Birmingham City University is dedicated to transforming the prospects of our learners, inspiring them to become makers and doers. We are an integral part of the city in which we are based, with courses shaped by the needs of industry and partnerships with some of the country’s leading employers.
The University focuses on practice-led, knowledge-based learning, providing access to cutting-edge facilities and real-world experience. We benefit from around 50 professional accreditations and has a well-established reputation for delivering in-company training and development programmes.
Our teaching staff come from and maintain their links with industry, ensuring you are given an insight into the latest thinking. We are constantly looking for new ways to enhance the learning experience, with inspiring visiting lecturers and learning environments that are designed to replicate the workplaces you aim to enter. We even give you the chance to gain work experience in real roles around the University, through our student employment scheme.
We are undertaking a £340 million investment programme in our estates and facilities. The City Centre Campus has seen three major new developments with The Parkside Building for Design and Media students, which opened in 2013, The Curzon Building, which houses Business, Law and Social Science courses as well as new library, IT and student support facilities and opened in 2015, and our new music building for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire which opened in 2017. A new building for Education, Sport and Life Science courses opened at our City South Campus in 2018.
The work undertaken by our research staff and research students is not only enriching our courses, it is literally shaping the world. In the Research Excellence Framework 2014, which measures universities’ research performance, 90% of Birmingham City University’s total submission was judged to have delivered ‘outstanding’ or ‘very considerable’ impact externally.
The University has a reputation for widening participation and working with local communities. We welcome a broad mix of cultures and nationalities, and over half of our 26,900 students come from the city or the surrounding area. There are also over 2,600 international and EU students from around 80 countries who are attracted by the social and ethnic mix of the University’s student population.
We have been pioneering vocational education in the city since 1843, through a series of predecessor institutions. Having achieved University status in 1992, we changed our name to Birmingham City University in 2007, reflecting our commitment to, and pride in, our home city.