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University of York

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This article is about the British university. For the Canadian university, see York University.
University of York
Logo of the University of York
TypePublic
Established1963
ChancellorGreg Dyke
Vice-ChancellorBrian Cantor
Students9,401
Undergraduates7,617
Postgraduates1,784
Location
Heslington, York
,
UK
Affiliations1994 Group, EUA, White Rose, WUN,
Websitewww.york.ac.uk

The University of York (also known informally as York University) is a campus university in York, England. Its thirty academic departments teach around 9,000 students. The main campus is on the outskirts of the city, next to the village of Heslington, but the university also uses a number of historic buildings in the city centre. There are currently on average nine applications for every place and a very low dropout rate of 4% (only Oxbridge, Bristol, and UCL are lower [1]).

In newspaper league tables, it is normally ranked within the top ten universities in the UK, coming second in The Daily Telegraph university league table in 2001, and, in 2003, The Sunday Times named it "University of the Year", the first time the broadsheet had examined universities on their non-academic merits as well as its academic ones. In official government assessments the university has regularly been ranked either first or second in the country for the quality of its teaching.

History

Heslington Hall

One of a series of new British universities, the University of York was opened in 1963 when it admitted 200 students. At the time the university consisted of three buildings, principally King's Manor (former residence of Thomas Wentworth, and one-time headquarters of the Council of the North) and Heslington Hall (former residence of Thomas Eynns, Secretary and Keeper of the Seal to the Council of the North). A year later, work began on the Heslington Campus (see below), which today forms the main part of the University.

Colleges

The university is nominally based on eight colleges, which provide accommodation for students and for some of the academic departments. In practice, the colleges are more like halls of residence than the traditional Oxbridge colleges. By date of construction the colleges are:

(Derwith, a shared extension of Derwent and Langwith colleges, on the other side of University Road to both of its parents, was built in about 1988)

  • James, (originally a graduate-only college but admitted undergraduates in the academic year 1993/94) after Lord James of Rusholme (the University's first Vice Chancellor)
  • Halifax, originally Halifax Court, made a college in the academic year 2001/02, after Lord Halifax

All but one of the colleges are on the main campus, with the exception, Halifax College, being nearby on the edge of Heslington village. Eden's Court, a residential area, is part of Halifax College, but all of its residents are members of Derwent College. There are also several off-campus residences, including Constantine House, Walmgate, Holgates Hall and Fairfax House.

Academic departments

A complete list of departments may be found at the University's website.

The campus is also home to the newly-opened National Science Learning Centre.

The Heslington campus

Central Hall

In 1964, work began on the campus facilities in the grounds of Heslington Hall. The marshy land was drained, forming the narrow, winding lake which dominates the campus, and extensively landscaped. The original buildings were designed by architect Andrew Derbyshire, and assembled using the CLASP system of prefabricated construction. Scattered around the lake, the buildings are connected by numerous covered walkways and bridges. Most of the university's arts departments inhabit the colleges, while many of the science departments have their own buildings.

A major landmark building is Central Hall, a daringly-designed half-octagonal concert hall whose appearance is frequently likened to that of a spaceship. As well as University convocations and examinations, it is used as a venue for theatrical and musical performances, and has played host to Jimi Hendrix, Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, and Paul McCartney. Performances by big-name acts have been rarer at the university following a 1985 Boomtown Rats concert, during which the cover of the Central Hall orchestra pit was damaged12. A ban on pop performances in Central Hall was imposed by the University, although it has occasionally been waived, and Central Hall is still sometimes used for classical concerts. Concerts are also held in the music department's Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall and in some of the colleges.

At the time of its construction, the campus lake was proclaimed to be the largest plastic-lined lake in Europe. It has attracted a large population of wild and feral waterfowl, including greylag, Canada, barnacle and snow geese, along with large numbers of ducks and a growing population of black swans. The southern end of the lake has been established as a bird sanctuary. Fishing is permitted in season, on purchase of a license.

The Heslington campus has both indoor and outdoor sports facilities; a large, tent-like structure has recently been built for the purposes of indoor sport.

Student activities

See also List of student societies at the University of York.

