HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

, motto_lang = la , mottoeng = ''Aspire to Inspire'' , established = 1946 – Worcester Emergency Teacher Training College
1948 – Worcester Teacher Training College
1976 – Worcester College of Higher Education
1997 – University College Worcester (Given degree awarding powers)
2005 –
University Status A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
, 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
, chancellor =
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well ...
, vice_chancellor = David Green , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , doctoral = Up to 30 at any time , location =
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, England, UK , campus = Urban , colours = Blue and White , website = , faculty = 300 , administrative_staff = 700 , coordinates = , logo = University of Worcester - Logo.jpg , logo_alt = University of Worcester – Logo , logo_size = 100px The University of Worcester 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 sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
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 kn ...
, based in
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, England. Worcester is the only university based in the counties of
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
and
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouths ...
. With a history dating back to 1946, the university began awarding degrees in 1997 and was granted full university status in 2005.


History

In 1946 an Emergency
teacher training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...
for the University of Birmingham was established in Worcester on the site of one of the former RAF bases used during the Second World War. Henry Hines came to Worcester from the Canterbury Technical Institute as the principal of the college. E.G. Peirson followed Hines's lead as the principal of the college from 1951 to 1978. During his time at the college, in the 1970s the Council for National Academic Awards validated the degrees for the Worcester College of Higher Education and the former Peirson Library, now The Peirson Study and Guidance Centre was opened. The third principal of the college, David Shadbolt, started his leadership in 1978 bringing a new system of organisation, based around three schools – Education and Teaching Studies, Arts and Sciences. In 1992, Dorma Urwin became the new principal and Coventry University agreed to validate the institution's degree courses. The Herefordshire and Worcestershire College of Nursing and Midwifery was absorbed in 1995. In 1997 the
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...
affirmed the institution's degree-awarding powers and it subsequently became known as University College Worcester. In 2003, David Green was appointed as Dorma Urwin's successor and later became the vice chancellor of the institution. In 2005 the Privy Council granted university status. The institution was renamed "University of Worcester" in September of that year. In 2010 the HM Privy Council conferred research degree-awarding powers on the university. In the same year, the university opened the City campus in the renovated former infirmary to create a home for the Business School. Two years later, in 2012, the university opened The Hive, a £60 million facility focused on learning resources, technology, social and study spaces. This facility is a joint venture between the university and Worcestershire County Council and was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen.University history – University of Worcester
. Worcester.ac.uk. Retrieved on 8 March 2014.
In 2021, the university decided to close its archaeology department, with the change to come into effect the end of the 2021/22 academic year; this led to a petition being started, asking the vice-chancellor and executive board to reconsider the decision.


Locations

Since 2005, the university has expanded greatly and acquired many new sites across the city of Worcester. Its long-term strategy includes building joint community and university facilities, and expanding to a 4th campus.


St John's Campus

The university's main campus is known as St John's and is the main base for all courses, support departments and academic institutes, except those related to business, computing, marketing or management. The site contains Halls of Residence with over 872 rooms, a sports centre, sports pitches, facilities for training nurses, midwives, and physician associates, a commercial standard digital arts centre and motion performance centre. The Peirson Centre provides study spaces, as well as ICT facilities, support and a Student Guidance Centre. The campus is located close to the local area of
St John's, Worcester St John's is a suburb of Worcester, England, lying west of the city centre and the River Severn. St. John's is referred to locally as the "Village in the City", which is partly due to being an independent township, before joining the city in 183 ...
.


City Campus

The university's second campus is known as City Campus, and is the home of the Worcester Business School. The campus opened in September 2010 on the site of the former Worcester Royal Infirmary in Infirmary Walk. The buildings of the original infirmary, which remain, are the work of the noted eighteenth-century architect
Anthony Keck Anthony Keck (1726–1797) was an 18th-century English architect with an extensive practice in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire and South Wales. Life Keck was born at Randwick, Gloucestershire in 1726 He designed in the "austere ...
. Work began in January 2007, and cost approximately £120 million. Phase 1 was completed in time for the 2010 academic year. As part of this, new Halls of Residence with accommodation for 250 students were completed on the site as well as the restoration of the main buildings. All Worcester Business School courses are run here, including undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The
Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and ...
Chapel has been refurbished to its original state as has the boardroom in which the
British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headqua ...
was founded in 1832. The history of the building inspired the development of an interactive exhibition, The Infirmary, which opened on City Campus in 2012. Phase 2 has had to be reviewed due to deep cuts in government funding and caps on student numbers, and is no longer considered feasible due to current budget deficits.


