30,846 discussions, 145 guides
University of Manchester
30,846 discussions, 145 guides
University of Manchester
University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
Tel: +44 (0)161 275 8000
1824
Fuse FM
Fuse FM is the student radio station of the University of Manchester. It broadcasts twice a year on 97.6FM- mainly indie with a decent dose of grime- and can provide you with some stimualting listening as well as all the experience you need for a career in radio.
Since its creative conception in 2001 Fuse has achieved lots of respect on the airwaves, winning two awards at last year's 'BBC Radio 1 Student Radio Awards' (2004) in London:
Bronze Award for Best Male - Pete Cooper Silver Award for Best Newcomer - Minnie Stephenson
You can listen online at FuseFM.co.uk.
Mancunion
Mancunion is the appropriately named SU newspaper for the University. It includes all the higher-brow student sections such as politics and current affairs feaures but mixes it up with some gossip and a large, in fact almost exhaustive, popular music section.
Student Direct
A weekly tabloid newspaper edited by an elected sabbatical officer and written by students. The paper is distributed free to students throughout the Manchester area including the newly combined UMIST and Manchester University, Salford University, and Manchester Metropolitan University. The circulation is about 50,000 with slightly varied editions for each site. You can also look at Student Direct's updated website at www.student-direct.co.uk - it's not a bad way of accessing a bit more 'unofficial information'.
'Project Unity' (Sounds like a serious human rights campaign. It's not.) recently united UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology) and the Victoria University of Manchester to create in their place the imaginatively titled 'University of Manchester'. It's now the biggest University the the whole of the UK, apparently 'with the size and resources to compete on a global scale'. According to the University's own official website news, a landmark document has recently been published which sets out an 'exciting plan' for making 'The University of Manchester' one of the top 25 universities in the world by 2015. Current student polls (a less official source of information we've come by) indicate that only 32% of students think the merger is a good thing for students, with 55% saying it's a bad thing and 13% undecided. So we'll have to wait and see. Mind you, knowing students as we do, it seems likely that those percentages are taken from the less apathetic 5 or 6 students who actually bothered to vote...
Anthony Burgess - Writer
Adrian Edmonson - Comedian
Ben Elton - Comedian
Anna Ford - Broadcaster
Rik Mayall - Comedian
Peter Maxwell Davies - Composer
Lord Foster - British architect
Alex Garland - Author (The Beach)
Mark Radcliffe - Radio 1 DJ
Meera Syal - Actress and writer
The Chemical Brothers - Dance group
Louis de Bernieres - Author (Captain Corelli's Mandolin)
Irene Khan -Secretary General of Amnesty International
Margaret Beckett - Labour politician
Manchester students have an excellent social life (why else do they go to Manchester?..) and are well served by the Students' Union which is a major player in the city's entertainment.
The SU has an impressive five bars, four inside the union building and one nearby. Built in 1999 on the ground floor of the SU is the Solem Bar, and it is anything but its near namesake. Open every night of the week, it serves good food and drink and has pool tables, MTV and other satellite TV channels. Although there are occasional live gigs and DJ sets it is mostly used for a relaxing drink before going to a club. The University has now also inherited the drinking venues of UMIST, Harry's Bar with its selection of real ales and big screens is a highlight.
The Main Hall is situated on the first floor and is the SU's main dance and gig venue. The Lemonheads and Placebo are recent performers. The Hop and Grape is on the top floor of the union and is the smallest of the union bars. Despite its size (and the stairs to the top of the Union) there is always a great atmosphere in here.
The Cellar is in the cellar...no shit, some might say...but bear with me. The Cellar (capital C), is the Union's club venue with numerous club nights throughout the week, during which clubbers and walls get really sweaty and the atmosphere can be electric! Pulling chances are also high...(Just thought you might want to know).
The Academy is one of Manchester's premier live venues, and host in the past to such Brit super-bands as Prodigy, Oasis, and Blur. More recent performers have included Bloc Party, The Kaiser Chiefs and The Killers. Situated close, but not in the SU building, it is also home to Club Tropicana.
