(

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

Georgics The ''Georgics'' ( ; ) is a poem by Latin poet Virgil, likely published in 29 BCE. As the name suggests (from the Greek word , ''geōrgika'', i.e. "agricultural (things)") the subject of the poem is agriculture; but far from being an example ...

II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College)
1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology)
1966 (Bath University of Technology)
1971 (university status) , type =

Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

, endowment = £8.1 million (2021) , budget = £289.5 million (2020–21) , chancellor =

The Earl of Wessex Earl of Wessex is a title that has been created twice in British history – once in the pre-Conquest Anglo-Saxon nobility of England, and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. In the 6th century AD the region of Wessex (the lands of the W ...

, vice_chancellor = Ian H. White , academic_staff = 2,180 (2020) - including academic atypical staff , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , doctoral = , city =

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

, country = England , coor = , campus = Suburban , free_label = , free = , website
www.bath.ac.uk
, logo = University of Bath logo.svg , affiliations = ACU

AMBA Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...

EQUIS The EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is an international school accreditation system. It specializes in higher education institutions of management and business administration, run by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD ...

EUA

Universities UK Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...

Wallace Group The Wallace Group is a grouping of seven universities in the UK that have a shared interest in promoting sports and health workshops in developing countries. The members are the Cardiff Metropolitan University, Durham University, the University o ...

GW4 GW4 (also known as GW4 Alliance or Great Western 4) is a consortium of four research intensive universities in South West England and Wales. It was formed in January 2013 by the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter to enhance resea ...

Sutton 30

SETsquared The SETsquared Partnership, usually known simply as SETsquared, is a business incubation network run by five universities in Southern England. SETsquared stands for Southern England Technology Triangle. The partnership was formed in 2002, betwee ...

The University of Bath is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...

located in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It received its

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

and

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

, Bath can trace its roots to the Merchant Venturers' Technical College, established in Bristol as a school in 1595 by the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

. The university's main campus is located on

Claverton Down Claverton Down is a suburb on the south-east hilltop edge of Bath, Somerset, England. It is linked to the Bathwick area of the city by Bathwick Hill. Primarily a rural area with relatively few houses, it is home to the University of Bath, the he ...

, a site overlooking the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath, and was purpose-built, constructed from 1964 in the

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

style of the time. In the 2014

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is underta ...

, 32% of Bath's submitted research activity achieved the highest possible classification of 4*, defined as world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour. 87% was graded 4*/3*, defined as world-leading/internationally excellent. The annual income of the institution for 2020–21 was £289.5 million of which £37.2 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £320.7 million. The university is a member of the

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was established in 1913, and has over 500 member institutions in over 50 countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU is the world's oldest international network of universities. Its mission is ...

, the

Association of MBAs The Association of MBAs (AMBA) is a global organisation founded in 1967 which focuses primarily on international business school accreditation and membership. Roles Based in London, AMBA is one of the three main global accreditation bodies in ...

, the

European Quality Improvement System The EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is an international school accreditation system. It specializes in higher education institutions of management and business administration, run by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD ...

, the

European University Association The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 800 institutions of higher education in 48 countries, providing them with a forum for cooperation and exchange of information on higher education and research policies. Members of th ...

and

History

The University of Bath can trace its roots to the Merchant Venturers' Technical College (whose alumni include the physicists

Paul Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is regarded as one of the most significant physicists of the 20th century. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the Univer ...

and

Peter Higgs Peter Ware Higgs (born 29 May 1929) is a British theoretical physicist, Emeritus Professor in the University of Edinburgh,Griggs, Jessica (Summer 2008The Missing Piece ''Edit'' the University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine, p. 17 and Nobel Prize ...

), an institution founded as a school in 1595 and a

technical school In the United States, a technical school is a type of two-year college that covers specialized fields such as business, finance, hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, visual arts, information technology and community work. Associa ...

established in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1856 which became part of the

in 1885. Meanwhile, in the neighbouring city of Bath, a

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

school, the Bath School of Pharmacy, was founded in 1907. This became part of the Technical College in 1929. The college came under the control of the Bristol Education Authority in 1949; it was renamed then the Bristol College of Technology, and in 1960 the Bristol College of Science and Technology, when it became one of ten technical colleges under the umbrella of the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

. The college was mainly housed in the former Muller's Orphanage at

Ashley Down Ashley Down is an area in the north of Bristol. It lies on high ground east of Bishopston, north of St Andrews and St Werburghs, west of Muller Road and south of Horfield. The main artery is Ashley Down Road. Since May 2016 it is part of the ...

in Bristol, which still houses part of the

City of Bristol College City of Bristol College is a further education and higher education college in Bristol, England. It provides courses for young people and adults aged 16 and above in areas such as: A Levels, Animal Care, Floristry, Horticulture, Applied Forensic ...

whilst the remainder has been converted into residential housing.

