Birmingham City University (abbrev. as BCU; and previously Birmingham Polytechnic and the University of Central England in Birmingham) is a post-1992 British university in the city of Birmingham, England. It is the second largest of three universities in the city, the other two being the Aston University and University of Birmingham. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843 . In 1971 it was designated as a polytechnic until 1992, when it gained university status.
The university has eight campuses serving six faculties, and offers courses in art and design, business, the built environment, computing, education, engineering, English, healthcare, law, the performing arts, social sciences, and technology. A proposed £150m campus in the city centre of Birmingham, part of the Eastside development of a new technology and learning quarter, is to open in 2013. The university is a designated Skillset Media Academy, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for health and social care, and a member of the million+ group of New Universities.
Birmingham City University is the West Midlands' largest provider of higher education for undergraduate study, and its portfolio of part-time courses is among the biggest in the UK. Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities. The university runs access and foundation programmes through an international network of associated universities and further education colleges, and has the highest intake of foreign students in the Birmingham area.
Read more about Birmingham City University: History, Chancellors, Mission Statement, Student Life, Birmingham City Students Union, Notable Staff and Alumni
Famous quotes containing the words city and/or university:
“half-way up the hill, I see the Past
Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights,—
A city in the twilight dim and vast,
With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights,—
And hear above me on the autumnal blast
The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1809–1882)
“Priests are not men of the world; it is not intended that they should be; and a University training is the one best adapted to prevent their becoming so.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)