The University of Chichester

Summary

History

In 1839, a school for training 'Masters' was founded by William Otter, Bishop of Chichester, known as the Bishop Otter College. In 1873, due to the activism of Louisa Hubbard and the Elementary Education Act 1870 which  created demand for school teachers, the campus became a training institute for women teachers. Men were later admitted to the college in 1960 while at Bognor Regis a separate teacher training college was founded in the 1940s to support the expansion of education.

In 1977 Bishop Otter College and Bognor Regis college were merged to form the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education, with degrees awarded by the University of Southampton. This institute gained degree-awarding powers in 1999, becoming known as University College Chichester, and became recognised as a fully-fledged university in October 2005.

University Environment

Chichester University is divided over two campuses which are connected by an inter-campus bus service. Each of the two campuses has its own on-site accommodation, teaching facilities, libraries, student shops, dining rooms, cafes, sports and social facilities:

Bishop Otter Campus

Bishop Otter Campus (BOC) is located just to the north of Chichester city centre, about a twenty-minute walk from the train station. From Chichester the nearby coastal cities of Portsmouth, Southampton and Brighton are under an hour away, while you can also catch a direct train to London in 90 minutes.

The campus dates back to 1839 and is surrounded by parkland, playing fields and well-maintained grounds. The University has recently invested in new learning resources and sports facilities, so there is a combination of both historic and up-to-date modern buildings with state-of-the-art resources.

BOC hosts the Childhood, Social Work and Social Care, Dance, Fine Art, Humanities, Music, Psychology & Counselling, Institute of Sport, and Theatre departments.

Bognor Regis Campus

The Bognor Regis Campus (BRC) is located east of the town centre, a ten-minute walk from the train station and a 10-minute walk to the beach and features the impressive Dome building which was originally built as a royal seaside palace for King George III and now houses the business school.

BRC campus hosts our Business School, Creative & Digital Technologies, Institute of Education, Engineering & Design and Musical Theatre departments.

Academics

Departments

• Business School
• Creative & Digital Technologies
• Institute for Education
• Fine Art
• Music
• Institute of Sport
• Childhood, Social Work & Social Care
• Dance
• Engineering & Design
• Humanities
• Psychology and Counselling
• Theatre

Research

The recent Research Excellence Framework (2014) confirmed that 90% of research submitted by Chichester was at an international level with 15% classified as ‘world-leading’. The University has a 2020 vision for all staff engaged in learning and teaching to achieve a research profile of national or international repute.

International & Industrial Opportunities

The University of Chichester offers students the opportunity to study abroad either in Europe via the Erasmus Programme or internationally via the International exchange programme.

Department such as the Business School has optional work placement and internship programmes to give students the opportunity to implement the skills and knowledge gained during their time on campus in a real-world setting and allows them to develop their employability skills. 'Professional Placement' programme takes place during the student third year of study, which is a one year paid internship. The students also have the opportunity to undertake a 10-week full-time work placement as they begin the final semester of their degree.

Fees & Finance

Scholarships

The University's Gifted Athlete Scholarship Programme is offered to students with exceptional sporting ability. Scholars work with experts from the University’s Sport and Exercise Sciences Department to create personalised training and also receive financial support, a bespoke SPRU (Sports Performance and Rehabilitation Unit) support programme, a gym membership, a Sports Federation membership, and a University-branded tracksuit.

Bursaries

The Chichester Bursary is a yearly £500 cash bursary per year offered to students whose household income is less than £25,000 a year. This is money which is paid directly to the student to help with the cost of living.

If you are under 25 and have been ‘in care’ with any local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14, you are eligible for the Care Leavers Bursary of £1,000 per year, irrespective of any other funding or grants you may receive.

Facilities

Learning Facilities

The Learning Resource Centres (LRCs) hold 200,000 books and around 380 print subscriptions to journals, as well as electronic access to a further 12,000 journals containing over 20 million articles. Students also have access to over 500,000 e-books. There is also a team of professional librarians at each site to provide specialist information support. The LRC in both campuses contain café, social areas, IT/teaching rooms, and wi-fi throughout, with bookable areas for group work, and silent study areas. The LRCs are open 24/7 for most of the academic year.

All of these electronic resources can be accessed both on and off campus. All subject areas have specific sections within the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that allow students to identify and access resources more easily.

Student IT facilities are centred on the Learning Resource Centres, and supported by a state-of-the art wireless network covering all key areas. The network gives fast internet access, as well as opening up all the online resources and VLE. There are printers located all around the campus. During the semester-time, a wide range of equipment is available from the Equipment Loan service, including: video cameras; lighting rigs; audio recorders and laptop security cables.

Creative Hub is a facility designed to support students and staff from across the university in working with digital media – video, audio, and graphics. There are six purpose-built edit suites and a professional finishing suite each in its own sound proof enclosure, along with a multi-purpose edit suite/teaching station with high quality HD TV display.

Sporting Facilities

The Tudor Hale Centre For Sport is Chichester's flagship sports facility. The centre incorporates the brand new Fitness Suite equipped with state-of-the-art Life Fitness Equipment and Fitness Studio, in addition to a 4-badminton court sized Sports Hall.

