Lincoln, University of

Overall ranking: 51st out of 126 in the Complete University Guide for 2016.

History: Started off in 1861 as the Hull School of Art, later merging with other colleges in 1976 to become Hull College of Higher Education. Became Humberside Poly, which gained university status in 1992. Renamed the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside when it set up the campus in Lincoln in 1996. Known as the University of Lincoln since it moved its main campus there in 2001.

Address: Two campuses in Lincoln and one in the village of Nettleham just outside the city. There are campuses in Hull and Holbeach too. Lincoln campuses house business and law, media, humanities and computing, health, life and social sciences, architecture, and art and design. The Rinseholme Park campus in Nettleham is home to the university's agriculture, animal-related and biological science courses. Hull city centre campus is home to around 500 students of health and social care. The Holbeach campus is the National Food Manufacturing Centre.

Ambience: Five campuses give a wide choice of places to live and study. A mix of 21st century architecture and old buildings like the cathedral are set in the friendly and safe city of Lincoln, where students can enjoy everything within walking distance. The majority of students study at the Brayford campus, with others enjoying the historic setting of the Cathedral campus and the countryside at Riseholme. Specialist facilities at Holbeach and a vibrant campus in Hull mean that students can choose a site to suit their individual needs.

Who's the boss? Dr Mary Stuart took over in November 2009, moving from Kingston.

Prospectus: 01522 886 644 or order/download/view one here.

UCAS code: L39

Easy to get into? Entry requirements for undergraduate degree courses range from 280 to 320 points. Lincoln welcomes students who may not have the required qualifications but are able to demonstrate relevant work experience.

Vital statistics: The university has been through big changes in a short time with major investment in new facilities, including £150m in its main Brayford Pool campus. It almost 13,000 students on campus, including 10,979 undergraduates and 1,856 postgraduates. 1,988 of these are international students.

Added value: Emphasis on combining traditional academic values with bold moves in the development of the student working environment. Engineering students can enjoy a brand new building at the Brayford Pool campus, built in partnership with Siemens. The university recently accrued and refurbished the former news offices and print works of the Lincolnshire Echo, transforming them into a dedicated centre for the business and law school. This £6m centre opened in January 2011 complete with a 250-seat Harvard style lecture theatre and moot court. Work has begun on a new science and innovation park on a city centre brownfield site, with the first stage being the creation of a School of Pharmacy. Futher investment includes a £14m Lincoln Science and Innovation Park, which will house new buildings for the School of Chemistry and the School of Mathematics. The School of Chemistry welcomes its first students in September 2014, and the School of Mathematics will launch in September 2015. The University also opened its new £11 million Art & Design Building, which is now the largest facility on campus and includes classrooms, seminar spaces, open plan studios, creative workshops, computer suites and office space, fitted out with the latest equipment and technology.

Teaching: 46th out of 126 in the Complete University Guide for student satisfaction with teaching.

Graduate prospects: 56th out of 126 with 67.4 per cent finding graduate level employment.

Any accommodation? Yes. University accommodation costs range between £107 and £121 per week. Off campus, the University of Lincoln has a number of residential ‘Partnership Halls’, which have been developed with landlords in line with the City of Lincoln Student Accommodation Accreditation Scheme, specifically for the city’s university students

Cheap to live there? Oh yes. Prices starting from approximately £65 per week in the local area.

Transport links: Frequent train services to London, Birmingham, Newcastle and more. The A1 is nearby and linked to Lincoln via the A46.

Fees: £9,000 per year for full-time home and EU undergrads.

Bursaries: Scholarships and bursaries gallore. These include the University of Lincoln Scholarship, the Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship, the Excellence Scholarship, Lincoln Graduate Scholarship and the Blackburn Bursary. Through its industry partnerships, it also offers Santander Scholarships and Siemens Engineering Bursaries. See here for more details.

Nightlife: Lincoln's nightlife improves year on year with the influx of students breathing fresh life into the social scene. The Engine Shed, the university's Student's Union, is now Lincoln's biggest multi-purpose entertainment venue, providing space for nearly 2,000 students on any given night. It recently won a Best Bar None award. Entertainment ranges from well-known bands such as Embrace, Kasabian, and Dizzee Rascal, to club nights, comedy festivals and formal balls.

Price of a pint: You're looking at around £2.90 for a pint of lager.

Sporting reputation: Not great but not bad either- ranked 70th in the current BUCS league.

Notable societies: Hedge your bets with the Horse Racing gang or live on the edge with the Twenty Minute competition-based society. The latter sends out one text randomly every week, stating a location in and around Lincoln that members must race to in order to gain points and win prizes. All in the name of procrastination!

Glittering alumni: David Stenton, senior games designer for Electronic Arts and Matthew Targett, volunteer coordinator for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Honoraries include Michael Parkinson, Loyd Grossman, John Hurt and fashion designer Antonio Berardi.

Alternative prospectus: Check out how current students rate their university experience at Lincoln on What Uni? here.