University status

In 1963, the Robbins Committee report paved the way for the college (along with a number of other institutions) to assume university status as ''Bath University of Technology''. Although the grounds of

Kings Weston House Kings Weston House () is a historic building in Kings Weston Lane, Kingsweston, Bristol, England. History It was built between 1712 and 1719 was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for Edward Southwell on the site of an earlier Tudor house, remodell ...

, in Bristol, were briefly considered — which then, and until 1969, accommodated the college's School of Architecture and Building Engineering — the City of Bristol was unable to offer the expanding college an appropriately sized single site. Following discussions between the College Principal and the Director of Education in Bath, an agreement was reached to provide the college with a new home in

, Bath, on a

greenfield site Greenfield land is a British English term referring to undeveloped land in an urban or rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low po ...

, purchased through a compulsory purchase order from the Candy family of Norwood Farm, overlooking the city. Construction of the purpose-built campus began in 1964, with the first building, now known as 4 South, completed in 1965, and the

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

was granted in 1966. In November 1966, the first degree ceremony took place at the

Assembly Rooms In Great Britain and Ireland, especially in the 18th century Britain, 18th and 19th centuries, assembly rooms were gathering places for members of the higher social classes open to members of both sexes. At that time most entertaining was done ...

in Bath. Over the subsequent decade, new buildings were added as the campus took shape. In the mid-19th century, there were plans to build a college on the site. The university logo features the so-called

Gorgon A Gorgon (Help:IPA/English, /ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ ''Gorgṓn/Gorgṓ'') is a creature in Greek mythology. Gorgons occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature. W ...

's head which is taken, via the university's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, from a Roman sculpture found in the city. The university pays a

peppercorn Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diamet ...

a year to the city for rent of a parcel of land. Until 30 October 2012, it was also a member of the

1994 Group The 1994 Group was a coalition of smaller research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom, founded in 1994 to defend these universities' interests following the creation of the Russell Group by larger research-intensive universities earlie ...

. A report by the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engla ...

into governance at the university was published on 20 November 2017.

Controversies

In November 2017, frustration with the governance of the university grew, especially concerning the Vice Chancellor,

Glynis Breakwell Dame Glynis Marie Breakwell (born West Bromwich, 26 July 1952) is a British social psychologist, researcher and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath. In January 2014 she was listed in the Science Council's list of '100 leading UK p ...

's remuneration. The HEFCE carried out an enquiry and recommended 13 changes to the governance of the university. In November 2017, Breakwell's salary rose by 3.9% (£17,589) to over £468,000 and she was reported as the highest paid Vice Chancellor in the country. The university and College Union had an "emergency meeting" of all staff to discuss the issue and the students' union organised a vote of no confidence involving all undergraduate and postgraduate students. By August 2017, four MPs had resigned from the advisory board at the University of Bath in protest against the vice-chancellor's pay package. In November 2017 Breakwell agreed to retire, taking a sabbatical on full pay from September 2018 until retirement in February 2019 when a £31,000 car loan to her would be written off. In January 2018 the University Court voted for her immediate departure and demanding the chair the governing council and remuneration committee should step down, though this decision could not override the existing contractual agreement with Breakwell. On 5 March 2018, at 13:30, a group of 10 Bath students supporting the UCU strike action occupied the vice chancellor's suite in protest of the university's support for UUK's proposed pension reforms. The occupation was endorsed by Bath MP

Wera Hobhouse Wera Benedicta Hobhouse ( von Reden; born 8 February 1960) is a German-British politician. A member of the Liberal Democrats, Hobhouse has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Bath since 2017 and serves as the Liberal Democrat Shadow Leader of t ...

. The university was criticised for its initial response to the protesters, blocking the entrance to the only freely accessible toilets in the occupied area for the first 21 hours of the occupation. The university's response was criticised by local councillor Joe Rayment, alumnus

Marcus Sedgwick Marcus Sedgwick (8 April 1968 – 15 November 2022) was a British writer, illustrator and musician. He published novels such as '' Floodland'' (2001; winner of the Branford Boase Award) and '' The Dark Horse'' (2002; shortlisted for The Guard ...

, NUS Black Students' officer, and prompted the resignation of an external examiner. In September 2018, it was announced that Ian H. White would take over from Glynis Breakwell as Vice-Chancellor in April 2019.