On the Bishop Otter campus the new Sports Dome houses four indoor tennis courts, three netball courts. Other facilities on the Chichester Campus include: a 110m synthetic athletics track; two multi-purpose gymnasiums; indoor and outdoor climbing walls and climbing boulder; two full size grass football pitches and pavilions; grass rugby pitch; an outdoor netball court; a full size floodlit artificial turf pitch and two seminar rooms.

There are no sports facilities on the Bognor Regis campus, however as a University of Chichester student, you can enjoy a range of discounts at the Inspire Leisure Centre, such as badminton, squash and swimming.

All the University’s facilities are designed for academic teaching, research, British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) competitions and social/recreational use by their students, staff and local community.

Students' Union

Students' Union

The University of Chichester Students' Union (UCSU) actively engages students to ensure they have the best opportunity of pursuing activities that reflect their interests, and supports students who want to run their own societies that allow like-minded people to come together. There are over 25 societies for you to choose from, each offering a variety of events and activities to suit you.

The Hub, a one-stop-shop within the heart of the Bognor Regis Campus, provides a friendly social space with a wide range of activities available. In the morning you can relax in The Hub with a coffee, the afternoon can be spent on one The Hub's Xboxes, watching Sky Sports, or playing darts or pool, while the evenings provide a mixture of popular social events including club and quiz nights as well as offering ‘chill out’ nights for the opportunity to relax in a quieter environment.

Zee Bar, on the Bishop Otter campus, offers something for everyone with karaoke nights, dressing up nights, rave nights, and pub quizzes. Sports fans can enjoy the Sky and BT sports packages, with the Bar opening at 11am every weekday for you to grab a coffee between lectures.

The SU Volunteering Award is an internal Awards Programme that acknowledges your work and voluntary commitment. The Award Scheme works on a Bronze, Silver and Gold accumulative system with just 10hrs of service and evidence needed to achieve a Bronze level.

UCSU offers practical advice that is free, confidential, impartial and non-judgemental to all students of Chichester University. They can also signpost you to a member of staff or service within the University who can best help. The majority of the enquiries fall into the following categories: personal issues, housing, academic, money, or complaints & disciplinary proceedings with the University.

Student Support

Religion & Spirituality

The Chaplaincy is available for all students and staff of all faiths and none. Students who are experiencing difficulties can speak to one of the chaplains if they don't know where to start to get help. Their support is confidential, non-judgmental and compassionate. There are regular services at the Chapels on both campuses, and rooms available for prayer or quiet meditation.

Health & Wellbeing

The University has teams of highly qualified specialists located in the Support and Information Zone (SIZ), to support students whatever their needs. SIZ is your first point of call and is available in both campuses, but is also accessible via telephone and email.

The Mental Health Adviser offers expert support and advice for all students with diagnosed conditions as well as those with suspected mental health and wellbeing issues such as stress, trouble sleeping, low mood or difficulty coping.

The Counselling Service is there to help students address personal or emotional problems which may impact their time at University and help students realise their full academic and personal potential through a talking therapy. Many talking therapies are available, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, (CBT), Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).

A Dyslexia & Dyspraxia Advisor offers an initial screening for dyslexia, dyspraxia and other specific learning difficulties, and assists students with obtaining full educational psychology reports while a Sensory Advisor can help students with vision and/or hearing impairments to access course materials in alternative formats and access assistive technology.

As well as supporting students, the Disability Service can also provide note-takers, readers, communicators, signers and non-medical helpers/mentors who are all normally funded from the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

There are two registered nurses who offer professional support to meet the health and wellbeing needs of the student population. The University has links with three local GP surgeries that they recommend you register with.

Career Facilities

Chichester's professionally trained Career Consultants have a broad range of experience upon which to draw to advise and guide career decision-making; students can meet in person or via an e-appointment, Skype or telephone. 

The Careers and Employability Service works closely with Academic Departments and employers to ensure you capitalise on your learning and skills gained. They have an excellent range of resources to give you advice and guidance for all your job hunting and careers planning needs whilst their on-line Careers System allows you to: search for the latest part-time and graduate opportunities; book an appointment with a careers consultant; browse and book a place on a workshop, a careers fair or employer event; ask the Careers team a quick question; and set up alerts for newly posted jobs and/or events tailored to your interests.

Accommodation

Chichester offers a range of accommodation options and guarantee you a room in their Halls of Residence for your first year of study on both campuses. All of the Halls of Residence and University accommodation are professionally managed, secure and supported by the team in the Accommodation Office 24/7, so students feel at home. Chichester University offers 11 residences for students with a variety of options, for example en-suite or shared bathrooms, or catered or self-catered to suit all budgets and needs.

International

English Language Requirements

Non-native speakers of English are expected to have IELTS 6.0 overall with no component less than 5.5 (or equivalent) is required to join a single honours undergraduate programme.

If your IELTS is 5.5 overall (with no element below 5.5) you may join a joint degree (50% / 50%) with International English Studies. Over your first year your English will improve so, if you wish, you can change to a single honours or major/minor combination degree in your second year.

If your IELTS is 5.0 or 4.5 overall you may be able to apply for their pre-sessional programme.

International Support

If English is not your first or main language, Chichester's English Language Support will help you plan, carry out and check your coursework and develop your academic and language skills such as essay writing and presentations.

The University organises an orientation programme at the beginning of the academic year to help you settle into student life, with useful advice and the opportunity to meet current and new students.

The International Student Advisor Service provides specialist advice for international students to help with visa applications, finance and cultural adjustment to life in the UK.

Media