6 reasons to choose BCU

01

We’re investing in your future

A huge investment of £260 million in our campuses means you’ll benefit from the very latest learning environments.

The £62 million Parkside Building is an extension of our City Centre Campus and is home to design and creative media courses. This has been joined by the £63 million Curzon Building, which opened in September 2015 and is the base for our business, English, law and social sciences courses.

The latest development is a brand new £57 million home for our world-famous Birmingham Conservatoire, which opened in September 2017.

02

Birmingham is brilliant

We're based in the UK’s second largest city, which is home to 65,000 students and Europe's youngest city population. Birmingham has a long history of welcoming those from abroad, with nearly one in three of the population of minority ethnic origin.

Find out more about life in Birmingham

03

Increasing your employability

We’re committed to giving you a great educational experience matched by the skills that employers really need.

Whichever subject you choose, we focus on the latest knowledge and practical experience so that you’ll be fully prepared to launch straight into your chosen career.

94.3% of our undergraduate students are in employment or further study within six months of graduating. (DLHE survey 2014/15)

04

Learn from the best

Our teaching staff are recognised around the world for their excellent industry connections and research impact.

Their expertise helps you get involved with external organisations to solve real-life problems and challenges, improving your knowledge and employability.

• Professor David Wilson is one of the UK’s leading criminologists.
• Dr Javed Hussain is an expert in entrepreneurial and ethnic minority finance.
• Professor Cham Athwal – a leading researcher in Vehicle Crash Testing - has achieved huge safety improvements for the automotive sector.
• Kathryn Moore, Professor of Landscape Architecture, has been elected as the new World President of the International Federation for Landscape Architects.
• Professor David Edwards recently became ‘Chief for Educational Development’ in support of several towns and villages in Ghana.
• Bob Calver, Senior Lecturer in Broadcast Journalism, has been made an Honorary Professor of the Culture and Media College at Shenyang University in China.

Our honorary graduates include internationally renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang, fashion designers Gok Wan and Bruce Oldfield, actress Julie Walters, ELO’s Jeff Lynne, Chinese-born British entrepreneur W Wing Yip OBE, and adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes.

05

90% In the most recent audit, 90 per cent of our research was judged to have delivered ‘outstanding’ or ‘very considerable’ impact externally. Research Excellence Framework 2014

Research with impact

Our researchers are committed to uncovering new knowledge and delivering real benefits.

• We’ve been working as a supplier for research with the Aerospace Division of Rolls-Royce since 2008, on a project examining its advanced engineering systems.
• Our furniture research has delivered innovative chair designs that are benefitting schools, orchestras and care homes across the world.
• Our Business School has tracked the impact of entrepreneurship education on graduates, informing papers for the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
• Professor Lubo Jankovic has secured a £1.2 million externally funded project addressing designing zero-carbon buildings in the UK.

06

Earn while you learn

OpportUNIty, our friendly student employment agency, gives you the chance to work in one of many part-time jobs available on campus, helping you fit a job around your course commitments.

We’ll guide you through the work application process, helping you gain highly valuable employability skills. We have around 160 EU and international students currently employed on campus by OpportUNity.