The Burlington Rooms are another decent drinking venue, if for any miraculous reason you've managed to get bored with the others. 'The Burlington Society' is a society for postgraduate and mature students only, situated in a building next to the John Rylands Library - the Shunck Building - there are however 2 rooms in the building which are available for use by non members:- Upstairs is the Common Room (The Schunck Room), a grand airey hall ideal for meetings, debates and large functions. Downstairs is The Burlington Bar with a cosier atmosphere and (obviously) a licensed bar; great for smaller events and parties. There is a third room, The Bennison Lounge, which is specifically for members of the Burlington Society. It has a coded lock (ooooo! how exciting..) and only members may obtain the code on production of their membership card. Well how poncey, nobody wants to go to your stupid party anyway.
The Union runs two club-nights a week: Club Tropicana, an excellent night of 80s music in the Academy on a Tuesday and Horny in the Cellar on a Saturday. Annually the Academy and Union Building are taken over completely by the Torremolinos all-nighter - (see the Fuse FM website for photos) a similar thing happens at New Year. It lasts from 8pm until 8am, again with Man Uni's fave 80s theme, but includes some extra fairground fun with dogems, blow up Gladiator games etc. Its ace!
Manchester University SU puts on a lot of live gigs. They have excellent facilities, suited to bands and DJs, perhaps the sppropriate legacy for a city that's produced The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays and Oasis, to name a few. This city is the place to be for music buffs.
Freshers Week, which in fact extends to two weeks anc culminates in the annual Fresher's Ball (held at Manchester Academy), immediately reveals the Uni's partying tendencies to new arrivals. In order not to ruin the surpise, all I will say is that it is nothing short of exhausting! The Hop and Grape hosts gigs from small or up-and-coming bands, as well as many societies' socials and one-off club nights.
There are over 100 societies at Manchester, so if you can't find one that interests you, you've got some unusual hobbies going down!
For a full list of SU societies, click the following link: [/external/?http://www.umu.man.ac.uk/societies.html (Manchester Societies)]. Ranging from Japanimation to the Heavy Metal and Alternative Rock Soc. Many of the societies have their own websites. There is even a CAKE Appreiciation Society! Also, there is a good relationship between Manchester University and the other universities in the city, so many students join (either officially or unofficially) other university's societies.
Dr Michael Donmall, Director of the Drug Misuse Research Unit (DMRU) has been awarded a grant of £97,000 to undertake research as part of the Department of Health's major new initiative on drug misuse. Also see our information on the University Radio Station, Fuse FM, for their latest presenter awards.
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The recently merged Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) have pooled their accommodation together and now offer a wide range of styles and living arrangements; self catered, catered, single, sharing etc.. There are over 9,400 rooms available, most within a couple of miles of campus, but they vary from small flats of 8 or so students, to large halls of residence with over 1000 students (like the massive Owens Park). Residences on the UMIST campus are an easy 5 minute walk away from the city centre, and for those on The University of Manchester campus it is only a short walk or bus ride.
All first years on full time courses who apply through UCAS on time get housing and most are pleased with what they get. Students are invited to give an accommodation preference and the Accommodation Office makes a selection on that basis. All in all facilties and security are good.
For more detailed information on the various halls, see the [/external/?http://www.accommodation.man.ac.uk/ Accommodation Office Website.] Or, if you click on the link to the university's offical website, you can download an information booklet on accommodation which gives details on all the halls, as well as some small fuzzy pictures that can't disguise the ugliness of the majority of the buildings. There are LOADS to choose from.
After the first year, most students decide to live in shared, private and (usually) violently unclean accommodation...the infamous student house. Well, Manchester has a lot of well priced student accommodation and every year there are hundreds of notice boards advertising for people to share with. Groups can also go to Estate Agents, and the University accommodation office for lists of houses available.
Manchester Student Homes can be contacted by phoning 0161 275 7680 or via their Online Accommodation Bureau on the Internet at http://www.msh.man.ac.uk Farrowfield is a popular student home area, but whatever you do, be careful of the less desirable areas in Manchester and always take a look at a place before you sign for it.
As the UK's second largest city, Manchester is the capital of the North and most Mancunians would certainly argue, is just as buzzing as London. There are over 50,000 students in the city (second only to London), which means that it is difficult not to have fun. Manchester University and UMIST combined provides a significant proportion of these students, and is one of the largest universities in the country.
The University campus is spread over a large area of the city, about a mile from the centre and is a mix of old and new buildings. As with many British universities, much of its campus has been hit by the '60s ugly stick', but all in all the campus has a fair share of beautiful and grim buildings. There are also feelings of both a campus and city university.