Campus and facilities

School of architecture and building engineering Bath university1

The Library, University of Bath - geograph

Main campus

The university's main campus is located on

, approximately 1.5 miles from the centre of Bath. The site is compact; it is possible to walk from one end to the other in fifteen minutes. The design involved the separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, with road traffic on the ground floors and pedestrians on a raised central thoroughfare, known as the Parade. Buildings would line the parade and student residences built on tower blocks rise from the central thoroughfare. Such plans were mostly followed. At the centre of the campus is the Library, a facility open round the clock offering computing services, information and research assistance as well as books and journals. A number of outlets are housed around the parade, including restaurants, bars and fast-food cafés, plus two banks, a union shop and two small supermarkets, as well as academic blocks. Building names are based on their location and distance vis-à-vis the library (e.g. 1 East, 2 East). Odd-numbered buildings are on the same side of the parade as the Library, and even-numbered buildings are on the opposite side. Buildings along the east-west axis are mostly directly accessible from the parade, which is generally considered to be "level two", but later additions, such as 7 West, 9 West, 3 West North and 8 East, follow the rule less strictly. 7 West is generally accessible only via 5 West or 9 West, and 3 West North, 9 West and 8 East have entrances at ground level at varying distances from the main parade. Buildings on the south of the campus, 1 South to 4 South, are accessible via roads and pedestrian walkways by the university lake and gardens. Buildings, as in many of the so-called

plate glass universities The term plate glass university or plateglass university refers to a group of universities in the United Kingdom established or promoted to university status in the 1960s. The original plate glass universities were established following decisi ...

, were constructed in a functional modernist style using concrete, although such designs were later derided for lacking the charm of the Victorian red-brick universities or the ancient and medieval ones. In Bath, there is a particular contrast between the concrete campus and the

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Hano ...

architecture of the

World Heritage City A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

of Bath. The eastern part of the campus is dominated by the Sports Training Village, built in 1992 and enhanced in 2003 with an extension. The northern perimeter of the university is bounded by student residences Brendon Court, Eastwood, Marlborough Court, Solsbury Court, Norwood House, Osborne House, Polden Court, The Quads, Westwood, and Woodland Court. The original plan for students to be housed in tower blocks above the parade continues with the small number of rooms (110) in Norwood House. However, the second tower block, Wessex House, now hosts offices rather than residences. The university also owns buildings in the city of Bath, mostly student accommodation dotted around town, including Canal Wharf, Carpenter House, Clevelands Building, John Wood Building and John Wood Court, Pulteney Court and Thornbank Gardens. There is also an Innovation Centre that provides work space, practical support and expertise to local technology enterprises and entrepreneurial companies that emerge from the university's student and academic research base Two new buildings were opened in 2017. The Virgil Building, adapted from a former police station, offers a hub and support for students and staff in the centre of Bath, including professional, counselling and careers services, Joblink, a skills centre and learning commons. The university also opened a centre at 83 Pall Mall in central London, with a stated aim of building partnerships and engaging with business, politics and Bath's alumni community in the UK's capital. University of Bath

Over several years, the grounds have received recognition for their outstanding beauty with awards from Bath in Bloom.

Campus developments

The university continually upgrades its Claverton Down campus with new teaching blocks. A proposal to move the boundary of the

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

away to the edge of the campus to facilitate further development was agreed in October 2007 by the local council following a public inquiry, although the boundary of the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty still crosses the site. In July 2005, building 3 West North (officially opened on 27 October) was completed. The deconstruction of the

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

-contaminated 4 West was completed in mid-2005 and the 4 West building opened in April 2010, providing additional teaching and office space. ;Completed projects *4 West, complete with Cafe, completed March 2010 *A new Student Centre, completed October 2010 *The East Building, a multifunction building (offices and teaching rooms), completed May 2011 *The Chancellors' Building, new teaching facilities, completed October 2013 *The Quads is a new student accommodation building on campus with 703 en-suite bedrooms, completed summer 2014 *The Edge opened in early 2015 and has teaching facilities, theatre, gallery, performance and rehearsal studios * 1 West refurbishment to add new learning and research facilities and computer laboratories and offices * 4 East South, a new building providing research and teaching space for the Faculty of Engineering & Design as well as a cutting edge computing data centre. Opened June 2016 * 10 West, a multifunction building which will allow the expansion of the Department of Psychology, a new home for the Institute of Policy Research as well as providing dedicated postgraduate study space. Formally opened on 20 July 2016 by Professor Dame Vicky Bruce. * The Virgil Building, a £4.5million investment to transform the former police station on Manvers Street into a learning zone with office space for student-facing services including study space, training rooms and a coffee bar. Office Space is also provided for the Careers Service, Student Services and others for advice and guidance. * The Milner Centre for Evolution, a £7 million development dedicated to evolution research. The centre formally opened in September 2018. *Polden Corner, to provide 300 postgraduate bed spaces on the Western edge of campus close to existing campus accommodation.

