The University of East London

Summary

History

UEL’s roots go back to 1892 when the West Ham Technical Institute was created as a provider of vocational education for the local community. Dubbed the ‘People’s University’ by John Passmore Edwards, the Institute offered courses in science, engineering and art and also featured a Women's Department. In 1970 the Institute merged with colleges in Walthamstow and Dagenham to form the North East London Polytechnic. Following the modernisation of facilities and campuses, it became the Polytechnic of East London in 1988 and, in 1992, the University of East London. The Docklands campus the first new university campus to be built in London for 50 years, was opened in 1999.

University Environment

The University is based in East London, in two superbly located campuses – in Stratford, and in London Docklands.

Stratford Campus (Water Lane)

UEL’s Stratford campus is close to Stratford’s thriving town centre, the 2012 Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and just 15 minutes from London’s West End.

Stratford’s facilities include a new library and learning centre, upgraded laboratories and computing services, as well as the student support hub and the Centre for Clinical Education in Podiatry, Physiotherapy and Sports Science. There is also a campus restaurant and bookshop, and a Students’ Union café-bar.

Westfield Stratford City - Europe’s largest indoor shopping mall - is just one of Stratford’s attractions, alongside many other shops, cafés, bars and restaurants, cinemas, a theatre and an arts centre.

Stratford Campus (University Square Stratford)

University Square is a unique partnership with Birkbeck, University of London aimed at creating a major new university campus to meet the growing aspirations of local people in east London. The facilities at University Square include performance spaces and studios; the Harvard lecture theatre with live capture technology; the multi-media Weston Learning Centre; a dedicated MBA suite and teaching space; a 300-seat specialised tiered lecture theatre; and a simulated courtroom for mooting experience.

Docklands Campus

Facing towards the waterfront, the Docklands campus provides a state-of-the-art learning environment with modern lecture theatres and seminar rooms, a 24/7 library and a multimedia production centre - complete with audio-visual labs and studios. UEL is one of the few London universities to provide on-campus accommodation. The Docklands Student Village houses over 1,200 students, as well as shops, a bar and a launderette. SportsDock, the University's main sports centre is also located here.

The Docklands campus is  served by Cyprus station, on the Docklands Light Railway. It’s located right at the campus entrance, giving you access to central London in less than half an hour. Stratford and Canary Wharf are both 20 minutes away.

A free, regular bus operates between the Docklands and Stratford campuses, with a bus stop directly outside the Student Village.

Academics

Colleges and Schools

College of Applied Health and Communities

• School of Health, Sport and Bioscience
• School of Psychology

College of Arts, Technology and Innovation

• School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering
• School of Arts and Digital Industries

College of Professional Services

• Royal Docks School of Business and Law
• Cass School of Education and Communities

The Graduate School

Research

UEL’s current research goal is to remain one of the leading modern research universities in the UK. The University has nearly doubled its output of world-leading research over the past several years. In the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, over 62 per cent of UEL’s research was classed Internationally excellent – confirming UEL position as a research leader among London’s modern universities.

There are many areas of individual strength across UEL’s different academic areas, including:

• UEL ranked equal first in England for the impact of its psychology research
• 86 percent of health research rated world-leading or internationally excellent
• 80 percent of communication, culture and media studies research is world-leading or internationally excellent.

Industrial & International Opportunities

UEL has a range of different schemes to enable you to study internationally. Erasmus+ offers students the ability to study in Europe for a term or a year at one of the University’s partner institutions. The International Exchange offers students the ability to study for either a semester or a full academic year at one of the University international exchange partners, with choices in North America, South America, Asia or Australia.

Going Global offers students the ability to take part in a short, study-related trip anywhere in the world, whilst International Summer School offers students the ability to study at one of UEL’s international partners’ summer schools and gain academic credit to bring back to UEL.

Some courses offer industrial placements through four-year degrees whilst many courses feature guaranteed placements built into their programmes. For other courses, academic staff can help arrange suitable placements through their network of industry contacts – many of whom are themselves UEL alumni.

Fees & Finance

Scholarships

UEL offers generous scholarships and bursaries to new undergraduate students via competitive application. Non-repayable scholarships are awarded based on a combination of merit and need. Below are some examples of the scholarships; however please see the UEL website for a complete list of scholarships and bursaries available.

For those that accept UEL as their firm choice, the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship offers £27,000 over three years and the Dean’s Scholarship offers £13,500 over three years, and is paid either as a cash payment or goes towards your tuition fees.

The UEL Civic Engagement Scholarship of £1,000 is a cash reward for students who are dedicated to helping others through volunteering, charity work or educational projects.

UEL offers Sports scholarships for students who are also talented athletes in fulfilling their potential as a student athlete. Students may receive up to £6,000 per year to help with training costs and expect to represent UEL at national and international university competitions.

