lancaster top 8

http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings

History

Initiated under royal charter and the first students accepted in 1964. Lancaster is now one of only six collegiate universities in England.
Location and transport

Easy access to Manchester and Liverpool to the south, and the Lake District just to the north.
Three hours to London by train.
Buses leave the station in town every 5 minutes on weekdays for the university.
Cycle track to University from Lancaster.
Entry standards

Average of 320 UCAS tariff points from best 3 A-levels.
Read more about entry requirements at Lancaster University online.
Student mix

Around 12,000 students in total.
Undergraduates: 46% male, 54% female.
8% of undergraduates are of non-white European origin.
91% of undergraduates from state schools.
22% of undergraduates from outside the UK.
Course flexibility

Part one system allows three courses to be taken in the first year, including one major and two minors.
Students may change their major to either of their minors in the second year, provided they achieve the necessary grades.
Teaching standards

Achieved 4.2 in the most recent National Student Survey.
Research standards

2008 Research Assessment Exercise confirmed that 92% of research at Lancaster is of international quality.
First in UK for Physics.
In the UK's top three for Bio-medicine part of the newly established School of Health and Medicine.
In the UK's top three for Art and Design (which at Lancaster includes Music, Theatre, Film and New Media in the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts).
Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) ranked joint fifth in the country.
Sociology is ranked fifth in the country.
Computing has 100% of research considered to be of international quality.
Academic strengths

Internationally recognised Centres of Excellence include Environment, Computing and ICT, Art & Design (which at Lancaster includes Music, Theatre, Film and New Media) and Management.
Lancaster's expertise in health related research and teaching was boosted with the creation of a new School of Health and Medicine.
Disability service

Visit the website for information about the disability service at Lancaster University.
Students' union

Works differently from most universities in that the Students' Union is an administrative building with social events more spread out.
As well as the union nightclub in Lancaster, nine colleges on campus have their own bars, facilities and social spaces.
Sport

The University's new £20-m Sports Centre will be complete in 2011. The 6,000 sq metre centre will include a new eight-lane pool and a new climbing wall designed with input from renowned mountaineer and Lancaster University Chancellor Sir Christian Bonington.
Students and staff can now make the most of the 150-year-old woodland surrounding the campus thanks to a new trial through the campus grounds. The 2.6-mile route includes an outdoor trim trail – a series of fixed, timber exercise stations.
Lancaster is in the first quartile of UK universities in the BUSA national rankings.
Each of the nine colleges have approximately 26 sports teams.
Recent/prospective new builds

More than £300m has been invested into the estate over the last few years, transforming the campus.
Recent developments include a 24-hour dedicated Student Learning Zone with comprehensive WiFi coverage for students to connect their own laptops to the campus network and Apple Macintosh computers, colour printers, interactive white boards and data projects.
A new £10-m building for the Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts (LICA) has opened.
New and improved college, bar and student social space.