University of Bath in Swindon

The university opened a second site, Oakfield Campus, in 2000 on Marlowe Road Swindon, on a site leased from the council. Formerly ''Oakfield School'', the site was jointly funded by the university and Swindon Council. Officially The University of Bath in Swindon, the campus offered undergraduate courses in childhood studies and social work. The campus was closed in the summer of 2008. Under the Gateway Project, the university had planned to build a major new campus next to the Great Western Hospital and the Coate Water nature reserve. The project had met opposition from environmentalists and locals but had met with Government approval. The university withdrew from the project in March 2007 citing "prevailing planning and funding conditions".

Organisation

The university is divided into four faculties and each faculty into various departments. ;Faculty of Engineering & Design *Architecture and Civil Engineering *Chemical Engineering *Electronic & Electrical Engineering *Mechanical Engineering ;Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences *Economics *Education *Health *Politics, Languages & International Studies *

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

*Social & Policy Sciences ;Faculty of Management * School of Management ;Faculty of Science *Biology & Biochemistry *Chemistry *Computer Science *Mathematical Sciences *Natural Sciences *Pharmacy & Pharmacology *Physics

Academic profile

The university's major academic strengths have been engineering, the physical sciences, mathematics and technology. Today, the university is also strong in management, humanities, architecture and the social sciences. Courses place a strong emphasis on

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...

; the university recommends students to take a one-year industry placement in the penultimate year of the course, although there is no formal recognition of these placements on students' final degree certificates. According to the latest government assessments, Bath has 15 subjects rated "excellent", the highest on the scale. These are: Pharmacy and

Pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

; Business and Management (

accredited); Architecture and Civil Engineering; Economics; Computer Science; Electronic and Electrical engineering; Mechanical Engineering (

IMechE The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

accredited); Mathematics, Statistics and

Operational research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve decis ...

; Education;

Molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

Biosciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, ...

; Biosciences; Physics and Astronomy; Politics; Sport; Social Policy and Administration.

Research

Bath was ranked joint 12th in the UK amongst multi-faculty institutions for the quality (GPA) of its research and 33rd for its Research Power in the 2014

. Over half of the submissions were ranked in the top 10 nationally in their Units of Assessment. 6 out of 13 submissions were ranked in the top 20. Bath has been awarded the

Queen's Anniversary Prize The Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education are a biennially awarded series of prizes awarded to universities and colleges in the further and higher education sectors within the United Kingdom. Uniquely it forms part of the Bri ...

twice. In 2011, the university received the award for the Department of Social & Policy Sciences' 'Influential research into child poverty and support for vulnerable people'. The university also received the prize in 2000 to recognise the 'invaluable services to industrial and scientific communities' of the Centre for Power Transmission & Motion Control.

Rankings and reputation

;National The University of Bath received a Gold award as part of the UK Government's

Teaching Excellence Framework The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) is a controversial government assessment of the quality of undergraduate teaching in universities and other higher education providers in England, which may be used from 2020 to determine ...

(TEF). The framework evaluates universities on criteria including teaching quality, learning environment and student outcomes, taking into account factors such as student satisfaction, retention rates and employment. Bath is ranked 11th in the

Complete University Guide Three national rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually – by ''The Complete University Guide'', ''The Guardian'' and jointly by ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times''. Rankings have also been produced in the past ...

2018 League table and has 18 subjects placed within the top 10 in the UK. Architecture and Marketing are ranked number one. The university is ranked 5th in The Guardian University Guide 2018. Bath is ranked 12th of 128 universities across the UK in the Good University Guide. In ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' 10-year (1998–2007) average ranking of British universities based on consistent league table performance, Bath was ranked 12th overall in the UK. Bath was one of only eight universities (along with the G5,

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

) to have never left the top 15 in one of the three main domestic rankings between 2008 and 2017. Bath has been named as the ‘University of the Year’ by The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. According to data released by the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

in 2018, Bath was rated as the 7th best university in the UK for boosting male graduate earnings with male graduates seeing a 22.2% increase in earnings compared to the average graduate, and the 8th best university for females, with female graduates seeing a 15.2% increase in earnings compared to the average graduate. Bath was ranked 13th out of 122 UK institutions in the 2017 Times Higher Education (THE) Student Experience Survey. Bath students were joint most likely to recommend the university to their friends. ;International In the QS World University Rankings 2018 Bath is ranked 160 out of 959 institutions. The university is ranked 167th out of 750 major institutions in the 2017

Leiden Ranking The CWTS Leiden Ranking is an annual global university ranking based exclusively on bibliometric indicators. The rankings are compiled by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (Dutch: ''Centrum voor Wetenschap en Technologische Studies'' ...

