The University of Hull

Summary

University Environment

The University of Hull is split across two sites. The university’s main site is located just north of the city of Hull but University College Scarborough in the nearby town of Scarborough also hosts programmes from the university. 

Hull

The Hull campus is situated in the leafy residential suburb of Newland, two miles north of the city centre. It is only a 10-minute journey from the campus to the city centre. Its buildings range from those built in the Georgian Edwardian era to those in the modernist style, built during the university’s considerable expansion in the 1960s and 70s. In 2003, the acquisition of land adjacent to the campus increased the size of the University’s estate by more than a third. This redeveloped site is now home to the Hull York Medical School, Hull University Business School and the Faculty of Health and Social Care.

The campus occupies a single, clearly defined site and, as such, is home to a close-knit community of students. The Brynmor Jones Library forms the focal point of the campus, while the students’ union building is the hub of social activity. On campus there are numerous cafes, coffee shops and restaurants, bars, a nightclub, the university’s Sports and Fitness Centre, playing fields and Astroturf pitches, a shop, a bookstore, a hairdressers and even an art gallery. In fact, the 2012 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey scored Hull in the country’s top ten for on-campus shops, bars and amenities.

Scarborough

The Scarborough campus of the University of Hull is located beside the sea, on a hill overlooking the town. The campus is only home to 1,800 students and so is able to provide an intimate educational experience that is rarely possible in the modern university sector. The campus combines both 20^th and 21^st century architecture and provides all the facilities of a modern university. These include a library, onsite accommodation, a restaurant and 24 hour student social space, a café bar and a Students' Union.  

History

University College Hull was founded in 1927. It opened in 1928 with 39 students. There were 100 students by 1931. The college occupied just one building (now the Venn Building) and was an outpost of the University of London. 

Under Principle John Nicholson, the College campaigned for its independence, which was granted in 1954. When it was given its Royal Charter, Hull was Yorkshire’s third university and England’s 14^th. In 1956, the student population topped 1,000 for the first time.

During the 1960s and 70s the university was expanded considerably. A new library, later named after Sir Brynmor Jones, was opened in 1960. The Larkin and Wilberforce building were conceived in 1967 and the library tower extension opened in 1970. In the last twenty years the university has again be considerably expanded. First in 2000 with a merger with University College Scarborough, now the Scarborough campus, which programmes in the arts, business, coastal studies, education and Internet computing. Secondly in 2003 the University acquired the University of Lincoln’s Hull campus. The site now houses Hull York Medical School and the Business School.

Significant research at the university has included Professor George Gray's work in the development of liquid crystals, for which he received the Queen’s Award for Industry; the pioneering work of the University’s Research Centre in Surface Engineering and notable findings in the fields of robotics and virtual reality systems. 

Academics

Faculties, Departments & Schools

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

• School of Drama, Music and Screen
• Department of English
• Department of History
• School of Law
• Department of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures
• Department of Politics and International Studies
• Department of Social Sciences

Faculty of Education

• Department of Education Studies
• Department of Teacher Education

Faculty of Health and Social Care

Faculty of Science and Engineering

• School of Biological, Biomedical and Environmental Sciences
• Department of Chemistry
• Department of Computer Science
• School of Engineering
• Department of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences
• Department of Physics and Mathematics
• Department of Psychology
• Department of Sport, Health and Exercise Science 

Hull University Business School

Hull York Medical School (HYMS)

Research 

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), more than 60% of the University’s research was ranked as “internationally excellent” or “world leading”. The University of Hull is known for its advances in the world of pure science but Research expertise is not confined to this area – History, Law, English, Geography, Asian Studies, Politics and Music were all awarded a Grade 5 ("internationally excellent") in the last national Research Assessment Exercise and 70% of their research in the Geography, Environmental and Archaeology unit of assessment was classified “internationally excellent” or “world leading”, it ranked in the top three in the UK for impact.

The University is currently working on state-of-the-art cancer treatments and diagnostic devices through interdisciplinary teams in their science, medical and engineering laboratories, as well as mapping out and exposing the shocking reality of modern slavery at the Wilberforce Institute for Slavery and Emancipation.

International & Industrial Opportunities 

Some courses at the University include a required year of study or work abroad. Students whose degree does not include an in-built period of studying abroad can apply to spend a semester overseas as long as a comparable programme of study can be found.  The University of Hull has a dedicated International Mobility and Partnerships (IMAP) Office to oversee the Exchange Programme. The University has partnerships with other institutions worldwide, and there is also the opportunity to go on an Erasmus exchange for between 3 and 12 months to a university in another EU country. There are currently more than 4,000 higher institutions participating in the programme, across the 33 countries involved.

