Reading University (Detailed Info)

Founded: 1892.

Location: Whiteknights Campus, 300 acres 1 1/2 miles from centre of Reading: also buildings at Bulmershe Court, a mile away.

Getting there: Close to M4; frequent trains from London Paddington (22 mins) and Bristol; direct bus and train services from Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Frequent bus services from station and town (9, 12, 20).

Awarding body: Reading University.

Main undergraduate awards: BA, BSc, BEng, LLB, BA(BEd), MMath, MPhys, MChem, MEng.

Length of courses: 3 years; 4 years (languages, art, food technology, typography, undergraduate Masters' and sandwich courses).

Library & information services: Main library Whiteknights plus music library and Bulmershe library: total over 1.1 million volumes, 3500 online and print periodicals, multimedia material, archives, manuscripts. Special collections: Samuel Beckett Collection, Cole Library of Early Medicine, Overstone Library, Finzi poetry and music collections. Reading list material via short loan collections. Help desks, training sessions etc. Annual expenditure on information provision, £114 per (FTE) student. Separate IT service including university computer network, email and internet access; 200 networked PCs and connections for laptops in library. IT help points, online guides, freshers' induction sessions, training sessions.

Other learning facilities: University museums (english rural life, greek archaeology, and zoology), language laboratories (university-wide language programme), computer centre.

Study abroad: 8% of students spend a period abroad. Formal exchange links with over 40 universities and colleges in Europe, most open to non-language specialists.

Careers & Jobs: Advisory service.

Student advice & services: Counselling, study advisers, hardship and international student advisers and health centre with doctors, dentists and psychiatrist; tutor system, mature student group, nightline, legal advice (through SU), chaplains. Playgroup, nursery.

Amenities: Union building with bars, shops, travel and insurance services etc; over 100 athletic and social clubs. Reading film theatre, bookshop, bank on campus.

Sporting facilities: Sports hall, playing fields on campus; boathouses on Thames; sailing and canoeing on Thames and nearby gravel pits.

Accommodation: 95+% of first years who request it in university accommodation, 50% of all students. 4650 halls places available: 2450 full-board places £83-£128 per week, 30 weeks contracts; 2200 self-catering £54-£85 pw, contracts 30 or 39 weeks. Students live in privately owned accommodation for 1-2 years: rents £58-£63 pw for self-catering, £71 for B&B. Fair amount of private accommodation in area.

Living expenses budget: Minimum budget of £6500 pa (excluding tuition fees) recommended by university for an academic year, £8000 for a calendar year.

Term-time work: University allows term-time work for full-time students, up to 16 hours/week. Jobshop; part-time work available on and off campus.

Financial help: £350,000 government funds, 900 students helped; also university funds as required (awards up to £3500). Special help: those with children (esp single parents), students with disabilities, mature students; university funds also for self-financing international students. Apply for help to Student Financial Support Office, Room 207. Whiteknights House.