The University of Exeter

Informationen zur Universität

Exeter is one of the UK´s most popular and successful universities with campuses in Exeter, Devon, and near Falmouth in Cornwall. Students and staff enjoy some of the finest campus environments in the UK. The South West counties of Devon and Cornwall boast an unrivalled mix of city life, countryside and coastline.

Exeter is ranked 17th out of more than 100 UK universities in a trio of league tables - the Times, the Sunday Times and the Good University Guide published in the Daily Telegraph. The University scores highly for student satisfaction, completion rates, and for students achieving good honours degrees (Firsts or 2:1s). It has been shortlisted for the Sunday Times University of the Year Award more times than any other university and has won three Queen´s Anniversary Prizes.

Under the leadership of Professor Steve Smith, who was appointed Vice-Chancellor in 2002, the University has invested heavily in new academic appointments and facilities. The University is near to completing a £140 million investment programme and has plans to spend a further £277 million on facilities over the next decade.

Exeter has 14,000 students of whom 3,500 are postgraduates. The Peninsula Medical School, a partnership between the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and NHS, was opened in 2002 and its first students graduated this year. A new £28 million Peninsula Dental School opened in October 2007 - the first new dental school in the UK for 40 years. The £100 million Cornwall Campus opened in 2004 and offers environmental programmes, law and the arts.

Exeter´s sports facilities and performance are among the best in the country. Internationally, Exeter has links with 150 universities around the world and in 2007 it opened an office in Dubai.

Exeter is among the best universities in the UK for student satisfaction. It has been ranked in the top 10 universities for three years running in the National Student Survey. In the latest Survey, Exeter comes 4th in the list of traditional Universities and 7th overall The University is also in the top 10 for student retention with just 3% of full-time first year undergraduates not continuing their studies. The high quality student experience is reflected in a loyal and committed band of alumni - currently 58.000 strong and located in 150 countries - many of whom continue to help the development of the current generation of students.

Exeter offers an exceptionally wide range of opportunities for its students to develop through academic and management training, business placements, one of the UK´s largest student volunteering programmes, pre-teacher training and a world-wide network of study abroad opportunities.

The University invested £34 million in research last year and the value of new grant awards rose by 43 per cent. Great attention has been paid to recruiting and developing world class research teams and more than 185 new academic staff have been appointed in the last 18 months. For example, our Cornwall Campus has attracted top-flight academic staff, including five Royal Society and two NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) Research Fellows. Major new investments are taking place in environmental and sustainability research in both Devon and Cornwall, some of it jointly with the UK Met Office which is based in Exeter.

In the last (2001) Research Assessment Exercise, ninety-eight per cent of subject areas were rated 4, 5 or 5* (of national or international standing), including all those offered at undergraduate and taught postgraduate level. A further reflection of the growing stature and reputation of research at Exeter is the appointment of 13 of our academic staff as panel members in the forthcoming 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Staff in all disciplines are encouraged to build partnerships with external organisations to enhance and support their teaching and research and to act entrepreneurially in order to develop commercially relevant intellectual property, consultancy and professional development services. Income from business and other sources has increased to £20 million and over 1,000 projects have been undertaken.

The University´s Innovation Centre is home to a number of high technology businesses and provides a dedicated support team which helps academic staff and students to link their knowledge and experience to communities of practice and the business world. Phase 2 of the Innovation Centre will be completed by the end of 2007 bringing total investment to nearly £10 million. The University is also working with a range of partners to build a science park for Exeter which is due to open in 2011.