The University runs a number of courses, which include a professional year in industry or structured work placements, allowing students to get the edge in the employability market. There are also internship and work experience opportunities available outside the regular academic year for those not on a dedicated sandwich course. See the university’s website and individual course descriptions for more information.

Fees & Finance

Scholarships

The University of Hull offers two university-wide scholarships. Students need not apply for these, they will be automatically considered. The Excellence Scholarship offers a non-repayable award of £2,100, or equivalent benefit package, every year for a total of three years to students with a household income of less than £42,600, who have achieved AAB or higher at A-Level (or equivalent). The Merit Scholarship is a non-repayable award worth £2,000, given to UK/EU undergraduate students who have achieved 300 UCAS Tariff points or more (or equivalent).

The School of Drama, Music and Screen offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support home/EU undergraduate students in their studies. There are currently four scholarships available relating to particular instruments and voices. See the website for more information.  

Bursaries

The Studentship Bursary is a one-off non-repayable award of £2,100, or equivalent benefit package, given to students in their first year of study if they have an annual household income of less than £25,000. Students will be automatically considered for this award.

Facilities

Learning Facilities

The University of Hull’s main library is at the centre of the Hull campus. The Brynmor Jones Library provides students with access to more than a million books, journals and periodicals in print as well as a massive collection of digital resources. The library recently had a £28-million refurbishment. It is now designed with 21st-century learning in mind. Workspaces are comfortable and flexible and there is high-speed WiFi throughout. It is open 24 hours a day during semesters and it offers students 30 bookable study rooms, silent study areas, self-charging hireable laptops and more than 350 open-access PCs. The seventh floor is a flexible area where the furniture can be easily arranged to accommodate anything from informal group chats to focused sessions using the available conventional and interactive whiteboards. There is also a café and a gallery and events area. 

There is also a library on the Scarborough Campus, The Keith Donaldson Library. Here again, students have access to private study spaces, group study rooms and a number of PCs. 

Students are encouraged to manage their learning using the university’s virtual learning environment, recording their progress using the ePortfolio system, PebblePad. Almost all students can submit work electronically and marks and feedback are returned digitally wherever possible. 

The University also has a dedicated skills team based in the Library. They offer one-to-one and group sessions along with a wide range of online resources to help with everything from note taking to digital literacy, academic writing, referencing practices, mathematical skills and data analysis.

The University’s Language Learning Centre provides students with all the facilities they need to learn a new language. These include purpose-built audio-visual labs, a library and a pronunciation room. A team of Language Learning Advisers can help students to arrange tandem practice partnerships and drop-in sessions with native speakers, as well as offering general advice on how to make the most of the university’s resources.

Sporting Facilities

On the Hull Campus, there is a fully equipped Sports and Fitness Centre, with a large gym kitted out with Life Fitness cardio and resistance machines, an indoor sports hall, a fitness studio, weights stations and five glass-backed squash courts. There is also a full-sized floodlit 3G all-weather football pitch, a training pitch, a netball and tennis complex, hockey pitches, cricket circles and American football pitches.

Students' Union

Students’ Union

Hull University Union (HUU) has been voted Student Union of the Year by the National Union of Students. It is run by five full-time elected Sabbatical Officers, the President and Vice-Presidents for Education, Welfare and Community, Activities and Sport. There are also a number of course and faculty reps elected to raise issues or problems to members of University staff and heads of departments through the union. 

Inside the Union building itself, there are two bars, a nightclub, a live music venue, a café, a sandwich bar and a shop selling everything from stationary, to groceries, to university branded goods. The union run nightclub, Asylum has a capacity of 2,500. It has won a Best Bar None Gold Award for four years running, for being one of the safest student venues in the UK. It has also attracted a number of big-name acts. The Union runs two weekly club nights, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, as well as karaoke nights every Thursday and a Quiz on Sundays.  

The Union’s Advice Centre, which is based in the union building, offers free, independent and impartial advice. Advisers help students with issues relating to money and debt, loans, grants and bursaries, housing, welfare benefits, academic issues, tax credits and disability benefits. HUU’s Job Shop also offers a large variety of part time, temporary, vacation and voluntary work. 

