Manchester Metropolitan University, often referred to as 'MMU' and simply
referred to as 'Man Met', is a British public university located in North West
England, and was established in 1970 as 'Manchester Polytechnic', and gained
University Status in 1992. Its headquarters and central campus are in
the city of Manchester, and there are additional facilities in the county of
Cheshire. The university has its roots in the Manchester Mechanics' Institution
and the Manchester School of Design. It is the fifth largest university in the
United Kingdom in terms of student numbers.
Teaching quality inspections place the university within the top twenty in the
UK, according to The Complete University Guide. Teaching standards have also been
described as 'among the highest in the country' by the Quality Assurance
Agency. The university receives approximately 52,000 applications every
year, making it the second most popular university in the UK by volume of
applicants. The university is ranked fourth of the new universities in
attracting research funds from the Higher Education Funding Council for
England. The university is an accredited member
of the Association of MBAs, a member of the University Alliance, the Association
of Commonwealth Universities, the North West Universities Association and the
European University Association. The university is home to the Manchester
School of Art, the Manchester School of Theatre and, in conjunction with the
University of Manchester, the Manchester School of Architecture.
History The university developed from mergers of
various colleges with various specialisms, including Technology, Art
and Design, i.e. Manchester Mechanics' Institution and Manchester School of
Design. Later, Schools of Commerce, Education and Domestic Science were
added along with colleges at Didsbury, Crewe, Alsager and the former Domestic
and Trades College, latterly Hollings College.
The painter L. S. Lowry attended Manchester School of Art in the years
after the First World War where he was taught by the noted impressionist
Adolphe Valette. It became Manchester Polytechnic in 1970. On 1 January 1977,
the polytechnic merged with the Didsbury College of Education and Hollings
College, and on 1 January 1983 with City of Manchester College of Higher
Education. In 1987 the institution became a founding member of the Northern
Consortium. Having previously been a local authority institution, the
polytechnic became a corporate body on 1 April 1989, as allowed by the terms of
the Education Reform Act 1988. It was granted university status as
"Manchester Metropolitan University" by the Privy Council on 15 September 1992
under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The
university absorbed Crewe and Alsager College of Higher Education on 1 October
1992 and the Manchester School of Physiotherapy in 2004.
Manchester School of Physiotherapy: The Manchester School of Physiotherapy was a
higher education institution based in Manchester, United Kingdom. It provided
undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes within Physiotherapy and
additionally offered NVQ level qualifications for unqualified
Physiotherapy Support Workers. The School of Physiotherapy was affiliated
to the Victoria University of Manchester and all degree level courses were
validated and conferred by this institution.
The School was officially formed in 1991, through the amalgamation of the
Manchester Royal Infirmary and the Withington Hospital Schools of
Physiotherapy. From these two institutions it can date its history
back to 1911 and during the 1980s via its M.R.I. routes, became the first NHS
School of Physiotherapy to offer a three-year undergraduate honours degree
programme. The Manchester School of Physiotherapy was based at the
Manchester Royal Infirmary and from 1993, was housed within purpose built
accommodation converted from the hospital's former outpatient department.
The academic building consisted of two large raked lecture theatres, a number
of practical rooms, a gymnasium, seminar rooms, a library, office facilities and
a student common room. In 2004 the Manchester School of
Physiotherapy officially joined the Manchester Metropolitan University and
initially became known as the Department of Physiotherapy. It was at this point
the last NHS School of Physiotherapy to join a UK higher education institution.
It subsequently became the Department of Health Professions and is currently
based at the Birley Fields Campus of MMU in Hulme. All students now have their
degrees conferred from the Manchester Metropolitan University.
The final cohort of Manchester School of Physiotherapy students graduated in
2005, with their degrees being conferred by the University of Manchester.
