Aston University
Encyclopedia
Aston University is a "plate glass"
campus university
situated at Gosta Green
, in the city centre of Birmingham
, England.
Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966. Following from its background in Technology, Business, Sciences, Engineering and applied subjects, Aston continues to have a focus on industry and commerce. The university also has a School of Languages and Social Sciences. A majority of undergraduate students are registered on courses leading to a BSc and 70% of eligible undergraduate students at Aston are enrolled on four-year "sandwich" courses, spending a year abroad or on industry placements
. The university emphasises its focus on industry placements and graduate employment record: in 2007-8, 83% of first degree graduates found "graduate level" employment within six months of graduation, compared to the UK national average of less than 70%. This was the 8th highest proportion of all UK universities and colleges. In the 2011 QS World University Rankings
, Aston is ranked 334th overall, and 51st for ‘Employer Reputation’.
Aston also performed well in the 2008 National Student Survey, with the 10th highest average satisfaction score of all UK mainstream universities at 80.6% and the 13th highest percentage of all UK universities. In the same survey, 89% of Aston students were satisfied with the quality of their course (UK average 82%).
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 86% of Research submitted was of "International Significance" and 45% "World Leading" or "Internationally Excellent".
Aston is a relatively small university in terms of student numbers, serving around 7,500 full-time undergraduates
, compared with the 18,840 of its near neighbour institution, the University of Birmingham
. Aston also has 2,530 postgraduate students (1,315 full time) on MSc, PhD, PGDip and MBA programmes. Aston Business School
(part of the university) celebrated its 60 year anniversary in 2007, one of the most established in the UK.
Aston University hosted the British Science Festival in September 2010, said to be Europe's largest public science event.
Aston Business School (ABS) gained its own AACSB accreditation in 2003 and is one of a small number of UK schools to win this international recognition. AACSB International assures quality and promotes excellence and continuous improvement in undergraduate and postgraduate education in business administration and accounting. This accreditation has enabled ABS to establish a BGS Collegiate Chapter and Aston University is the first institution in the UK to be allied with Beta Gamma Sigma
.
in 1895 as The Birmingham Municipal Technical School, it changed its name in 1927 to the Birmingham Central Technical College, to reflect its changing approach to teaching technology. In 1951 The Technical College was re-named the College of Technology, Birmingham and work began on the Main Building at Gosta Green. In 1956, it became the first designated College of Advanced Technology
and underwent a major expansion. The first step took place when it moved to an area north of Jennens Road in 1955. It moved into buildings that were constructed between 1949 and 1955 to a design by Ashley & Newman. The college expanded again to a design by the City Architect of Birmingham
Alwyn Sheppard Fidler
between 1957 and 1965. It officially became the University of Aston in Birmingham on receipt of its Royal Charter
on 22 April 1966. Since May 2011 Sir John Sunderland
is the current Chancellor of Aston University.
In 1983, Aston University, in partnership with Birmingham City Council and Lloyds Bank
, established Birmingham Technology Ltd., which manages the Aston Science Park
adjacent to the university site.
The University's arms were granted on 18 March 1955 by Garter, Clarenceux and Norroy and Ulster Kings of Arms to the Birmingham Corporation, for use by the former College of Technology. They were designed to show the College's connection with the City and with the teaching of technology. The arms consist of a shield and crest
. The shield has two sections – the field (the main background) which is coloured blue and a chief (the broad band across the top of the shield) of silver. On the field is a diagonal line of five gold diamonds joined one to the other, similar to the first quarter of the Arms of the City of Birmingham and incorporated in the Arms of the College to show its connection with the City. This was adopted by the family of Birmingham which derived its name from the then hamlet of Birmingham, and provided the Lords of the Manor from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. On the chief is depicted an open book bound in red placed between two black hammers, showing the connection of the University with technology, the book representing learning and the hammers engineering and allied trades.
The crest is also designed to stress the pursuit of knowledge. It consists of a red torch held erect by a forearm between two branches of gold laurel. Having been originally worn on the helmet of a fully armed person, the crest is always placed on the top of the helm. The method of joining the crest to the helm was usually concealed by decoration and, in the University’s arms, this is effected by the use of a wreath and a crown. The wreath is silver, red and black, these colours being taken from the shield. It is surmounted by a mural crown (resembling a wall), which is reserved in modern grants for persons and organisations connected with public corporations. The cloth mantling which hangs down from the top of the helm is the survival of the cloak which was originally worn to protect the armour, coloured in the two principal colours of the shield, blue and gold.