Admissions

In the 2020/21 academic year 19,041 students studied at the university, of whom 13,589 were undergraduates and 5,452 were postgraduates. Around 32% of students are international students (those with non-British domicile), representing 147 nationalities with the largest number coming from China (including Hong Kong), France,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and Malaysia. 27.4% of Bath's undergraduates are privately educated, the eleventh highest proportion amongst mainstream British universities. In the 2016–17 academic year, the university had a domicile breakdown of 71:10:19 of UK:EU:non-EU students respectively with a female to male ratio of 47:53. Applications outside the EU to the university for undergraduate courses dropped 18.5% at a time early in the recruitment cycle that these applications to competing universities grew by 11.5% for the 2018/19 academic year.

Student life

Sports and TeamBath

Students' Union

The University of Bath Students' Union (formerly BUSU) known a
The SU University of Bath
has been recognised by the

NUS NUS or Nus may refer to: * National University of Singapore * Nus, a town in the Aosta Valley of Italy * Neglected and Underutilized Species, or Neglected and Underutilized Crops * National Union of Students (Australia) * National Union of Students ...

as one of the top three in the UK. The current SU president is Alexander Robinson. The SU runs over 100 clubs and societies including sports clubs, cultural, arts, interest and faith societies. Some notable examples are: * ''Bath

RAG Rag, rags, RAG or The Rag may refer to: Common uses * Rag, a piece of old cloth * Rags, tattered clothes * Rag (newspaper), a publication engaging in tabloid journalism * Rag paper, or cotton paper Arts and entertainment Film * ''Rags'' (1915 ...

'' collects money for local and national charities, raising over £1 million since 1966 * The Arts Societies (including student theatre, musicals, dance, and various musical groups) performs plays and other shows to audiences both on campus and in the town, with support provided by Backstage Technical Services. * The Students' Union faith groups include

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

societies as well as an Atheists, Humanists & Secularists society. * Three student media outlets: a fortnightly student newspaper, Bath Time; a radio station, University Radio Bath; and a television station, Campus TV (CTV).

Notable alumni

Arts and media

Ash Atalla Ash Atalla (born 18 June 1972) is an Egyptian-born British television producer. He has produced several British TV series such as ''The Office'', ''The IT Crowd'', '' Man Stroke Woman'' and ''People Just Do Nothing''. He has also made cameo ap ...

, TV producer *Tom Bewick, chief executive,

Creative & Cultural Skills Creative & Cultural Skills is one of the Sector Skills Councils established by the UK Government in 2005 to foster the development of a skilled workforce. Function It covers crafts, cultural heritage, jewelry, design, music, performing, literary ...

(2004-2010) *

Rob Bell Robert Holmes Bell Jr. (born August 23, 1970) is an American author, speaker and former pastor. Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, and pastored it until 2012. Under his leadership, Mars Hill was one of the fastest ...

, TV presenter *

Keith Christmas Keith Peter Christmas (born 13 October 1946, Wivenhoe, near Colchester, Essex, England) is an English singer and songwriter. He attended Bath University to read architecture but, because the Architecture School was, at that time, based in Ki ...

, English folk/rock musician *Paul Barbier, also known as

Ian Cognito Paul John Barbieri (21 November 1958 11 April 2019), known professionally as Ian Cognito, was an English stand-up comedian. He won the Time Out Comedy Awards, Time Out Award for Stand-up Comedy in 1999. Cognito had an aggressive stage persona an ...

, comedian *

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

, pop music video producer * Rob Fisher keyboardist and songwriter with Naked Eyes and Climie Fisher * Neil Fox, radio DJ and TV presenter * Mike Graham, journalist and radio broadcaster for TalkSport *

Gareth Gwynn Gareth Gwynn is a comedy writer, performer and radio presenter. He is the co-writer of the television sitcoms ''Bull'' and ''Tourist Trap'' and the radio sitcoms ''Ankle Tag'', '' Passing On'' and '' Social Club FM.'' Career Writing Gwynn began h ...