The University is so vast that students of all types can found, although many pride themselves in appearing like the archetypal student...long dreadlocked hair, baggy clothes, dyed hair, etc. Northern pride is rife, even among southerners, and what little anamosity there is between students and locals, is usually sorted by the students' more diplomatic approach.
There are so many options for social life in Manchester, that we would run out of space if we tried to cover it here. It is best to try it out for yourself! However, there are pubs, clubs, restaurants, and bars for virtually all tastes.
Manchester does suffer from a highly developed drug scene. E, the most common, and a whole host of other drugs are available in clubs and pubs throughout the city. The use of drugs at the University is probably more common than at other places, but the SU have recently installed UV lights in the loos to combat this trend...it is more difficult to see your veins, apparently!
There is very limited parking at some of the halls, but be prepared to pay large amounts for it. Multi-storey spaces are available at Charles Street and the Manchester Aquatics Centre, but with such a compact city-centre and a good public transport system, there is little need for a car.
There are branches of every major bank within walking distance of the Students' Union. In the SU itself, there are non-charging Halifax and Barclays ATMs.
Although the University has tried to make access easier, with ramps at most of the buildings, it does not come near what it should be, especially considering what other smaller universities have done.
There is an initiative underway, however, which aims to improve the understanding of academic departments of the difficulties faced by the Uni's 2105 disabled students and there is a campus based Disability Support Office.
The Student Union has excellent facilties including a general shop, a travel agency, an opticians, a hairdresser, a coffee and snack bar, two burger joints, a TV room, function rooms, quite randomly a sauna and solarium, and a print shop. Need any more?
There is a second hand bookshop in the Student Union and plenty of bookshops in the local area, supplying all the course texts. Although, the sometimes weeks-long wait for that crucial reading list book can feel just a bit frustrating!
Nothing short of EXCELLENT! Owned by the University, and available for student use, university sport is in four main centres: the Armitage Site, incorporating the Armitage Centre and Firs Athletic Ground, the Wythenshawe Sports Ground, the Commonwealth pool and diving boards at the Manchester Aquatics Centre (a bargian £1.55 for a swim) and the Sugden Centre.
The wide range of facilities include 50m swimming pools, sports halls, gyms, squash and tennis courts, sauna, solarium etc. etc. You name it, they've got it!
As for outdoor playing fields, there are several choices, the largest of which is 90 acres (of 26 different pitches)-the Wythenshawe Ground, and about 4 miles from campus. There is also Firs Athletic Ground in Fallowfield which is 31 acres and includes several all weather pitches, and a stadium!!
The University was chosen to host the judo, squash and wrestling events for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which gives some idea of the standards we are talking about.
None, due to a good public transport system and cheap taxis, and the fact that students would be advised to WALK...to burn off the previous night's beer. There is also a magic bus that will take you anywhere in the city for 50p.
In the centre of Manchester there aren't many green spaces, although there are a few lawns. However, a short drive will bring you to the beautiful Ribble Valley where there is more than enough greenery. The Peak and Lake Districts should also definitely be adventured to at some stage!
The main John Rylands University Library is huge, one of the three largest in the country, and has over 4,000,000 books and periodicals. The Library opening times have recently improved, now mostly closing at 9.30pm but giving you an extra couple of hours at intense exam times and shutting at 11.30pm.
Throughout the campus there are around 10,000 PCs. Every student has access to e-mail and the Internet (so you can come back and visit us, to tell us what you think). There is some 24hr access and the John Rylands University Library lays claim to the biggest range of electronic resources of any UK higher education library. One cool thing is that there are a handful of computers in the Lunar Cafe, that means you can grab lunch and check your e-mail at the same time. You see, it's these little touches that make all the difference...
As far as student welfare goes, the University and Student Union have just about everything covered. The Students' Union Advice and Information Centre is on the first floor of the Students' Union building and there are five Student Executive Officers there to help. You can talk to them about your study, rights and accommodation, as well as problems that might affect you coming from overseas or as a parent.
The SU has a welfare sabbatical, professional advisors and weekly legal and police sessions.
The University runs a good counselling service and has a health centre...for all your sick note needs! There is an over-subscribed creche and a Nightline service which provides comfort / counselling via the phone during the night.