The motto of the University is the same as that of the City of Birmingham: "Forward".
, in the city centre of Birmingham
, England. As well as being home to over 2,100 students, the Aston University campus has the following amenities available: sports centres, swimming pool, library cafés, restaurants, pubs, shops, travel centre, hairdresser, health centre, dentist, places of worship, opticians, a bank, automated teller machine
s and plenty of outside space.
The University Library is on four floors and contains over 300,000 books, 800 current printed periodicals and has over 700 reader places. We also provide online access to over 40 electronic databases and more than 3,400 electronic journals. You can access many of these from any computer on campus and also from home or other locations off-campus.
Around the campus there are also various open-access IT suites, offering computer and internet access 24-hours a day, seven days a week. They offer access to a range of software packages, database systems and computer-aided learning materials. In addition, each of Aston's Schools of Study also has its own computing labs providing additional PCs, Unix workstations or Apple Macintosh/iMac computers for their students.
Aston has plenty of sports facilities available on campus, including a swimming pool, two sports halls, gyms, weights and fitness rooms and over 40 sports clubs to get involved in. Clubs train and compete, many in the British University and Colleges Sports Association (BUCS) Leagues.
Aston University has both standard (shared bathroom) and en-suite accommodation on campus – 2,300 rooms in total of which 85% are ensuite. All campus accommodation is less than five minutes' walk from the main building, and approximately five minutes' walk from Birmingham city centre
. In the 1970s, three tower block
s containing student accommodation were constructed on the Aston University campus; Dalton, Lawrence and Stafford Towers. Stafford Tower has two flats per floor, each with nine single study bedrooms sharing a large kitchen and bathroom. Lawrence and Dalton Towers were demolished on 8 May 2011.
A more recent addition to the Aston University student dwelling stock is the Lakeside complex on campus. Completed in August 1999, it cost £14,240,000 and has flats for approximately 650 students. The building won the Best Public Building award at the 2001 Brick Development Association Awards.
On 5 April 2007, Aston University submitted a planning application for demolition of the three 1970s towers and to replace them with new student accommodation blocks as well as apartments for tutors, retail units and administrative offices. On 5 July 2007, the application was approved and work commenced in January 2008 on phase 1. This is due for completion in 2010 and will consist of two blocks of student accommodation and a car park to the rear. There is also a new artificial sports pitch with another car park beneath. The demolition of the existing towers will take place for phases 2 and 3. The entire scheme is due for completion in 2014. Upon completion there will be 2,345 bedrooms in the development alone, with 650 more rooms provided at other halls such as Lakeside. All the new accommodation is to be en-suite but rooms/flats will be differentiated in terms of size and facilities in-order to provide students with a range of different priced rooms. The Aston Student Village project will cost an estimated £215 million. Phase 1 is costing £57 million. Start on site date was 30 October 2008 and opened in September 2010 ready for the new term. Phase 1 buildings consist of two sections at a max height of 18 storeys with 7 and 5 ensuite bedroom apartments sharing a spacious kitchen.
On 8 May 2011, both Dalton and Lawrence accommodation towers were demolished to make way for the above renovations.
Aston Business School is consistently high in both the Financial Times and Economist rankings. The FT Global MBA 2009 Rankings placed Aston 12th in the UK, 21st in Europe and 77th in the world. Aston was rated first for employability and MBA graduates receive a 99% salary increase by the FT and first for student diversity by Economist Which MBA 2008. Furthermore, The Aston MBA by distance learning was amongst the top 42 in the Financial Times Online MBA 2009 Listing.
Aston Business School Undergraduate programmes are consistently ranked in the UK's Top 10 for Business and Management degrees in the Times/Complete University Guides. The MSc programmes were ranked 3rd in the UK and 18th in the world in the 2008 FT Masters in Management rankings. With International Business, Marketing and Corporate Strategy in the Top 10 in the world, the Aston MSc career progression was rated first globally by the FT.