Bursaries

Care Leaver and Foyer Bursaries are available to support UK students aged under 25 at the start of their course and who have previously lived in care or a foyer. It is a cash award of £1,000 and you are free to choose how you spend the money. In addition, students who choose to live in University owned accommodation will be eligible for an additional £500 contribution towards their rent and deposit.

Hardship bursaries are available to support UK/EU students on a low income, experiencing financial difficulties meeting their living costs. This is a cash award ranging from £100 to £3,000.

Going Global gives UK students at UEL the chance to participate in short study-related visits overseas. Trips can be arranged on an individual basis or as a group and the University offers bursaries to part-fund overseas assignments, with applications following a competitive bidding process. Cash awards are available from £300 to European countries up to £700 for visits to South and East Asia and Australasia.

Facilities

Learning Facilities

UEL has a superb range of resources and facilities to help you with your studies.

Their Stratford Library opened to the tune of £14m and is a state-of-the-art building which provides an inspirational environment for study and research. It is open 24/7 during term time and has a range of study spaces, including group study rooms, quiet study areas and individual silent study carrels.

Overlooking the Royal Docks, the University’s modern Docklands library is another fantastic space for learning, offering a wide range of resources as well as group and silent study facilities, which opens 24/7 during term time.

As well as visiting UEL’s libraries in person, you can also take advantage of the University’s collection of electronic resources, including e-books, e-journals and databases.

The Library’s Learning & Language support teams include academic tutors. They  are friendly, knowledgeable, highly qualified, and here to help you succeed in your studies. They can help you with essay writing, presentations, data handling, numeracy, statistics, and much, much more. They offer free workshops, drop-in sessions and one to one appointments in all the campuses. A well-established Peer Mentoring Scheme is also available to help you develop and enhance your academic journey.

To help prepare you for your end-of-year exams and assignments, StudyFest takes place at the start of the summer term. This highly popular ‘festival’ takes the form of a wide range of daily activities and sessions to help you on your academic and personal journey and give you the best chance of success. Activities include support for specific course modules, help with study skills such as revision strategies, structuring essays and avoiding plagiarism, health and well-being sessions, advice about relaxation and stress-busting techniques and energising sports sessions to keep not just your brain active, but your body too.

Sporting Facilities

The Docklands campus is home to the University’s £21million sports facility, SportsDock.  It is one of London’s largest indoor sports venues and this world class sports centre is available to students, staff, and the local community, as well as national and international organisations. SportsDock was the official high performance training headquarters for Team USA, hosting them for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

SportsDock’s facilities include two multi-purpose indoor sports arenas; a120-piece fitness centre; a fully equipped strength and conditioning room; dance and aerobics studios; a sports therapy clinic; conferencing and meeting rooms, lecture theatres and teaching rooms; and outdoor pitches.

The London Aquatics Centre was home of swimming in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has three swimming pools; a 50 metre competition pool, a 50 metre training pool, and a diving pool with platforms at 1m, 3m, 5m, 7.5m and 10m.  The London Aquatics Centre also provides a state-of-the-art gym and a dry diving facility for athletes of all levels. The venue holds up to 2,800 spectators at a time. UEL manages the London Aquatics Centre Performance Programme (LACPP), the high performance swimming programme based at the London Aquatics Centre. 

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is where UEL’s hockey players train and compete weekly on one of the two water-based astro pitches. With six outdoor and four indoor courts, tennis players also have great opportunities to improve their game.

UEL has 24 sport clubs for you to choose from. All clubs are open to everyone, from complete beginners, intermediates to senior internationals. The majority of their clubs compete in the weekly league and cup matches, as well as individual championships run by the British University and College Sports (BUCS).

Students' Union

Students’ Union

UEL Students' Union (UELSU) runs a number of clubs and societies, campaigns and entertainment, some of which take place at the Underground Bar on the Docklands campus, which also hosts a regular programme of entertainment events from music nights to quizzes.

UELSU offers you free and confidential advice on a range of issues that may affect you during your time at UEL. Their trained staff will listen to your situation; explore your options with you and talk about the steps to be taken in order to deal with the issue you are facing. Advice includes Academic Appeals, Academic Misconduct, Complaints, and Disciplinary Procedures & Extenuating Circumstances.

Volunteering is an opportunity for you to build your skills, improve your employability and stand out from the crowd in today's competitive job market. By including volunteering experience on your CV you will demonstrate key skills and dedication to potential employers. Give it a Go is a programme run by the Students' Union, which offers all UEL students and staff the opportunity to earn new skills, meet new people and pretty much, as the name suggests, try something new! SU Heroes is a dynamic team of volunteers with various skill sets to ensure UEL incoming students have the smoothest journey possible. As volunteers, you’ll make friends, feel more confident at UEL than ever before, and have the opportunity to network with students and staff.

