Anglia Ruskin University, UK

Currently celebrating its 150th institutional anniversary, ARU’s wide range of undergraduate and postgrad degree programmes are customised to suit the needs of industry and the professions

Sited in the historic town of Cambridge, made world-famous by its eight centuries-old eponymous university, the low-profile Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is Britain’s largest provider of face-to-face part-time education, and one of the major certifiers of teachers and nurses in the UK. A former polytechnic which was conferred university status in 1992, ARU’s wide range of undergrad and postgraduate degree programmes are vocationally oriented and custom-ised to suit the needs of industry and the professions, while being engaging and stimulating for its 20,000 students, of whom 3,400 are from abroad.

Recently, International Student Barometer, an independent survey of overseas students enrolled in British universities, ranked ARU among the top ten countrywide for its ‘Welcome, Arrival and Orientation Programme’ for foreign students. Moreover the Sunday Times University Guide 2008 rates nine of its academic programmes (applied social work, English, music, nursing and midwifery, philosophy, psychology, teacher training, theology and religious studies, and allied health professions) as excellent.

Currently celebrating its 150th institutional anniversary, Anglia Ruskin University traces its origins to the Cambridge School of Art, founded in 1858 by John Ruskin, which later became the Cambridge-shire College of Arts and Technology in 1960. This college merged with the Essex Institute of Higher Education in 1989 to form the Anglia Higher Education College. The merged college became a polytechnic in 1991, going by the name Anglia Polytechnic, which was awarded university status in 1992.

Cambridge. Hosting the 799-year-old Cambridge University and its 31 affiliated colleges, Cambridge (pop. 130,000) is a compact cosmopolitan town with distinctive architecture, old and new. The gothic spires of the university’s constituent colleges dominate  its skyline. Olde world cobbled courts, quaint marketplaces and chapels, combine with English country gardens and bridges, to make Cambridge a student’s haven. A university town in which gown dominates town, it offers students a plethora of pubs, restaurants and cafés as well as independent shops around its historic marketplaces, museums, art galleries and theatres. Add to the above its lively tradition of music, all genres of poetry readings, and public lectures. Cambridge is 50 minutes by train from London and 20 minutes by air from London’s Stansted Airport.

Chelmsford. Sited in the county of Essex, Chelmsford is a typical English town with a lively town centre and scenic countryside. A mere 30 minutes drive from London, this county town offers five parks, modern shopping facilities and a wide range of restaurants and cafés. Situated on the rivers Can and Chelmer, it offers plenty of opportunities to indulge in leisure activities including angling, canoeing and sailing. Moreover Chelmsford boasts three theatres and hosts the internationally renowned V Music Festival every year.

Campus facilities. ARU sprawls across two campuses — Cambridge and Chelmsford. Its Cambridge campus is located in the city centre and boasts superior academic and student support infrastructure. A modern internal walkway runs from the main reception, linking the Ruskin Gallery, bar, cafe, restaurant, with student support services. In the evening, the restaurant becomes The Academy, a venue hosting events, gigs, and comedy shows. A major feature of the campus is the Students’ Union facilities, including a bar and café. A planning application for a pound 40 (Rs.300 crore) million redevelopment of the Cambridge campus has just been approved.

ARU’s Rivermead campus, based in Chelmsford, is only a short walk away from the town centre, and hosts the university’s architecture, planning and surveying, tourism, and engineering and construction faculties. In recent years re-development of Rivermead has added a new health and social care building with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, a new sports hall and a new student centre — The Tindal Building. A further investment of pound 15 million (Rs.112 crore) has been made in a brand new faculty building which opened in June 2008. It provides specialist teaching spaces and a 150-seat lecture theatre.

Anglia Ruskin has two main libraries in Cambridge and Chelmsford, and two smaller specialist nursing libraries at its Fulbourn and Peterborough sites. Each library offers a wide range of collections, both physical and digital. Both campuses also offer access to a wide range of sports and games facilities.

Accommodation. University-owned student housing (halls of residence and houses) is available on the Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses. All university accommodation is self catering, with a shared kitchen, en suite bathrooms, and access to wireless broadband internet. Moreover, all accommodation is only minutes away by foot from shops, cafes, entertainment and other facilities on campus. The recently constructed Student Village in Chelmsford offers a wide range of housing and facilities, including a launderette, shops, and a medical centre.

For students who wish to live off campus, the university’s housing service helps find private accommodation through its Studentpad website.

Admission. All applications for admission into universities in the UK, including Anglia Ruskin have to be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The UCAS code for ARU is A60. Students can obtain the UCAS application form from their local British Council Library or write to UCAS Application Requests, UCAS, Rosehill, New Barn Lane, Cheltenham, Glos. GL52 3LZ (e-mail app.req@ucas.ac.uk), or apply online at www.ucas.ac.uk/studyuk/applying.html.

The minimum eligibility criterion for admission into ARU’s undergrad programmes is successful completion of Plus Two. In addition, students have to demonstrate proficiency in the English language with an acceptable TOEFL score of 600 or IELTS score of 6.5. International students who don’t qualify for the university’s undergrad programmes have the option to enroll in its International Foundation Programme which prepares students for university study in Britain.

Applications for ARU’s one-year postgraduate programmes need to be made directly to the university’s admission office. For further information e-mail answers@anglia.ac.uk or contact Access Abroad, 292-293, First Floor, Satya Niketan, Benito Juarez Marg, New Delhi 110 002. Tel: 09953884452, 011-24103038; e-mail: support@access abroadindia.com.

Degree programmes. There are five faculties of study at ARU — arts, law and social sciences; Ashcroft International Business School; education; health and social care; science and technology (see box).

Anglia Ruskin’s Cambridge campus also hosts one of the five optometry schools in England, with its own optometry clinic offering free eye testing and a full range of optometric services to members of the public, throughout the academic year.

Summiya Yasmeen