In 2007, it was rated one of the top 30 business schools in Europe by the Financial Times
. It is one of only 27 business schools worldwide to have triple accreditation
from the three largest MBA ranking associations – AACSB, AMBA
and EQUIS
.
In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2008) it came as the 9th in the UK for research excellence. 15% of research submitted was world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour; further 45% internationally excellent. Overall, 95% of Aston Business School research was internationally significant with 95% of academic staff in the School submitted for assessment, including many early career researchers.
On 29 November 2006, the students voted to disaffiliate the Guild from the National Union of Students.
Plate glass university
The term plate glass university has come into use by some to refer to one of the several universities founded in the United Kingdom in the 1960s in the era of the Robbins Report on higher education. In some cases these were older schools with new Royal Charters, now making them universities...
campus university
Campus university
A campus university is a British term for a university situated on one site, with student accommodation, teaching and research facilities, and leisure activities all together...
situated at Gosta Green
Gosta Green
Gosta Green is an area in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies at the edge of the city centre, about three-quarters of a mile to the north-east of Birmingham New Street station via Corporation St or the High St....
, in the city centre of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England.
Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966. Following from its background in Technology, Business, Sciences, Engineering and applied subjects, Aston continues to have a focus on industry and commerce. The university also has a School of Languages and Social Sciences. A majority of undergraduate students are registered on courses leading to a BSc and 70% of eligible undergraduate students at Aston are enrolled on four-year "sandwich" courses, spending a year abroad or on industry placements
Work experience
Work experience is the experience that a person has been working, or worked in a specific field or occupation.- Volunteer work and internships :...
. The university emphasises its focus on industry placements and graduate employment record: in 2007-8, 83% of first degree graduates found "graduate level" employment within six months of graduation, compared to the UK national average of less than 70%. This was the 8th highest proportion of all UK universities and colleges. In the 2011 QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings
The QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
, Aston is ranked 334th overall, and 51st for ‘Employer Reputation’.
Aston also performed well in the 2008 National Student Survey, with the 10th highest average satisfaction score of all UK mainstream universities at 80.6% and the 13th highest percentage of all UK universities. In the same survey, 89% of Aston students were satisfied with the quality of their course (UK average 82%).
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, 86% of Research submitted was of "International Significance" and 45% "World Leading" or "Internationally Excellent".
Aston is a relatively small university in terms of student numbers, serving around 7,500 full-time undergraduates
Undergraduate education
Undergraduate education is an education level taken prior to gaining a first degree . Hence, in many subjects in many educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree, such as in the United States, where a university entry level is...
, compared with the 18,840 of its near neighbour institution, the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. Aston also has 2,530 postgraduate students (1,315 full time) on MSc, PhD, PGDip and MBA programmes. Aston Business School
Aston Business School
Aston Business School is the business school of Aston University in Birmingham, England. Founded in 1967 it offered its first MBA programme in 1968. In 2006 it opened a new £22m extension including new study rooms and two new lecture theatres....
(part of the university) celebrated its 60 year anniversary in 2007, one of the most established in the UK.
Aston University hosted the British Science Festival in September 2010, said to be Europe's largest public science event.
Aston Business School (ABS) gained its own AACSB accreditation in 2003 and is one of a small number of UK schools to win this international recognition. AACSB International assures quality and promotes excellence and continuous improvement in undergraduate and postgraduate education in business administration and accounting. This accreditation has enabled ABS to establish a BGS Collegiate Chapter and Aston University is the first institution in the UK to be allied with Beta Gamma Sigma
Beta Gamma Sigma
Beta Gamma Sigma or ΒΓΣ is an honor society for business students and scholars. Founded in 1913 at the University of Wisconsin, it has over 650,000 members, selected from over 500 chapters in AACSB-accredited business schools...
.