, comedy writer and presenter for radio and TV * Sean Li, Hong Kong film actor *

Chuck Pfarrer Charles Patrick Pfarrer III (born April 13, 1957) is an American writer, film producer, and former United States Navy SEAL. As an author, he has penned published screenplays, novels, comic book, and non-fiction works. Regardless of medium, his wo ...

, American screenwriter, novelist, former US Navy SEAL *

Katherine Roberts Katherine Roberts is an English author, best known for her fantasy trilogy The Echorium Sequence. She spent most of her childhood in Devon and Cornwall, England. She is the daughter of Derek Robert, an electrical engineer, and Dorothy Margar ...

, author *

Russell Senior Russell Senior (born 18 May 1961) is a British musician and the former guitarist and violinist of the band Pulp. Senior was born and grew up in Sheffield. Whilst at University in Bath, he formed the Dada Society (also known as the New Wave Soc ...

, formerly of the band Pulp * Jonty Usborne, radio engineer Anne C

Politicians, lawyers, and civil servants

Peter Butcher Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, British diplomat and Ambassador to Turkmenistan *

Sir Stephen Dalton Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Gary George Dalton, (born 23 April 1954)'' Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010, is a retired Royal Air Force commander and former Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. As commanding officer of XIII Squadron, Dalton ...

, Chief of Air Staff, RAF * Don Foster, Liberal Democrat former MP for Bath *

Sandra Gidley Sandra Julia Gidley MRPharmS (''née'' Rawson; born 26 March 1957) is a British pharmacist and politician who served as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Romsey in Hampshire from 2000 to 2010, when she lost her seat to Conserva ...

, former Liberal Democrat MP for Romsey *

Mohamed Fahmy Hassan Mohamed Fahmy Hassan was the Chairman of Maldives Civil Service Commission. He is a native of Fuvahmulah, Maldives and is a Master-Degree graduate from the University of Bath, England. Fahmy started his career in 1975 in the broadcasting industr ...

, Chairman of Maldives Civil Service Commission *

Mansoor Hekmat Mansoor Hekmat ( fa, منصور حکمت, born Zhoobin Razani fa, ژوبین رازانی; June 4, 1951 - July 4, 2002) was an Iranian Marxist theorist, revolutionary and leader of the Worker-communist movement. He opposed the Shah and, after the ...

, Iranian Communist Leader *

Yang Jiechi Yang Jiechi (; born 1 May 1950) is a high-ranking Chinese politician and diplomat, who served as a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party between 2017 and 2022. Yang spent much of his professional life in the United States, wh ...

, Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China *

Eric Joyce Eric Stuart Joyce (born 13 October 1960) is a British politician, former military officer and convicted child sex offender. A former member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Falkirk (UK Parliament const ...

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

MP for Falkirk * T S Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India *

David Kurten David Michael Kurten (born 22 March 1971) is a British politician who has served as leader of the Heritage Party since September 2020. He previously was a member of the London Assembly (AM) for Londonwide from 2016 to 2021. Elected as a UK Ind ...

, UKIP Member of the London Assembly *

Edward Lowassa Edward Ngoyai Lowassa (born August 26, 1953) is a Tanzanian politician who was Prime Minister of Tanzania from 2005 to 2008, serving under President Jakaya Kikwete.

, former Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania *

Anne McClain Anne Charlotte McClain (born June 7, 1979) is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, engineer and a NASA astronaut. Her call sign, "Annimal", dates back to her bruising rugby days; she also uses the call sign in her Twitter handle, AstroAnnimal ...

, member of the 2013 NASA Astronaut Class * Mohammad Tufik Rahim, former Iraqi Minister of Industry and Mines * Julia Reid,

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

MEP * Tom Rivett-Carnac lobbyist for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change *

Karin Smyth Karin Marguerite Smyth (born 8 September 1964) is a British Labour Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol South in 2015. Early life and career Born in London, her parents had emigrated from Ireland to E ...

MP for Bristol South *

Falah Mustafa Bakir Falah Mustafa Bakir ( ckb, فەلاح مستەفا بەکر; born 1964) is a Kurdish politician from Kurdistan Region, Kurdistan Region, Iraq serving as Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to President Nechirvan Barzani with a ministerial rank. He w ...

, Foreign Minister of Iraqi Kurdistan *

Hassan Diab Hassan Diab ( ar, حسان دياب, Ḥassān Dyāb; born 1 June 1959) is a Lebanese academic, engineer and politician who served as the 37th Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 21 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. He was ...

, former Prime Minister of Lebanon. *

Tony Kerpel Anthony Roger Kerpel (born 1946) is a British retired politician and adviser who served as the personal assistant to Prime Minister Edward Heath, special adviser to Conservative Chairman Kenneth Baker from 1986 to 1992 and adviser to South ...