The union is the home of the universities many clubs and societies, which include more than 50 sports clubs, from competitive, national teams to recreational activities. It also runs Hullfire, the university’s monthly student media, made up of the Hullfire newspaper, Hullfire Radio and Hullfire TV. 

The Union offers two different strands of volunteering to students: student-led volunteering through Hull University Social Services Organisation and opportunities for students to find their own volunteer placements with external partners.

Student Support

Religion & Spirituality

The University of Hull’s chaplaincy team provides a caring, spiritual presence for students of any faith or none. The University has connections with Anglican, Baptist, Buddhist, Chinese Christian Fellowship, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Methodist, Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, Society of Friends (Quaker) and United Reformed Church groups. Facilities for prayer and worship are available on campus and students are also warmly welcomed into faith groups in the local community.

Health & Wellbeing

The University of Hull’s Health and Wellbeing Service offer students a free and confidential advice and support service. They also help to signpost students in the right direction. They work closely with ‘Let’s Talk’ a specialist support service for people with a range of Mental Health conditions and can organise for them to meet with students on campus. 

The University also has a team of professionals who support students with disabilities, whether physical, medical, or associated with learning. The team will assess each student’s specific needs and can organise adjustments for exams and assessments in conjunction with each academic department. For students with specific learning differences, they offer group-based tutorial support and one-to-one tuition.

Career Facilities

The University of Hull has recently upgraded its careers service; it now offers one-to-one sessions with fully trained advisers both to students at the University and to graduates, throughout their working lives. The service provides students with opportunities to meet employers through job fairs, workshops internship opportunities and the e-Mentoring programme.  Students looking for part-time temporary, vacation and voluntary work can also look to the university’s job shop, run the student’s union. 

The University’s Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Society introduces students to key business skills such as project management and marketing, helping them develop their ideas and putting them in contact with established entrepreneurs. The University’s own Enterprise Centre, offers established companies a professional base of operations and a wealth of practical advice and support. The centre is also the home of For Entrepreneurs Only (FEO), a network of business mentors that exists to help and support other entrepreneurs in Hull and East Yorkshire. 

The Hull Employability Awards scheme helps students to convert their university experience into workplace currency. They aid students in identifying the skills they already have, finding new places to develop them and, crucially, discovering how to articulate these experiences. There are four awards: The Civic and Social Responsibility Award, recognising students who have made a positive impact to society; The Leadership Award, given to students who have provided support, direction and guidance to a group of others; The Global Citizenship Award, for those who have shown that they are a mindful and active member of the global community and The Entrepreneurship Award, recognising those who have demonstrated entrepreneurial innovation. Completing a Hull Employability Award not only helps students’ CVs to stand out, it also increases their confidence in later interviews.

Accommodation

The University of Hull has three halls of residence within easy reach of the Hull campus. Lawns Halls is the newest of these and offers students a huge range of facilities including sun terraces, study rooms, a cinema/ lecture theatre, a gym and a rooftop café/ bar. The university also owns a number of houses and flat in and around campus that it leases to students. Prices for rooms in Hull range between £89 and £150 per week, for fully or semi-catered accommodation, or £91 and £114 per week, for catered accommodation. Halls accommodation fees include utility bills and a free bus pass. Furthermore, WiFi is available in all University residences. 

In Scarborough, the university can either offer students rooms in Cayley Hall or in one of the university-managed properties around the town. Cayley Hall is situated on campus and provides 200 en suite rooms to students. Rooms cost £125 a week and include the price of a hot meal on campus everyday. Rooms must be vacated at Christmas and Easter. 

International

English Language Requirements

For three-year degree programmes, the University of Hull typically require students to have a 54 in the Pearson Test of English or 6.0 in IELTS. See the University’s website for any exceptions to this rule.

Students who do not meet the undergraduate entry requirements may wish to apply for one of the University’s four-year degree programmes with an integrated foundation (pre-certificate) year or an integrated English language year.

International Support

In 2010 88% of Hull’s international student body said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received from the University. When students arrive in the UK, the University offers a free transport service from Manchester and Humberside airports, Hull ferry port and Hull railway station. They also put on an International Office Orientation Programme providing students with all the information they need about living and studying in Hull. International students have plenty of opportunities to participate in events promoting internationalisation as part of the University’s Go Connect network, which also provides high-quality support, encourages integration and develops valuable employability skills and experience.

There are also a number of English language programmes and modules available to help students brush up their English skills, either alongside their studies or independently.

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