History
Aston University was founded in 1895 and granted its Royal Charter as Aston University in 1966. Separated from the Birmingham and Midland InstituteBirmingham and Midland Institute
The Birmingham and Midland Institute , now on Margaret Street in the city centre of Birmingham, England was a pioneer of adult scientific and technical education and today offers Arts and Science lectures, exhibitions and concerts. It is a registered charity...
in 1895 as The Birmingham Municipal Technical School, it changed its name in 1927 to the Birmingham Central Technical College, to reflect its changing approach to teaching technology. In 1951 The Technical College was re-named the College of Technology, Birmingham and work began on the Main Building at Gosta Green. In 1956, it became the first designated College of Advanced Technology
College of Advanced Technology (United Kingdom)
The Colleges of Advanced Technology were a type of Higher Education Institution established in 1956 in England and Wales following the publication of a Government White Paper on Technical Education which listed 24 technical colleges in receipt of 75% grant for parts of their advanced work...
and underwent a major expansion. The first step took place when it moved to an area north of Jennens Road in 1955. It moved into buildings that were constructed between 1949 and 1955 to a design by Ashley & Newman. The college expanded again to a design by the City Architect of Birmingham
City Architect of Birmingham
The City Architect of Birmingham was a high-ranking position within the Public Works department of Birmingham City Council and provided the holder with a lot of power in the planning decisions of Birmingham, especially in the post-war period in which Birmingham underwent enormous regeneration...
Alwyn Sheppard Fidler
Alwyn Sheppard Fidler
Alwyn Gwilyn Sheppard Fidler CBE was a Welsh architect and town planner who was chief architect for the new town of Crawley from 1947 to 1952 and City Architect of Birmingham from 1952 to 1964....
between 1957 and 1965. It officially became the University of Aston in Birmingham on receipt of its Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
on 22 April 1966. Since May 2011 Sir John Sunderland
John Sunderland (businessman)
Sir John Michael Sunderland is a British businessman who was President of the Confederation of British Industry from 2004 to 2006, where his priority was restoring confidence in business after a series of corporate scandals....
is the current Chancellor of Aston University.
In 1983, Aston University, in partnership with Birmingham City Council and Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank
Lloyds Bank Plc was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1765 until its merger into Lloyds TSB in 1995; it remains a registered company but is currently dormant. It expanded during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and took over a number of smaller banking companies...
, established Birmingham Technology Ltd., which manages the Aston Science Park
Aston Science Park
Aston Science Park is a science park located in Birmingham City Centre, United Kingdom. It is located alongside the A4540 road, on a site adjacent to Aston University and the Eastside area...
adjacent to the university site.
Coat of arms
Crest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
. The shield has two sections – the field (the main background) which is coloured blue and a chief (the broad band across the top of the shield) of silver. On the field is a diagonal line of five gold diamonds joined one to the other, similar to the first quarter of the Arms of the City of Birmingham and incorporated in the Arms of the College to show its connection with the City. This was adopted by the family of Birmingham which derived its name from the then hamlet of Birmingham, and provided the Lords of the Manor from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries. On the chief is depicted an open book bound in red placed between two black hammers, showing the connection of the University with technology, the book representing learning and the hammers engineering and allied trades.
The crest is also designed to stress the pursuit of knowledge. It consists of a red torch held erect by a forearm between two branches of gold laurel. Having been originally worn on the helmet of a fully armed person, the crest is always placed on the top of the helm. The method of joining the crest to the helm was usually concealed by decoration and, in the University’s arms, this is effected by the use of a wreath and a crown. The wreath is silver, red and black, these colours being taken from the shield. It is surmounted by a mural crown (resembling a wall), which is reserved in modern grants for persons and organisations connected with public corporations. The cloth mantling which hangs down from the top of the helm is the survival of the cloak which was originally worn to protect the armour, coloured in the two principal colours of the shield, blue and gold.
The motto of the University is the same as that of the City of Birmingham: "Forward".