, retired

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician and adviser.

Business people

Robert Fry Lieutenant General Sir Robert Alan Fry, (born 6 April 1951)Debrett's''Lt-Gen Sir Robert Fry, KCB, CBE''Retrieved 15 August 2013 served as a Royal Marine for over 30 years and was involved in military operations in Northern Ireland, the Gulf, ...

, Executive Chairman of the McKinney Rogers Group, former Vice President of Hewlett-Packard, served as Commandant General Royal Marines *

Tan Hooi Ling Tan Hooi Ling () is a Malaysian internet entrepreneur based in Singapore. She is best known as the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Singaporean ride-hailing company, Grab Holdings Inc. Tan was a business analyst at McKinsey & Com ...

, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Grab Holdings Inc. *

Sir Julian Horn-Smith Sir Julian Michael Horn-Smith (born December 1948) is a British businessman who is a member of the boards of a number of international corporations and an advisor to others. He was deputy chief executive of Vodafone until July 2006. Horn-Smith ...

, former COO of Vodafone * Justin King, former CEO of Sainsbury's *

Kieran O'Neill Kieran Lewis O'Neill (born 19 August 1987) is an English entrepreneur best known for founding several Internet companies. He started one of the first video sharing websites, similar to YouTube, when he was 15 and sold it aged 19 for $1.25M. He stu ...

, entrepreneur *

Stewart Till Stewart Till, CBE (born 1951) was the chairman and chief executive of United International Pictures from 2002 to 2006. He is a graduate of the University of Bath. Till was deputy managing director of British Sky Broadcasting's movie channels a ...

, Chairman of United International Pictures and Millwall FC *

Bob Wigley Robert (Bob) Wigley, OStJ, BSc, HonDBA, FCA, CCMI, is chairman of UK Finance, Vesta Global Holdings Ltd, Vizolution Ltd and is an investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is author of a book about the effects of technology on Gen Z, ''Born D ...

, former Chairman Merrill Lynch, Europe, Middle East and Africa; Chairman of Yell Group plc

Academics

Doug Altman Douglas Graham Altman FMedSci (12 July 1948 – 3 June 2018) was an English statistician best known for his work on improving the reliability and reporting of medical research and for highly cited papers on statistical methodology. He was profe ...

, founder and Director of Centre for Statistics in Medicine and Cancer Research UK Medical Statistics Group *

Nigel Healey Nigel Healey is a British-New Zealanacademicin management and higher education, who is Professor of International Higher Education and Vice-President (Global and Community Engagement) at the University of Limerick. He served as Interim Provost and ...

, Vice Chancellor at Fiji National University *

Elena Korosteleva Elena Korosteleva ( be, Алена Карасцелева;) is a dissident academic researcher and principal investigator focusing on governance, democratisation, complexity and resilience. She is Professor of Politics and Global Sustainable De ...

, Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

* Florence Wambugu, African plant pathologist and virologist * Salleh Mohammad Yasin, Director of International Institute for Global Health at the United Nations University and Former Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Malaysia

Sports personalities

* Sandy Abi Elias, Lebanon international footballer *

Marcus Bateman Marcus Bateman (born 16 September 1982) is a British rower. Bateman was born on Bermuda and learnt to row at the University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (M ...

, former British rower *

Steve Borthwick Stephen William Borthwick (born 12 October 1979) is an English rugby union coach who played lock for Bath and Saracens. At International level, he represented the senior England rugby union team between 2001 and 2010 and captained them betwe ...

, former Bath and England rugby union player * Luke Charteris, Wales international rugby union player *

Pamela Cookey Pamela Asibie Cookey (born 2 September 1984 in Birmingham, West Midlands) is a former English netball player, usually posted to goal attack (GA). Club career In domestic netball, Cookey has played with Team Bath in the Netball Superleague sinc ...

, a member of the England netball team that won bronze at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games *

Rachel Dunn Rachel Margaret Dunn (born 14 November 1982) is an English international netball player. Dunn debuted for the England national netball team in 2004 against South Africa, and was a member of the England teams that won bronze medals at the 2006 a ...

, international English netball player *

Joe El-Abd Joe El-Abd (born 23 February 1980) is a rugby union player. He is currently the head coach for Oyonnax in the French Top 14. El-Abd began playing rugby at Hove RFC and at the University of Bath, and after an unsuccessful spell with Bath Rugb ...