The university has an unusually high number of active student societies. University Radio York (URY), the student radio station, is the oldest independent radio station in the United Kingdom. Nouse, the oldest student newspaper on Campus, was established in 1964 and was 2005 NUS/Mirror Student paper of the year; another student newspaper, Vision, was Guardian Student Newspaper of the year 2002-2004. There also exists student television station YSTV, England's first student TV station and one-time holder of the world record for longest continuous television broadcast under a single director. The University of York DramaSoc is one of the university's largest societies, and stages a play every week in the Drama Barn, as well as organising other projects such as open drama nights, and the annual 24 hour musical. Another of the University's dramatic societies is the Gilbert and Sullivan Society who put on a fully staged production every spring. In addition, they also put on a non-Gilbert and Sullivan show every summer, and give concerts and performances in the York area. Formerly known as The Cinematography Society, University of York Filmmaking Society is a student run filmmaking group. Since 1999 its members have made two features and many shorts, some of which have gone on to national film festivals.

Despite lacking a central students' union social facility, York students enjoy a varied nightlife, particularly in the College Bars on the Heslington campus. The city has numerous nightclubs and pubs, with Hull Road in particular developing into a student area. York St John College is also in the city, and has its own students' union with regular events.

Every summer term the students take part in the Roses Tournament, a sports competition against Lancaster University. The venue of the event alternates each year between York and Lancaster. In Spring 2005, a similar White Rose Varsity Tournament was held, between University of York and York St John College.

Each College has its own JCRC or students' association which provide a variety of services, including College events, student welfare, volunteering, charity work, recycling, College merchandise, College sports and representation to the College and University. They also organise the Freshers' Fortnight activities in their College.

The university student government organisation is called York University Students' Union (YUSU), the membership of which is currently the entire student population. Posts in YUSU are elected by the students yearly. Like many student unions, it is often criticised by students for being inward looking, and not representative of the student body as a whole. Low turnout at YUSU elections, and poor turnout at UGMs (Union General Meetings) are cited as evidence of this. The student societies are considered an integral part of YUSU and draw the larger part of their funds from it.[citation needed]

Future expansion

Over the next decade, the University plans to increase student numbers by around 5,000, and to introduce a number of new subjects, including Law, Pharmacy, Dentistry, and Theatre Film and Television studies. These plans are based upon calculations of expansion of University numbers nationally and a re-targeting of the University's assets. For most of its history, the core strengths of the University were regarded as the technology departments - Physics, Computer Science and Electronics - and the traditional liberal arts - History and English. Successes in cancer research lead to a re-structuring of the Chemistry and Biology departments to bring them closer together, the founding of a Health Sciences department, the establishment of courses in Nursing and Midwifery, and the creation of the Hull York Medical School or HYMS. This entry into medical and health care training has led to a change in the University's priorities.

On the arts side, the University is building upon its reputation for fostering interdisciplinary studies. The Centre for Medieval Studies has been regarded as at the forefront of combining history, art history, archaeology, literary studies, architectural studies and drama to give a more rounded view of historical events and culture. This model has been successfully replicated with the establishment of the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies. The opening of the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies is planned for 2007, admitting the first postgraduate students in 2008. At the same time, the Department of English and Related Literature intends to expand upon its literary studies by placing more emphasis on creative writing and performance.

For a number of years, the University's expansion plans have been limited by planning restrictions on the Heslington campus. Since the campus lies within the York green belt, planning conditions stipulate that only 20% of the land may be built upon. In the academic year 2003/04, plans were finalised for a second campus, on the other side of Heslington village. Called the Heslington East campus, the proposal is for a new 70 hectare campus designed to mirror the existing main Heslington campus. Situated by the Grimston Bar park and ride car park, it will involve construction on land currently used for arable farming. The plans involve landscaping the area, with the construction of an artificial lake and the planting of light woodland. Several departments are being considered for new, purpose-built facilities on the campus, including Computer Science and Law. Current University Chancellor Greg Dyke has already made a pledge of funds to subsidise a professorship in the new Theatre, Film and Television department.

Heslington East will be connected to the existing campus by a network of pathways and light transport links. Construction is hoped to begin in the 2006/07 academic year, with the first buildings coming into use the following year. However, there is still a lengthy consultation and planning exercise to be undertaken, and designs have yet to be finalised for the site and for the new buildings.

Notable alumni / alumnae

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