Student Support

Health & Wellbeing

UEL £3.1 million brand-new Student Support hubs at the Docklands and Stratford campuses, contain centralised helpdesks as well as comfortable areas for you to relax and socialise. The helpdesks provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for every possible need, from course-related enquiries to personal issues such as health and money matters. They’re designed to be your first port of call if you have an enquiry or problem.

UEL is linked to the Royal Docks Medical Practice to ensure that their students have easy access to GP services. The University can offer short-term counselling and other psychological therapies, too. Counselling may involve reflecting on and exploring your feelings about your past experiences as well as the present ones. This will help you to increase your awareness of the situation and to identify and strengthen coping strategies. Other short-term therapies available include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

UEL’s Disability and Dyslexia Service provides support and advice for disabled students and those with specific learning difficulties (SPDs), including dyslexia. If you have a disability, long-term medical condition or a specific learning difficulty, the University can help to identify and address any barriers to your education so that you can access your course and reach your potential.

Career Facilities

The University offers a centralised service to help you choose the right work experience and placement opportunities. Students and graduates can sign up for regular updated work experience mailing list and browse through hundreds of short-term vacancies.

Courses at UEL are designed to prepare you for the work of work and the University has many contacts and partnerships with employers. Many courses offer visits to companies and organisations, while industry experts regularly visit the University to pass on their knowledge.

The bespoke Summer Internship Programme brings together small to medium-sized employers the ability to offer summer internships and job shadow opportunities to UEL students.

Every year, the University organise a full range of networking opportunities for students, graduates and UEL alumni. The biggest networking event is the annual careers and employment fair, which is held in the early summer. The fair also features career workshops, where students get the chance to network with professional staff of organisations and polish skills such as CV writing, interview technique, self-marketing and job searching strategies.

UEL encourages students to become active citizens by volunteering and they have a dedicated e-platform to help you choose the right community organisation and project. Students can also take a volunteering module, whatever course they are studying.

UEL’s Professional Mentoring Scheme matches students and professional staff from industries and organisations. Companies in the mentoring scheme include: London City Airport, BT Sport, Canary Wharf Group, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Accenture and HSBC. In turn, many mentored students join the mentoring chain themselves as ‘peer mentors’ – going out into local communities and helping secondary school children decide what they want to do with their lives.

Accommodation

UEL is one of the very few universities in London to offer on-campus accommodation.

West Student Village offers flats with en-suite single bedrooms for three to five students with a shared kitchen/social area whilst studio flats are available if you want a quiet area of your own to study.

A number of the living areas and kitchens in East Student Village have excellent panoramic views across the dock area. Here you can choose from either en-suite single bedrooms for four to seven students with a large modern and spacious shared kitchen/dining area and living space; en-suite enhanced bedrooms offering even more space to study, along with a shared kitchen and living room; and self-contained studios with an individual kitchen and dining area all to yourself.

There are secure bike sheds located around the campus and in the East Student Village and the University has an on-campus security team available 24 hours a day. The University provides on-site laundry facilities in both the West and East villages.

Accommodation at the University is self-catered, however they offer an optional, value-for-money residential meal catering plan which will provide you with breakfast and dinner at one of four on-campus catering outlets from Monday to Friday.

If you prefer to cook your own food, shopping for groceries is easy and convenient. There’s an on-campus shop for essentials, while there are two superstores - Asda and Sainsbury’s - within walking distance of the Docklands campus.

International

English Language Requirements

The English language entry requirement for an undergraduate (Bachelor's) course is a minimum IELTS score of 5.5 or 6, or equivalent, depending on the course and year or level of entry.

International Scholarships

UEL International scholarships are offered to new self-funded international undergraduate students discounts of up to £3000 towards the cost of the course fees. International students will automatically be considered when they made an application to the University.

International Support

UEL’s International Students Advice (ISA) team provides free and confidential advice and information on immigration issues. They provide help with applying for a student visa (entry clearance) to come to the UK and study at UEL and renewing your student visa in the UK. They also offer information on working during and after studies as well advice on bringing dependants, family visitors, travelling abroad and returning to the UK – or anything else which relates to your study visa. They offer one-to-one appointments and drop-in sessions as well as telephone and email advice.

The University’s comprehensive Welcome Programme takes the stress out of your arrival and helps you settle in and feel at home. If you arrive at either Heathrow or Gatwick Airport, you will be met in the airport arrivals hall by a team of students and ambassadors before being transported to the University free of charge.

During your first days, you will be invited to an orientation day where you will receive an in-depth introduction to life at the University and advice about living in London such as setting up a bank account, how to use London’s transport and the healthcare system.

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