Campuses The university was previously located on
seven sites, five in Manchester and two in Cheshire, and has rationalised its
estate, reducing the number of sites to two. The university has moved the work
of the Alsager campus to Crewe. The Aytoun campus closed in 2012 when a new
Business School opened on the All Saints Campus. Since 2011, the university has
been engaged in a £350 million investment programme involving the
largest physical change to its estate since its foundation. In 2014 the
Elizabeth Gaskell, Hollings and Didsbury campuses were closed and the faculties
moved to All Saints and the new Birley campus
= All Saints Campus = All Saints campus is the university's
main campus. The Faculty of Humanities, Languages and
Social Science is split between the Geoffrey Manton and Mabel Tylecote
buildings. The Geoffrey Manton Building accommodates the English, History and
Economic History, Information and Communications, Politics and Philosophy,
and Sociology departments. The Languages departments are housed in the Mabel
Tylecote Building. The John Dalton Building, on Chester
Street is the home of the Faculty of Science and Engineering. It comprises
four schools: the School of Healthcare Sciences, the School of Computing,
Mathematics & Digital Technology, the School of Engineering, and the School of
Science and The Environment. To the rear of the John Dalton Building is JD tower,
housing the university's main science laboratories including IRM, the
Institute for Biomedical Research into Human Movement and Health.
The Manchester School of Art on the All Saints Campus is composed of four
departments: The Manchester School of Architecture; Department of Art;
Department of Design; Department of Media. The faculty houses the Holden
Gallery which has a continuous programme of exhibitions and is open free to the
public. The university has invested in improving the Manchester School of Art
building granting £35 million to facilitate three changes including: a
new building for the faculty, refurbishment of the workshops and
renovation of the studios. In 2014 the building was nominated for the Stirling
Prize. New premises costing £75 million for the
Faculty of Business and Law have been built on All Saints Campus and the
Business School re-located to this building from the Aytoun Campus in 2012.
It will house more than 5,000 students and 250 staff. The new building is an
original architectural concept with three towers under a single glass roof.
Green credentials are an integral part of the building's design which
incorporates solar panels and heat pumps to power the building and a rain water
recycling scheme. The Manchester Law School is in the Sandra Burslem building
which opened in 2003. The university library, renamed the Sir
Kenneth Green Library, is on the All Saints campus. It houses a number of
special collections mainly relating to the fine and applied arts, like the
Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection, a collection of 32,000 Victorian and
Edwardian greeting cards. The library is in the All Saints Building where it
occupies three floors. It was planned as a single central library in 1972 but
after the mergers with the Didsbury College of Education and Hollings
College it became a central library and administrative centre for seven library
sites. From 1975 a catalogue was produced with the aid of the Birmingham
Libraries Co-operative Mechanisation Project. From 1992 the library was part
of the Consortium of Academic Libraries in Manchester which was extended in 2002
to become NoWAL, the North West Academic Libraries.
The Hollings Faculty offers undergraduate and postgraduate
programmes in food, clothing, and hospitality studies and related fields.
Formerly in Fallowfield, the faculty is now housed in the Righton Building on
the All Saints campus, a former department store.
= Cheshire Campus = The Faculty of Education is based on two
campuses, the Cheshire campus at Crewe and the Birley Campus in Manchester,
where it moved in 2014 from the former Didsbury campus. It provides various
routes leading to Qualified Teacher Status. MMU Cheshire is also home to the
following academic departments: Business and Management Studies, Contemporary
Arts, Exercise and Sport Science, Interdisciplinary Studies.
= Birley Campus = 2014 saw the opening of a highly
environmentally sustainable £140 million development situated on the Birley
Fields site in Hulme, Manchester, creating a central location for the
Faculties of Education and Health following the closure of the Didsbury
and Elizabeth Gaskell campuses. Alongside the academic building there is
student accommodation for up to 1200 students comprising ultra-modern,
environmentally sustainable townhouses and traditional student apartments.
Organisation = Governance =
In common with most universities in the United Kingdom, Manchester Metropolitan
University is headed formally by the Chancellor, currently Dianne Thompson
CBE but led by the Vice-Chancellor, currently Professor Malcolm Press. There
are two deputy Vice-Chancellors. The University's Board of Governors is
responsible for determining the educational character and mission of the
University. It also falls to the Board of Governors to ensure that the
University's resources are used in line with the University's Article of
Government. It also safeguards the University's assets and approves the
annual estimates of income and expenditure.
