University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a campus university which, despite its name, is actually located just inside the southern boundary of Coventry, England, some 11km (c. 7 miles) from the town of Warwick.
Despite being one of the UK's younger universities (founded in 1965), Warwick University has a strong reputation in many departments, notably Mathematics, History, Computer Science and Business. It is also home to the Modern Records Centre, Britain's largest repository of the archives of trade unions and industrial relations.
A recent addition is the Leicester-Warwick Medical School, one of the first graduate medical schools opened in an attempt to respond to the chronic lack of doctors in the UK.
It is a member of both the Russell Group and the 1994 Group.
Attainment
The University was ranked 5th among the UK's 100 universities for quality of research in the UK Funding Councils' 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. Over 91% of the University's academic staff are located in departments with top research ratings of 5 or 5*.
22 of the 24 University academic departments which have been assessed under the Subject Review process conducted by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education have been rated 'excellent' (scored 21 or more points out of 24) for the quality of their teaching. Seven departments have achieved the maximum score of 24 out of 24.
The Guardian University Guide ranks Warwick eighth overall. The Times Good University Guide 2004 ranks Warwick fifth overall.
Staff
Famous lecturers at Warwick include:
- Germaine Greer, the feminist author
- Ian Stewart, the popular science author
- Mike Cowlishaw, creator of the REXX programming language.
- Andrew Davies, the television screenwriter.
Alumni
The following notable people attended the University of Warwick:
- Jennie Bond (French and European Literature ? - 1968) - former BBC Royal Correspondent
- David Davis (Molecular Science/Computer Science, 1968 - 1971) - Conservative politician
- Kim Howells - Minister of State at the Department of Transport
- Timmy Mallett (History) - 1980s children's television presenter
- The Lady Amos (Sociology, ?1973? - 1976) - Britain's first female black Cabinet Minister, currently Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council.
- Yakubu Gowon (PhD in Political Science) - Nigerian leader
- Estelle Morris - former Labour Education Secretary of State and currently a junior Minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
- Hannah Waterman - actor
- Alex Jennings - actor who has performed in many lead roles at the RSC
- Sting (did not graduate) - lead singer of The Police band and solo artist
- Paul W.S. Anderson - film director
- Frank Skinner - comedian
- Simon Mayo - radio DJ
Students' Union
The University of Warwick Students' Union is one of the largest in the UK.
Information
In 2002, the total number of students was 17,904. This figure comprises:
- undergraduates: 10,077
- postgraduates: 6,272
- overseas undergraduate and postgraduate students: 2,948
- other programmes: 1,555
- overseas students on other programmes: 1,484
Total number of staff: 3,850
including:
- academic: 775
- research: 675
Size of campus:
- 2.9 km² (720 acres)
The University's coat of arms includes atoms of two isotopes of lithium, a DNA helix to represent science and also the Chained Bear of Warwickshire and the Elephant of Coventry.