The University College of Bristol opened in 1876, after six years of discussions and controversy, in a bid to bring university culture to the provinces. It was the first college to admit men and women on an equal footing. The University’s reputation grew steadily throughout the 1930s, helped in no small way by the appointment of Winston Churchill as its third chancellor in 1929. Future Nobel Laureate (1977) Neville Mott joined the physics department in 1933 and assembled a team that would lay the foundations of solid-state physics. Three other Nobel Laureates worked at Bristol: Paul Dirac (1933), Cecil Frank Powell (1950) and Hans Albrecht Bethe (1967). In 1946, the first drama department in the country opened at Bristol, and in 1955 the faculty of engineering moved into the new Queen’s Building. Student numbers increased steadily, and in 1965 a new students’ union building opened. The Norah Fry Centre was established in 1988 and is now one of the country’s leading centres for research into learning difficulties.

To apply: The University welcomes

applications from talented candidates of all backgrounds and is committed to promoting equal opportunities. The life of the University is enriched by having a body of students which reflects the community at large and includes students from all parts of the UK (including the local area), from other EU countries and from overseas, and which contains mature students as well as people who come straight from school or college. They select people who have the ability and motivation to benefit from their intended programmes of study and who will make positive contributions to the life of the University. Departments and faculties: The University consists of some 45 departments arranged in six faculties: Arts, Engineering, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Medicine and Dentistry, Science, Social Sciences and Law.

International students: International

students currently make up 16 per cent of the student body coming from over 100 countries and add greatly to the educational and social experience. The University has links with many universities and colleges in other countries. The University’s International Centre provides information on how to apply for prospective undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Undergraduate students: The University

offers excellent programmes of study sustained by teaching of the highest quality for undergraduate students. They have over 200 undergraduate programmes. See the online undergraduate prospectus for full details, request a prospectus, or visit the departmental websites for further information.

Postgraduate students: The University conducts top-level research across the whole range of disciplines. In the last research assessment exercise, 78 per cent of the University’s departments were judged as world class or internationally excellent. Full details for postgraduate students about research and taught programmes are available in the online postgraduate prospectus. You can request a prospectus, or visit the departmental websites for further information.

To apply: Before applying, students need to check that they have or are likely to achieve the necessary examination passes and grades for entrance to the University and to the course they have chosen. In each departmental entry students will find data specifying combinations of subjects required at GCSE, A-level or equivalent, together with typical offer information for A-level, AS-level, SCE.

English language requirements: The students must present the evidence that they are good enough to take up the courses in English. Students must obtain IELTS score of 6.0 or above, or a TOEFL score of 550+ in the paper-based test or 213 in the computer-based test. According to the courses the students are applying for, they might need higher scores as well.

Accommodation: The University offers accommodation facility to students in its own hostel or students can choose private accommodation services.For more information

log on to www.bris.ac.uk