Riverside and Worcester Arena

In addition, the university occupies a large site adjacent to the River Severn, now known as "Riverside". This includes an Art Space & Exhibition building and a 2,000-seat-capacity sports arena built as a new facility for sports, events, a base for the Worcester Wolves basketball team, a national centre of excellence for disability sports and as a further teaching and office space. The facility, known as Worcester Arena is also accessible to the local community. Since its completion the Worcester Arena has become more and more under-utilised with plans in place for its redevelopment as an indoor bowls center specifically targeted at the over 60s


Lakeside Campus (outdoor education centre)

Lakeside Campus is located in the Worcestershire countryside, just a 10-minute drive from the main campus. The site includes watersports lake, grass pitches, woodlands and an activity centre


The Hive (library and study facility)

The Hive, a joint venture between the University of Worcester and Worcestershire County Council, was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen in July 2012. The library is adjacent to the City Campus site in the centre of Worcester and brings a range of services under one roof including a fully integrated public and university library with adult, children's and academic sections, the Worcestershire Archive and Record Office, the Worcestershire Historic Environment and Archaeology Service, the County Archive record store and the Worcestershire County Council Hub Customer Service Centre. The Hive contains over a quarter of a million books and of archive collections, together with meeting rooms, exhibition spaces and a studio theatre. Individual and group working areas are provided throughout the five floors together with over 500 desktop computers.


University Park

The university plans to develop a third campus on the disused ''Grove Farm'', a piece of land from St John's campus. It is adjacent to the A44 and well connected to the city's transport network. This third site is expected to take fifteen years to complete and will form part of a ''Business and Enterprise Park'' alongside expanded science, business and sport institutes. Parts of the site will also develop the university's work in healthcare and wellbeing, again in partnership with local providers.


Other locations

The university also owns or operates various other halls and sports facilities across the city of Worcester, but these are not major university sites or campuses. The university is one of the official venues to be included in the London 2012 Pre-Games Training Camp Guid

ref name="podium
Podium News, 1 May 2009
Retrieved 14 January 2010
The guide features facilities and venues across the UK suitable for use by international sporting teams as a training base in the run up to and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012.


Environmental standing

The institution has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard.Worcester University
Retrieved 14 January 2010
and it was the first university in England to receive a Gold EcoCampus Award for the whole organisation, just shortly after being awarded the Silver Eco-Campus status in 2008. The Green League awarded the university 16th position out of 18, for the First Class award among a total number of 126 contenders for the First Class, Upper Second Class, Lower Second Class, and Third Class awards.


Organisation and structure

On Thursday 10 April 2008, The Duke of Gloucester was installed as the founding chancellor of the university in a ceremony at
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bless ...
. The duke officiates at degree ceremonies, attends major events (including the Duke of Gloucester Lecture Series) and promotes the university overseas. The College of Fellows was established in 2008 to bring together high-profile "ambassadors" for the university. New Fellows are appointed at the annual graduation ceremonies in
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bless ...
. The board of governors meets regularly and is composed of appointed governors, staff governors, student governors and co-opted governors from a wide range of business and community areas. An executive management board meets weekly, and this is the primary decision-making body of the institution. The seven faculties include, Institute of Education, Institute of Health and Society, Institute of the Arts, Institute of Humanities, Institute of Science and the Environment, Institute of Sport and Exercise Science, and the Worcester Business School. Each academic institute hosts an academic support unit which assists both lecturers and students with administration issues directly relevant to the department. During 2018 the university began a restructuring process including the reorganisation of institute faculties into academic schools. The ten academic schools include: School of allied health & community, School of the arts, School of education, School of humanities, School of nursing & midwifery, School of psychology, School of science & the environment, School of sport & exercise science, Worcester business school and the University of Worcester international college.


Academic profile


Reputation and rankings

An
Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, incl ...
report for the overall standard of the Institute of Education's teaching programme rated the university as "Excellent". The training of teachers was rated ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED in June 2010. Results in the first four National Student Surveys have placed Worcester in the top 40 universities for student satisfaction in 2008, the most satisfied being in English, History and Teacher Training. In March 2010, the university was ranked 54th of the top public sector places to work.


