and two new, floodlit, all weather ones.
• A new gym has also been opened in the Halls of Residence with 32 fitness stations, a training area for martial arts, table tennis and exercise classes.
• The university offers sports scholarships of up to £2,000 per annum to eligible students.

Recent/prospective new builds

• The University of Liverpool is investing £600m in its facilities as part of its commitment to providing a world-class student experience and research environment.
• The investment includes a £250m redevelopment of the University’s student accommodation. Part of this investment – a £44m project to construct high quality accommodation at the city centre campus – is already underway and is due to open in July 2012. The 710-bedroom development will feature shops and a 250-seat restaurant and will be at the cutting edge of sustainable design. A further £350 million is earmarked for investment in the academic estate at its city centre campus and at its Leahurst campus on the Wirral.
• As well as refurbishing existing accommodation, the University will develop an additional 1,500 new study bedrooms at its city centre campus on Brownlow Hill, providing state-of-the art accommodation and further increasing the number of student rooms available on-campus. The University will also invest in its off-campus accommodation, developing new residences at its Greenbank site at Mossley Hill to provide a self-contained student village including catering and sports facilities.
• The teaching environment for science-based subjects is also being transformed with an investment of £25m in state-of-the-art centralised teaching laboratories. The new facility, due to open early in 2012, will be used across a variety of physical science-based subjects and aims to enhance the overall student experience through the creation of a modern, high quality and vibrant laboratory environment.
• The University is also planning to invest £32m in teaching facilities in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, £7.5m in an extension to the Management School and £9m in a refurbishment of its Guild of Students.  Other exciting new developments include major improvements in student social space and a £4 million investment in sports facilities.
• The first phase of the University’s proposed £70m scientific research facility – which will ultimately accommodate more than 600 researchers in state-of-the art laboratories – has recently been completed. The facility will provide an inter-disciplinary research environment to enable researchers to contribute more effectively to the major health challenges of the 21^st Century. 

Availability of part-time work

• The Careers and Employability Resource Centre advertises part-time vacancies.
• PULSE offers a job centre-style student employment facility based in the Careers and Employability Centre.
• Visit the website for more information about part-time work at the University of Liverpool.

Notable alumni

Many Liverpool graduates have gone on to occupy senior positions in business and public life both within the UK and internationally. These include:

• CH Tung, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, now Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
• Dame Stella Rimington, former Director General of the UK’s national Security Service, MI5.
• Rodney Chase CBE, Chairman of Vallares and former Group Chief Executive of  BP.
• Sir Maurice Flanagan KBE, Executive Vice-Chairman of Emirates Airline and Group.
• Sir Robin Saxby, Chairman Emeritus of ARM Holdings.
• Dr Sanjay Jha, CEO and Chairman of Motorola Motability.
• Lewis Booth, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Ford Motor Company.
• Keith Williams, Chief Executive of British Airways.
• Philip Clarke, Chief Executive of Tesco.
• Colin Deverell Smith OBE, Chairman of Poundland Group, Former Chief Executive of Safeway.

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