UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE

OVERVIEW

The University of Bedfordshire is a pioneering and vibrant university with an emphasis on a modern curriculum that relates theory to practice. Our two campuses in Bedford and Luton are in ideal locations just 30 to 40 minutes from Central London by train, benefiting from lower living costs compared to Central London. The University has a reputation for its very high quality of teaching, and in 2003 and 2004 we were judged to be the top new university in England for teaching quality.

The main London international airports at Heathrow and Gatwick are only one to one-an-a half hours away from our campuses. In addition, Luton International Airport offers low-cost, direct flights to many European cities, including Edinburgh, Dublin, Amsterdam, Geneva, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Athens, Larnaca, Berlin, Bratislava, Budapest, Cracow and Warsaw.

We are a truly international student and staff community in a British setting. We have more than 3000 international students from 120 different countries. Come and join us and find out why the University of Bedfordshire is such a popular choice for international students.

ACADEMIC STRENGTHS

We offer a wide variety of courses: art, design, business (including MBA), tourism, advertising, education, marketing, public relations, computing (including conversion Masters for non-computing graduates), law (including LLM), media, nursing, health care, biomedical science, social sciences, sport and psychology. We have programmes at Bachelors, Masters and Research levels, as well as a wide range of English language foundation programmes.

Bedfordshire's record – and hence reputation – for excellent teaching is due to its outstanding performance in official inspections, conducted on behalf of the Government by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). The QAA has awarded us no fewer than six 'excellent' teaching scores in a row for Media, Biosciences, Nursing, Psychology and Design.

FACILITIES

Luton and Bedford are truly cosmopolitan community. The towns offer worship facilities for all faiths, including a chaplaincy within the University. There are numerous shops and restaurants which offer cuisine from all around the world.

The University has sporting facilities at Luton's Vauxhall Recreation Centre, while the Bedford campus enjoys two fully equipped new gyms and the nearby Bedford Athletics Stadium. Our sports teams have seen much success in recent years in university leagues.

We continue to invest in the quality of our students experience, having spent £5.5m on a new Media Arts centre at the Luton campus. Among the first students to make use of these facilities is a group of journalists and PR practitioners from Beijing, studying for the MA in Media Management in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. The Bedford Polhill campus has undergone a £34m redevelopment programme including £8m state of art sports science labs and a new 280-seat theatre.

STUDENT LIFE

Accommodation is guaranteed to all first-year students and may also be available in subsequent years to those who require it. All of our accommodation is modern, purpose-built and located within a few minutes walk of the main teaching buildings. All students have their own single study bedroom, with wireless internet access. Students at the Bedford Polhill campus will benefit from the new £20m ensuite halls of residence.

The Student Union provides clubs and facilities to meet all interests. There are international student associations for our African, Caribbean, Chinese, Islamic, Sikh students, among many others.