Academic Dress
The academic dress for Graduates of the University is as follows:- Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering
- Gown: Black stuff of special design, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
- Hood: Black stuff, modified simple shape, faced inside for three inches with University lining
- Hat: Black mortar board
- Master of Science
- Gown: Black stuff of special design, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
- Hood: Black stuff, modified simple shape, fully lined with University lining
- Hat: Black mortar board
- Master of Philosophy
- Gown: Black stuff of special design, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
- Hood: Blue stuff, modified simple shape, fully lined with University lining
- Hat: Black mortar board
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Gown: Claret colour cloth robe, having coat-type sleeve, narrow facings which continue round the neck and with extra wide gathers round the back
- Hood: Modified simple shape, in University Red stuff, faced inside for three inches with University lining
- Hat: Black cloth bonnet with cord and tassels of University Red
- Doctor of Science
- Gown: Same shape as for Doctor of Philosophy but in University Red, with facings on collar of University lining and gold cuffs on sleeves
- Hood: Same shape as for Doctor of Philosophy but of gold silk and fully lined with University lining
- Hat: Black velvet bonnet with cord and tassels in gold
Campus
The university is situated on a 40-acre (16-hectare) campus at Gosta GreenGosta Green
Gosta Green is an area in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies at the edge of the city centre, about three-quarters of a mile to the north-east of Birmingham New Street station via Corporation St or the High St....
, in the city centre of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England. As well as being home to over 2,100 students, the Aston University campus has the following amenities available: sports centres, swimming pool, library cafés, restaurants, pubs, shops, travel centre, hairdresser, health centre, dentist, places of worship, opticians, a bank, automated teller machine
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s and plenty of outside space.
The University Library is on four floors and contains over 300,000 books, 800 current printed periodicals and has over 700 reader places. We also provide online access to over 40 electronic databases and more than 3,400 electronic journals. You can access many of these from any computer on campus and also from home or other locations off-campus.
Around the campus there are also various open-access IT suites, offering computer and internet access 24-hours a day, seven days a week. They offer access to a range of software packages, database systems and computer-aided learning materials. In addition, each of Aston's Schools of Study also has its own computing labs providing additional PCs, Unix workstations or Apple Macintosh/iMac computers for their students.
Aston has plenty of sports facilities available on campus, including a swimming pool, two sports halls, gyms, weights and fitness rooms and over 40 sports clubs to get involved in. Clubs train and compete, many in the British University and Colleges Sports Association (BUCS) Leagues.
Accommodation
Birmingham City Centre
Birmingham city centre is the business, retail and leisure hub of Birmingham, England. Following the removal of the Inner Ring Road, the city centre is newly defined as being the area within the Middle Ring Road. Birmingham city centre is undergoing massive redevelopment with the Big City Plan...
. In the 1970s, three tower block
Tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
s containing student accommodation were constructed on the Aston University campus; Dalton, Lawrence and Stafford Towers. Stafford Tower has two flats per floor, each with nine single study bedrooms sharing a large kitchen and bathroom. Lawrence and Dalton Towers were demolished on 8 May 2011.
A more recent addition to the Aston University student dwelling stock is the Lakeside complex on campus. Completed in August 1999, it cost £14,240,000 and has flats for approximately 650 students. The building won the Best Public Building award at the 2001 Brick Development Association Awards.
On 5 April 2007, Aston University submitted a planning application for demolition of the three 1970s towers and to replace them with new student accommodation blocks as well as apartments for tutors, retail units and administrative offices. On 5 July 2007, the application was approved and work commenced in January 2008 on phase 1. This is due for completion in 2010 and will consist of two blocks of student accommodation and a car park to the rear. There is also a new artificial sports pitch with another car park beneath. The demolition of the existing towers will take place for phases 2 and 3. The entire scheme is due for completion in 2014. Upon completion there will be 2,345 bedrooms in the development alone, with 650 more rooms provided at other halls such as Lakeside. All the new accommodation is to be en-suite but rooms/flats will be differentiated in terms of size and facilities in-order to provide students with a range of different priced rooms. The Aston Student Village project will cost an estimated £215 million. Phase 1 is costing £57 million. Start on site date was 30 October 2008 and opened in September 2010 ready for the new term. Phase 1 buildings consist of two sections at a max height of 18 storeys with 7 and 5 ensuite bedroom apartments sharing a spacious kitchen.
On 8 May 2011, both Dalton and Lawrence accommodation towers were demolished to make way for the above renovations.
Departments
All of Aston University's faculties are based on one campus and are made up of four schools including:Aston Business School
Founded in 1967 it offered its first MBA programme in 1968. In 2006, it opened a new £22m extension including new study rooms and two new lecture theatres.Aston Business School is consistently high in both the Financial Times and Economist rankings. The FT Global MBA 2009 Rankings placed Aston 12th in the UK, 21st in Europe and 77th in the world. Aston was rated first for employability and MBA graduates receive a 99% salary increase by the FT and first for student diversity by Economist Which MBA 2008. Furthermore, The Aston MBA by distance learning was amongst the top 42 in the Financial Times Online MBA 2009 Listing.