Research

In August 2010 the university was granted research degree-awarding powers, enabling it to confer the awards of
MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil ...
and
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...
. Before this Coventry University assisted in the academic awarding of these degrees. The university includes eight national research centres: *The National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit from where all UK national pollen forecasts originate, and testing of new hay fever and anti-allergen devices is conducted. *The Centre for Rural Research, which examined the psychological effects of the mass flooding in the UK in recent years. *The International Centre for Children's Literature, Literacy and Creativity is, with
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and Roehampton University, one of the three UK university centres to employ full-time children's literature professors. *The Motion Performance Centre which looks at sports injuries, and rehabilitation techniques using motion capture technology. The Human Performance Laboratories work alongside to provide data on exercise and how it affects the body. *The Centre for People @ Work *The Centre for Applied Health Research *The Association for Dementia Studies was launched at the university in February 2010.


Student life

Worcester Students' Union is the representative body for students studying at the University of Worcester, and a member of the National Union of Students. It is based in a building on the St Johns Campus. It provides a number of services and facilities. The union is led by a team of elected officers the president, a vice-president (education), a vice-president (student activities), and 7 non-sabbatical officers with varying portfolio responsibilities. The official Students' Union newspaper for the university is called ''The Voice''.


Sports activities

The university is home to the Worcester Wolves basketball team, the league winning Worcester Allstars Football team and the Worcester Royals, an American Football team. The university has England Blind Footballers as some of its students. The university also have a multi-year partnership with local
Premier 15s The Premier 15s, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Allianz Premier 15s, is the top tier of the women's English rugby union domestic league system run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The league was created mainly from teams in t ...
side
Worcester Warriors Women Worcester Warriors Women, currently known as the University of Worcester Warriors for partnership reasons, and formally known as Worcester Valkyries, are a women's rugby union club in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. They were founded in 1993, ...
who have been renamed 'University of Worcester Warriors' as part of the deal.


Notable alumni

*
Waqar Azmi Waqar Azmi is listed in the world's 500 most influential Muslims by Georgetown University, as well as the Asian power 100 list of the most influential Asians in the UK and, the Muslim power 100 List of the most influential Muslims in the UK. H ...
OBE, diplomat and former chief adviser to the prime minister, Cabinet OfficeGlittering prizes, General
. Times Higher Education (2 November 2001). Retrieved on 8 March 2014.
* Pat Brown, cricketer *
Alan Dickens Alan William Dickens (born 3 September 1964) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a midfielder. He played the majority of his football at West Ham United and Chelsea, and later played non-league foot ...
, rugby player * Fawzia Gilani-Williams, author and scholar * Judith Hamer, paralympian *
Matthew Hudson-Smith Matthew Hudson-Smith (born 26 October 1994) is a British track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. He holds, as of July 2022, the British record, running a personal best of 44.35 seconds for the distance set at Eugene, Oregon ...
, olympic athlete * Daryl Mitchell, cricketer *
Kyle Pryor Kyle Pryor (born 10 January 1984) is an English actor. He is known for his roles as Nate Cooper in the Australian soap ''Home and Away'' and Laurie Shelby in the Channel 4 British soap opera, '' Hollyoaks''. Before these appearances, he was a ...
, actor * Matthew Raggett, educationalist * Y. S. Avinash Reddy, Indian MP * Swaroop Sampat, actress and Femina Miss India 1979 *
John Shimmin John Shimmin (born 1 July 1960) is a former Member of the House of Keys for Douglas West. Early life Shimmin was born in Douglas in 1960 and educated at St Ninian's High School and the Worcester College of Higher Education. He was then a tea ...
, politician * Jacqui Smith, politician * Rosie Spaughton, YouTuber * Rob Taylor, footballer *
Imogen Thomas Imogen Mary Thomas (born 29 November 1982) is a Welsh model and television personality. She won the Miss Wales award in 2003, and appeared on the seventh series of Channel 4 reality television programme '' Big Brother'' in 2006. In 2011, her ...
, model * Adam Willis, footballer * Fatbardhe Hetemaj, politician and author


See also

* Armorial of UK universities * College of Education *
List of universities in the UK This is a list of universities in the United Kingdom (alphabetical by substantive name). Below that are lists of university colleges and other recognised bodies (institutions with degree awarding powers), followed by a list of defunct institution ...


References


External links

*
Worcester Students' Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester, University Of University of Worcester 1946 establishments in England Education in Worcestershire Educational institutions established in 1946 Universities UK