Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University (Canterbury Christ Church University)

Overall ranking: 106th out of 126 in the Complete University Guide for 2016.

History: Founded by the Church of England to train teachers for church schools in 1962, it expanded hugely in the late 80s to offer nursing as well as other degrees. Formerly Canterbury Christ Church College, then Canterbury Christ Church University College, it was awarded university status in 2005. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012.

Address: Located on part of St Augustine's Abbey right by the city walls and in a World Heritage Site, it is overlooked by Canterbury Cathedral. Other campuses include Epsom, Farnham and a centre at Rochester.

Ambience: All Canterbury sites are within walking distance of one another. The Tunbridge site, used mainly for psychology programmes, is located in the beautiful Salomons Centre. Broadstairs campus is 18 miles from Canterbury.

Who's the boss? Rama Thirunamachandran, a director and trustee of the Higher Education Academy and Royal Geographical Society fellow, took up the post of vice-chancellor in October 2013.

Prospectus: 01227 782 900 or order one online here.

UCAS code: C10

What you need to know

Easy to get into? Not too bad. The university asks for between 220 and 320 UCAS points depending on the programme. Some university programmes require specific grades in the qualifications students are taking rather than asking for UCAS points.

Vital statistics: Over 18,000 students, many on teaching and healthcare BA/BSc degrees, or doing nursing and social work diplomas. Granted Research Degree awarding powers in 2009. Over two thirds women with over 97 per cent coming from state schools.

Added value: Lots of swanky new facilities. New accommodation and student centre opened in 2012, the new home of its Students’ Union and also accommodates 200-plus student residential spaces. Additional student residential accommodation is being developed at Rhodaus in Canterbury city centre, with the first 193 bedrooms opening in September 2015 alongside Augustine House. The Augustine House Library and Student Services Centre was officially opened in September 2009 and has been awarded the prestigious SCONUL Library Design Award and 'UCISA Higher Education Award for Excellence' for its unique iBorrow project. The University invested £1.5 million in new music facilities which opened in 2012 with the St Gregory’s Centre for music providing a 160 seat performance venue and dedicated practice facilities in the Maxwell Davies building. In 2013 Anselm Studios opened, creating dedicated performing arts and dance facilities in Canterbury. One of the top teacher training providers in the country. Good careers advice with lots of opportunities for developing employability skills. The University is moving into performing arts and from September 2015 are offering a BA (Hons) Acting at UCA Farnham. This course is being delivered in collaboration with a local arts venue, the Farnham Maltings.

Teaching: 80th out of 126 for student satisfaction with teaching quality in the Complete University Guide. Teacher training is graded 'outstanding' by Ofsted.

Graduate prospects: 56th out of 126 with 59.8 per cent finding graduate level employment.

Any accommodation? Residential accommodation is available to all first years who meet the criteria. Prices start at £90. See here to find out more.

Cheap to live there? Not particularly, as private rents start from £80 per week.

Transport links: Parking is difficult in Canterbury because rush hour lasts all day. Use your feet or buses for local travel. London by train or bus is just 57 minutes away. London is easy to get to by train from Broadstairs, being just one hour and 45 minutes away; from Chatham it is only 45 minutes. To reach Salomons Centre from London, you take a train to Tonbridge (about 40 minutes) and then a bus.

Fees: £9,000 per year for home and EU undergrads on most courses, and £9,710 for full-time international students.

Bursaries: Countless bursaries and scholarships on offer, including 1,500 cash bursaries of £3,000, a Sports Scholarship of up to £1,000 a year, and a Care Leavers' Bursary of £3,600. Take a look at the website to see what grants you may be eligible for.

The fun stuff

Nightlife: Improving. Canterbury has several nightclubs and themed pubs abound if you can bear them. There is an active local music scene and the students' union bar doubles as club venue that hosts two nights a week.

Price of a pint: Pretty steep at £3.40 on average in Canterbury.

Sporting reputation: Not the best, at 74th out of 145 in the current BUCS league.

Notable societies: Rival the contestants on Strictly with the ballroom dancing society or try your hand at Indian bhangra. CSR radio station for media types and plenty of sports clubs.

Glittering alumni: Simon Meyers, TV director (The Bill, Ballykissangel, City Central); Kate Blewett, award-winning TV documentary producer and director (The Dying Rooms, Kids Behind Bars); Geraldine McCaughrean, award-winning children's author; Jon Holmes, comedian, writer and presenter (Dead Ringers, The Impressionable Jon Culshaw); Jane Carter, Creative Director of Music at BBC Worldwide; Joel Hopkins, writer-director (Jump Tomorrow, Last Chance Harvey).

Alternative prospectus: See how current students rate their university experience, from their course and lecturers to the accommodation and nightlife on What Uni? here.