Aston Business School Undergraduate programmes are consistently ranked in the UK's Top 10 for Business and Management degrees in the Times/Complete University Guides. The MSc programmes were ranked 3rd in the UK and 18th in the world in the 2008 FT Masters in Management rankings. With International Business, Marketing and Corporate Strategy in the Top 10 in the world, the Aston MSc career progression was rated first globally by the FT.
In 2007, it was rated one of the top 30 business schools in Europe by the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
. It is one of only 27 business schools worldwide to have triple accreditation
Triple accreditation
Triple Accreditation is the accreditation awarded to 55 business schools worldwide by the three largest and most influential business school accreditation associations:...
from the three largest MBA ranking associations – AACSB, AMBA
Association of MBAs
The Association of MBAs is a London-based international organization that accredits postgraduate business programs at business schools worldwide. The Association is one of the three main global accreditation bodies in business education and styles itself "the world's impartial authority on...
and EQUIS
Equis
Equis may refer to:*European Quality Improvement System an international system of assessment and accreditation of higher education institutions in management and business administration run by the European Foundation for Management Development....
.
In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (2008) it came as the 9th in the UK for research excellence. 15% of research submitted was world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour; further 45% internationally excellent. Overall, 95% of Aston Business School research was internationally significant with 95% of academic staff in the School submitted for assessment, including many early career researchers.
School of Engineering and Applied Science
- Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry
- Computer Science
- Electronic Engineering
- Engineering Systems and Management
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering and Design
School of Life and Health Sciences
- Audiology
- Biology
- Biomedical Science
- Optometry
- Pharmacy
- Psychology
School of Languages and Social Sciences
- Modern languages & translation studies
- International relations, politics & European studies
- English language
- Sociology & public policy
League table rankings
- Aston University is ranked 25th out of all 115 UK higher education institutions in The Complete University Guide 2012.* Aston University was rated 1st for student life, and one of the UK's friendliest universities by FHM and Virgin Student.
- In the 2011 National Student SurveyNational student surveyThe National Student Survey is a survey, launched in 2005, of all final year degree students at institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, Aston had an overall satisfaction rating of 86%, (UK average 83%). - In the 2011 Performance Indicators (produced by HEFCEHigher Education Funding Council for EnglandThe Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...
) Aston University's drop-out rate was one of the lowest in the UK at 3.9%UK University Rankings League tables of British universitiesRankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times and The Times...2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 Times Good University Guide 25 29 28th 15 13 26= 22 33 36 41 34= 34= 49 47 44 32= 33= 35= 40= Guardian University Guide 36 19 18 30 – 19 17 13 52 Sunday Times University Guide 35 37 29 32 33 32 32 37 46 33 43 42 41= Daily Telegraph 12= 51 Complete University Guide 17 14 23 12
Students' Guild
Aston Students' Guild is a non-profit organisation set up with the aim of involving and representing the student body of Aston. The Guild provides sports clubs, societies and Welfare Services, partially funded by the money accrued from the Guild's commercial services. The Guild is run by a team of permanent staff and by an elected team called the executive who follow the rules set out in the Guild Constitution.On 29 November 2006, the students voted to disaffiliate the Guild from the National Union of Students.
List of Chancellors
- The Lord Nelson of Stafford MA, HonDSc, FEng, FICE, FIMechE, FIEE, FRAeSHenry Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson of StaffordHenry George Nelson, 2nd Baron Nelson of Stafford was an English engineer.The son of George Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson of Stafford, Nelson attended the University of Cambridge. He then worked for his father's company English Electric, becoming Chairman on his father's death in 1962...
(May 1966 – September 1979) - Sir Adrian Cadbury DL, MA, HonDSc, HonLLD, CIMgtAdrian CadburySir George Adrian Hayhurst Cadbury is a former British Olympic rower and Chairman of Cadbury and Cadbury Schweppes for 24 years. He has been a pioneer in raising the awareness and stimulating the debate on corporate governance and produced the Cadbury Report, a code of best practice which served...