The Board of Governors is responsible for broad policy but the
Vice-Chancellor, along with the Executive and Directorate, is
responsible for overall management, policy implementation, organisation,
operations and direction of the University.
In December 2014, it was announced that Malcolm Press had been appointed to
succeed John Brooks as Vice Chancellor on 1 June 2015.
= University structure = The University is organised into eight
faculties: Manchester School of Art
Health, Psychology and Social Care Humanities, Languages and Social Science
Science and Engineering Business and Law
MMU Cheshire Faculty of Education
Hollings Faculty The Manchester School of Theatre is a
drama school, which trains students to become professional actors. The course
offered is a BA in Acting. The school is a member of Drama UK, which means the
course is a nationally acclaimed programme. Students who complete the
course successfully are eligible for full Equity status. The school has links
with many local theatres and television companies, such as Granada and the BBC.
Graduates from the school of theatre include Amanda Burton, Steve Coogan,
Richard Griffiths, Graham Fellows, Julie Walters and Burn Gorman.
In the session 2013/14, the University had 32,160 students, making it the sixth
largest university in the UK. The University employs 4,400 staff,
comprising almost 1,500 full-time teaching staff, 700 part-time teaching
staff and 2,200 support staff. = Finances =
In the financial year ended 31 July 2011, Manchester Metropolitan University
had a total income of £248,028,000 and a total expenditure of £213,103,000. The
University's collects £106,857,000 from tuition fees and education contracts and
attracts £4,992,000 in research grants and contracts. Income from other sources
totalled £31,371,000. Academic profile
= Admissions = UCAS statistics show that the University
received 58,752 applications in 2011 and granted places to 9,083 students. Its
student population stands at 35,165 and The Complete University Guide shows that
the University has a ratio of enrolled male to female students standing at
42:58. The University admits undergraduate
students who have achieved a broad range of UCAS tariff points, with an average
of 343.7 Government statistics also show 0.5% of
students gaining a First Class Honours degree, 35% gaining a 2:1, 5% gaining a
2:2 and 55% gaining a 3rd or a pass. = Research =
MMU has eight research institutes: Dalton Research Institute
Education and Social Research Institute Healthcare Science Research Institute
Institute of Humanities and Social Science Research
Institute for Performance Research Manchester Institute for Research and
Innovation in Art and Design Research Institute for Business and
Management Research Institute for Health and Social
Change Students' union
The students' union has buildings on the All Saints, Crewe and Alsager campuses.
The Students' Union exists to represent all members at the Manchester
Metropolitan University and students on accredited external courses. The union
is controlled by the Union Officers Group formed of six students and recent
graduates of the university, elected by the students to control the Union on
their behalf. A shop especially designed to cater to the university students has
also been set up inside the Students' Union.
The students' union will be moving, in January 2015, to a new purpose built
building on Higher Cambridge Street, next to Cambridge and Cavendish Halls of
Residence. International partnerships
The university has developed international relationships with the
following institutions: American Hotel Academy, Brasov, Romania, University of
Nicosia, Cyprus, University of Economics, Prague, Aalborg University,
Denmark, Blaise Pascal University, Clermont-Ferrand, École Supérieure de
Commerce de Montpellier, Montpellier and University of Savoy, France.
In Germany, Hochschule Bochum, Bochum and Viadrina European University,
Frankfurt. In Italy, University of Padua, Padova.
In Lithuania, ISM University of Management and Economics, Vilnius. In
Spain, Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, University of Murcia and
University of Seville. In the Netherlands, Radboud University
Nijmegen In Australia, Deakin University,
Geelong, Melbourne, Warrnambool, Victoria, Flinders University, Adelaide,
University of Technology, Sydney, University of Newcastle, Sydney. [
In Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and, Bridgewater State
University, In the USA, Buffalo State College, East
Carolina University, Louisiana State University, Texas Tech University and
University of North Carolina. Notable alumni
This partial list of alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University
includes some who attended institutions which became part of present-day MMU.
References External links
Manchester Metropolitan University official website