, RC Toulonnais rugby union player * Morgan Evans, Gloucestershire All Golds rugby league player * Kelly Gallagher, alpine skier, won Britain's first ever Winter Paralympic gold medal during Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games *

Sean Gelael Muhammad Sean Ricardo Gelael (born 1 November 1996) is an Indonesian racing driver currently competing with WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He competed in GP2 Series from 2015 to 2016, and the FIA Formula 2 Championship from 2017 ...

, Indonesian racing driver who was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

test driver between

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

for

Scuderia Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Red ...

Mark Hardinges Mark Andrew Hardinges (born 5 February 1978) is an English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. Having made his debut in 1999, Hardinges made important contributions for Gloucestershire and went to Wester ...

, cricketer *

Kate Howey Kate Louise Howey (born 31 May 1973 in Andover, Hampshire, England) is a former elite British judoka. She remains the only British woman to have won two Olympic judo medals (silver at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and bronze at the 1992 Olympi ...

, British judo player, represented Great Britain at four Olympiads; winning bronze at Barcelona in 1992 and silver in Sydney * James Hudson, London Irish and England Saxons rugby union player *

Michael Jamieson Michael Jamieson (born 5 August 1988) is a Scottish former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain at the Olympics, FINA world championships and European championships, and Scotland in the Commonwealth Games. Jamieson won the silver ...

, swimmer, won the silver medal in the 200-metre breaststroke at the London 2012 Summer Olympics *

Katy Livingston Katy Livingston (born 10 January 1984 in Guisborough, England) is a British modern pentathlete who has competed at the Olympic Games. Early life Whilst at school she was a member of the running club, New Marske Harriers and swimming club, Saltb ...

, modern pentathlon, competed in Beijing Olympics and won individual bronze at the 2008 World Championships. * Richard Mantell, played for the GB hockey team at the Beijing Summer Olympics *

Samantha Murray Samantha Murray (born 25 September 1989) is an English modern pentathlete. She won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships. In 2014, she won individual gold and team silver medals at t ...

, modern pentathlete, won the silver medal at the London 2012 Summer Olympics *

Marilyn Okoro Marilyn Chinwenwa Okoro (born 23 September 1984, in London) is a British track and field athlete. She finished third in the 800 metres at both the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final. She was on the bronze winning 4 × 400 m relay at the ...

, 400m and 800m runner who made her Olympic debut in Beijing *

Craig Pickering Dr Craig Keith Pickering (born 16 October 1986, in Crawley, West Sussex) is an English retired sprinter and bobsleigher. As a sprinter, he was based at the Marshall Milton Keynes Athletics Club; however, he also ran for the University ...

, Olympic 100m sprinter, World Championship medalist and bobsleigher * Gareth Rees, Glamorgan CCC cricketer *

Ben Rushgrove Benjamin David "Ben" Rushgrove (born 23 February 1988 in Bath) is a British sprint runner with cerebral palsy and hearing impairment. He runs in the T36 classification, and set a world record for the T36 200m at the 2007 Visa Paralympic Worl ...

, T36 100m silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games * Jon Sleightholme, former English Rugby player *

Heather Stanning Heather Mary Stanning OBE (born 26 January 1985) is a retired British professional rower, a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team, and Royal Artillery officer. Ranked number 1 female rower in the world in 2016, she is a double Olympic champi ...

, gold medal for British women's rowing at the London 2012 Summer Olympics * Matt Stevens, Bath, England and British and Irish Lions rugby union player *

Sam Underhill Sam Underhill (born 22 July 1996) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Bath and the England national team. Club career At the age of just 17, Underhill made his debut for Gloucester in the Anglo-Welsh Cup ...

, England international rugby player and Bath rugby. * Sam Weale, modern pentathlon, represented Great Britain at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics *

Amy Williams Amy Joy Williams, (born 29 September 1982) is a British former skeleton racer and Olympic gold medallist. Originally a runner, she began training in skeleton in 2002 after trying the sport on a push-start track at the University of Bath. Altho ...

, British skeleton gold medalist at the 2010 Winter Olympics * Lloyd Wallace, British freestyle skier, competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Notes

References

External links

*
University of Bath Students' Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bath, University Of Educational institutions established in 1966 1966 establishments in England Universities established in the 1960s Universities UK

History

University status

Controversies

Campus and facilities

Main campus

Campus developments

University of Bath in Swindon

Organisation

Academic profile

Research

Rankings and reputation

Admissions

Student life

Sports and TeamBath

Students' Union

Notable alumni

Arts and media

Politicians, lawyers, and civil servants

Business people

Academics

Sports personalities

See also

Notes

References

External links