(September 1979 – September 2004) - Sir Michael Bett CBE, MA, CIPD, CIMgt, HonDBA (September 2004 – May 2011)
- Sir John Sunderland MA, HonDLittJohn Sunderland (businessman)Sir John Michael Sunderland is a British businessman who was President of the Confederation of British Industry from 2004 to 2006, where his priority was restoring confidence in business after a series of corporate scandals....
(Since May 2011)
Alumni
- Lord DraysonPaul Drayson, Baron DraysonPaul Rudd Drayson, Baron Drayson PC is a British businessman, amateur racing driver and politician. He was Minister of Science in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills until May 2010, where he replaced Ian Pearson. In June 2009 he was additionally appointed as Minister of State for...
, vaccine manufacturer and Minister of StateMinister of StateMinister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...
for Science, Drayson Racing Driver - Veronica GermanVeronica GermanVeronica German is a Liberal Democrat politician and a former member of the National Assembly of Wales. She was a list member for South Wales East between 2010 and 2011.-Background:...
, Scientist, Member of the National Assembly for WalesNational Assembly for WalesThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs... - Tony HaywardTony HaywardAnthony Bryan "Tony" Hayward is a British businessman, the former chief executive of oil and energy company BP. He replaced John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley on 1 May 2007. His tenure ended on 1 October 2010 in large part due to the circumstances of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill...
, former chief executive of BP Group - Abdollah Jassbi, president of Azad University
- Laura JonesLaura Jones (journalist)Laura Jones is a British television journalist who is best known for her work on the popular children's television programme Newsround.She was born in Aberystwyth, Wales, but spent most of her childhood in Lampeter, also in Wales...
, BBC Journalist - Mohammad Nizar JamaluddinMohammad Nizar JamaluddinDatuk Seri Ir. Haji Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is the former Menteri Besar of the Malaysian state of Perak, a post equivalent to a Chief Minister and Member of Malaysian Parliament for Bukit Gantang. Nizar is the secretary of the Perak's Branch Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party . Nizar was appointed as...
, former Chief MinisterMenteri BesarThe Menteri Besar is the chief executive of the state government for states in Malaysia with hereditary rulers. For states without a monarch, the title Chief Minister is used...
of the state of PerakPerakPerak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay... - Ravi KantRavi KantRavi Kant is the Vice Chairman and a former managing director of TATA Motors, India's largest automobile manufacturing company. He is also the chairman of Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company, Hispano Carrocera and Tata Cummins...
, Vice Chairman of TATA MotorsTata MotorsTata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
, India - Kevin MorleyKevin MorleyKevin Morley , is an English businessman, known for being the former Managing Director of the former Rover Group.Holding an MSc...
, former Managing Director of the former Rover Group - Terry PittTerry PittTerence John Pitt was a British political researcher and adviser. He became well known behind the scenes as the long-serving head of the Labour Party's research department, and worked for other bodies...
, political adviser and Member of the European Parliament - Phil PophamPhil PophamPhil Popham is Global Operations Director for the global Jaguar Land Rover business, responsible for the fortunes of the companies worldwide. Having spent almost his entire career with Land Rover , he took up his current position in December 2010...
, Global Operations Director for the global Jaguar Land RoverJaguar Land RoverJaguar Land Rover is a British automotive company owned by Tata Motors of India. It develops, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Jaguar and Land Rover marques.-History:...
business - John RickardJohn RickardJohn Hellyar Rickard is a former Chief Economic Advisor to the British Government.- Education :* Ilford County High School* St John's College, Oxford * University of Aston in Birmingham ....
, Former Chief Economic Advisor to the British Government - Lord Rooker, Labour Peer
- Gregor TownsendGregor TownsendGregor Peter John Townsend MBE is a former Scottish rugby union player who played at fly-half, full back and latterly centre....
MBE, Scottish and British Lions Rugby Union Player - Kevin WarwickKevin WarwickKevin Warwick is a British scientist and professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom...
, professor of cybernetics - Salma YaqoobSalma YaqoobSalma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....
, leader, and former vice-chairman, of Respect – The Unity Coalition