University of Chester
The University of Chester is a public university located in Chester, England. The university originated as the first purpose-built teacher training college in the UK. As a university, it now occupies five campus sites in and around Chester, one in Warrington, and a University Centre in Shrewsbury. It offers a range of foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as undertaking academic research.
Former names
- Chester Diocesan Training College (1839–1963)
Chester College of Education (1963–1974)
Chester College of Higher Education (1974–1996)
University College Chester (1996–1999)
Chester, a College of the University of Liverpool (1999–2003)
University College Chester (2003–2005)
Latin: Qui docet in doctrina
"He that teacheth, on teaching"
1839 (gained university status in 2005)
£118.3 million[2]
Eunice Simmons[3]
870[4]
1220[4]
14,900
10,800[5]
4,100[5]
The university is a member of AACSB, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Cathedrals Group, the North West Universities Association and Universities UK. It holds an overall Silver Award in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).[7]
A 2021 article in Times Higher Education described the University of Chester as being the fifth-oldest higher education establishment in England, with only the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and London predating it.[8] This claim appears to be based on the University of Chester's antecedent (non-university) body, the Chester Diocesan Training College, founded in 1839; however, on this basis, many other English universities appear older. These include Newcastle University (1834); University of Manchester (1824), University of Westminster (1838); and the Universities of Bath, Bristol and the West of England, which can all trace their origins to the Merchant Venturers' Technical College, founded as a school in 1595 by the Society of Merchant Venturers. Other universities that also have seemingly older origins include University of Central Lancashire (1828) and University of Huddersfield (1825).
Senate House, Parkgate Road Campus, Chester
University of Chester Law School, Liverpool Road
The University of Chester's Business School.
Chester Cathedral interior
The University of Chester has six campuses and a University Centre in Shrewsbury. The 32-acre (130,000 m2) Parkgate Road Campus, Chester,[16] is located on Parkgate Road, just north of the City Walls. It has a mixture of Victorian buildings (such as Old College, which includes a chapel built by some of the original students in the 1840s) and modern buildings (such as the Students' Union). The Parkgate Road Campus also features a fitness centre, sports hall, swimming pool, science and language laboratories and bar.
Some departments are housed offsite at locations within walking distance of the main campus, for example, the Department of English is located in a Grade II-listed former Victorian vicarage, while the Law School is based at 67 Liverpool Road. The former County Hall, which is located in the city centre near the racecourse, houses the Faculty of Education and Children's Services and the Faculty of Health and Social Care and is known as the Riverside Campus.
The university has also developed the Kingsway Campus in Newton with the addition of a three-storey teaching block, ground floor exhibition space and art gallery, learning resource centre and changing rooms. The site features a number of green innovations, such as ground source heating.
The university acquired a former Lloyds Bank corporate headquarters in Queen's Park, Handbridge, Chester in 2015. This houses the Faculty of Business and Management and the Chester Business School. The university has modernised the facilities in Bridge House and Churchill House to cater for 2,700 students.
In the autumn of 2015, the university opened a sister institution in the Guildhall and Rowley's House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire as part of a joint venture with Shropshire Council to establish University Centre Shrewsbury.
The university-owned student accommodation is primarily reserved for first year and overseas students. This consists of halls of residence and houses nearby.
The smaller Warrington campus originally hosted a camp for Canadian officers in World War II and is located in the Padgate area of Warrington. This campus includes the North West Media Centre, which has close ties to Granada Television, The Warrington School of Management, Social Sciences and Health and Social Care.[25] The Warrington Campus is also the training ground for the rugby league team The Warrington Wolves, and Warrington town was the host for the Rugby League World Cup 2013, with the Campus hosting the Samoan players. In 2022 two new buildings, Time Square and Remond House, were opened in Warrington Town Centre.[26]
The university also has a number of bases at NHS sites across Cheshire and the Wirral, and opened University Centre Birkenhead in September 2018.[27]
National rankings
59
53
100
1201–1500
Student body[edit]
Most of Chester's 14,900 students are from the United Kingdom.[5] A quarter of students are mature and there are twice as many female students as male (partially due to the number of nursing, midwifery and teaching students). The increasing number of foreign students are mainly participants in the university's active exchange policy.