University of Winchester

The University of Winchester had a humble beginning. It started with a mission the Church of England had in the 1830s to create an institution, the Diocesan Training School, that would train teachers to teach among the poorer communities. In 2004, degree awarding powers were conferred to the institution which later became known as the University College Winchester and in 2005, the Privy Council conferred on it the title of the University of Winchester. The initial composition of students was a mere 10 in number which grew significantly to over 8000 students today.

The University is home to a beautiful award-winning campus, an environment of knowledge, creativity, and innovation for the students. The University offers academic courses for Undergraduates and Postgraduates. Students can also embark on a research degree, start a degree apprenticeship, undertake distance and flexible learning or grab the opportunity to study abroad for short-term courses and on study trips organized by the University itself.

The faculties in this University include:

• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Business, Law and Digital Technologies
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Health & Wellbeing
• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The campuses radiate a friendly atmosphere giving out a community feel while offering first-class sustainable facilities for learning, teaching, enriching every part of a student's life. The campuses are split into quarters: King Alfred Quarter, West Downs Quarter, Medecroft Quarter, and Bar-End Quarter.

•  All campuses of the University have the latest industry-standard equipment, digital networks, and AV technology. The Student Union, bookshop, learning café, food hall, terrace bar, gourmet burger company, and the vault serve as the social hub for students to relax and chill with friends.
• Winchester is famous for its rich heritage and vibrant contemporary culture. It was crowed as ‘The Best Place to live 2016’ by The Sunday Times. Foodies will love Winchester because it enjoys celebrating its fine setting and exceptional local food and drinks sourced from the surrounding countryside. It offers a range of unique independent shops and boutiques as well as traditional and national stores.
• Getting from one place to another is very easy with their excellent transport links which include direct train service to London Waterloo, Southampton, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Brighton, the New Forest, and the north of England.
• The University assures others of their caring, community-driven values; stimulating and supportive learning environment which sometimes challenges and inspires the students to reach their full potential.
• The University provides scholarships, awards, and bursaries that help fund students' studies and recognize their achievements.

Career Services:

The University has volunteering, placements, and career service teams that offer professional and helpful support to organizations and students alike. They have a free vacancy advertising service through CareerConnect which promotes opportunities like graduate jobs, schemes, casual, temporary, fixed-term, or part-time jobs, internships, placements, vacation schemes or work experience, volunteering opportunities.

Success Rate:

According to The Guardian’s News Datablog, Employment statistics of students who graduated from the University of Winchester is at 90.9%.

Notable Alumni:

• Eric Anderson: Sociologist and Professor of Sports Studies.
• Imruh Bakari: Filmmaker and writer. Head of Film  Studies.
• Harry Blamires: Anglican theologian, literary critic, and novelist.
• Judy Waite: Writer of children’s fiction.
• Stephanie Twell: middle- and long-distance runner, bronze medal winner in 1500 meters at 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Students Services:

The University offers a wide range of services and support like wellbeing, academic skills, international student support, information for needs assessors, students’ financial aid, scholarships bursaries and awards, registration and induction, information for parents, and carers, and the Winchester Music Centre.

Library:

The two libraries of the University, Martial Rose Library, and West Downs have over 300,000 books, 8,000 journals, electronic journals, e-books, resource databases, and academic streaming services for students’ research, assignments, and dissertation needs. The libraries have quiet study spaces, bookable PCs, individual workstations, assistive technology rooms with special software equipment, and postgraduate research study rooms.

Arts and Culture:

The University has a Culture-Media-Text research center that formalizes research that has been carried out in the Faculty of Arts. Lectures and performances are also hosted by the center on topics like ethnicity and representation, gender and sexuality, national identity, cultural icons among others.

Accommodation:

This University has been ranked 15th out of 116 in terms of accommodation by the 2018 Times Higher Education Student Experience and 10th in the Student Crowd’s Best UK Universities for Accommodation, 2018. The accommodation comprises en-suite rooms, with facilities like unlimited, free WIFI, cleaning services for communal areas, bedroom furniture, bike lockers. Accommodations are close to shops, cafes, pubs, restaurants, train stations, and nearby bus stops.

Sports Facilities:

The University has a gym with state-of-art fitness equipment housed over 2 floors; each training is supervised by a team of qualified Health and Fitness Instructors. Besides the gym, there is a Sports Ground, an enclosed Pitch housing two tennis courts, two 5-a-side pitches, one netball court, athletics track, all-weather pitch, and a sports hall hosting basketball, volleyball, dodgeball, futsal, frisbee, and badminton.

Medical Services:

The University provides a variety of support services ensuring the students’ wellbeing needs are catered for. They have a mental wellbeing service providing help through counselors and mental health advisors with confidential space as well as for disabled students and staff. Students are required to register with a GP practice that offers advice on sexual health, prescriptions, and general consultation.

Clubs:

The University of Winchester has a Winchester Student Union with over 150 opportunities through clubs and societies, interest groups, extra-curricular, academic engagement jobs on campus, and volunteering options for students to engage in.