Anglia Ruskin University
About
ARU is an innovative global university with students from 185 countries coming to study with us. We've once again been named as one of the top 350 institutions in the world in The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 – and one of the top 40 universities in the UK.
Introduction
ARU is an innovative global university with students from 185 countries coming to study with us. We've once again been named as one of the top 350 institutions in the world in The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 – and one of the top 40 universities in the UK.
Our community is incredibly important to us, and we're proud of the role we play in our cities and the wider region – including the positive effect on jobs and the local economy.*
Students, businesses, and partners benefit from outstanding facilities, which include our new School of Medicine in Chelmsford, and the Science Centre in Cambridge. Many of our facilities, activities, and events are open to the wider community.
Why choose ARU?
There are many reasons.
Ambition
We’re not only academically ambitious for ourselves but for our students.
We’ve been named one of the top 350 institutions in the world in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021, for the fifth successive year – and one of the top 40 universities in the UK. We're also listed in the Top 10 for social inclusion in The Times Good University Guide 2021.
Students are at the heart of our University, and we're delighted that our final-year undergraduates also rate their educational experience highly
Excellence
We were named as the UK’s leading university for education and sports science courses in the 2021 Guardian League Table. We're especially pleased to be one of the Guardian's top 20 UK universities for ‘Value added’, which measures how well we support our students, regardless of background, towards achieving their potential.
As well as this, our Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Silver award recognizes the quality of our courses and high levels of student satisfaction.
Collaboration
We’re a place where collaboration, research, and scholarly activity inform everything we do. Many of our courses are recognized by industry and a large number are professionally accredited, making our students career-ready.
Each year, we also help 2,000 businesses grow with interns, training, research, and collaborative programs.
Impact
We’re purposeful, challenging, and curious about our world. Our academic excellence has been recognized by the UK’s higher education funding bodies, with 12 areas classed as generating world-leading research. We deliver impactful research that tackles pressing issues and makes a difference, from saving lives to conserving water.**
Enterprise
While our head is full of ambition, our feet are planted in the world around us. We pride ourselves on being as enterprising as we are innovative and nurture those qualities in our students, with mentorship, support, and start-up funding on offer through the Anglia Ruskin Enterprise Academy.
Enthusiasm
Our sheer can-do attitude sets us apart from others. We find that enthusiasm is infectious, letting the results speak for themselves and being the only UK university to be named a global 'rising star'.***
* Research carried out by Hatch Regeneris for the University and College Union, 2020
** Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014
*** Higher education consultants Firetail, table published in the Times Higher Education, August 2016
Our History
Our story starts in 1858 when the art critic, patron, and philanthropist John Ruskin opened the Cambridge School of Art. The art school grew to become Anglia Ruskin University, shortened to ARU, and it’s still at the heart of our modern-day campus in Cambridge.
Becoming ARU
Over the years, a number of colleges and institutes have become part of ARU. They include the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT) and the Essex Institute of Higher Education (formerly the Chelmer Institute – itself formed from the Mid-Essex Technical College and the Brentwood College of Education). At first, these colleges combined to become Anglia Polytechnic, and then Anglia Polytechnic University in 1992.
A national and international presence
As well as our four main campuses, we have a number of partner institutions in the UK and overseas, giving you the chance to study for an ARU qualification near to home. The first partnerships were formed in the early 1990s.
Our International Office, set up in 1992, fosters further links and makes sure that our international students receive the support and information they need.
Courses
Our early expertise in the arts and education has broadened, and today we offer courses in computing and technology, engineering, law, business, economics, life sciences, and more.
We’ve been a leader in the field of health and social care since 1992 when nursing training was transferred from local health authorities to ARU. As well as our three highly regarded nursing courses, we train midwives, paramedics, operating department practitioners, and social workers.
Of course, the arts and education are still important to us. We train early-year professionals on our Chelmsford campus and at our partner college in Peterborough. Our MA Children’s Book Illustration is a world-renowned course that builds on the long tradition of the Cambridge School of Art. We’ve embraced 21st-century variations on our more traditional arts courses, too – including computer games art, and music technology.
Rankings
Teaching Excellence Framework Silver award
We are delighted to hold a TEF Silver award, which reflects the high quality of teaching delivered by our talented staff.
Our TEF Silver award means that we deliver high-quality teaching, learning and outcomes for our students and consistently exceed rigorous national quality requirements for UK higher education. We are particularly pleased that our assessment highlighted very high levels of student satisfaction and that most of our students achieve excellent outcomes.
Staff teaching qualifications and recognition
Our academic teaching staff are among the most qualified and recognised in the country.
- According to figures provided by the Higher Education Academy (HEA), in 2017-2018 the percentage of our teaching staff who were recognised by the HEA was over 78%, against a sector average of 42%.
- The most recent figures (2015-16) from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) put us in the top 16 institutions in England for the percentage of staff holding a teaching qualification: 76% against a sector average of 51%.
- In April 2019, Sian Shaw and Louise Jenkins of FHEMS won the Best Transformational Project at the eAssessment Awards for their work with MyKnowledgeMap on the digital transformation of practice assessment.
- In September 2018, Senior Learning Technologist Paul Driver won the prestigious Association for Learning Technology Learning Technologist of the Year award for his innovative work with virtual reality here at ARU.
- In June 2017 Dr Zoë Bennett was presented with the Lanfranc Award for Education and Scholarship for her 'outstanding contribution to theological education in East Anglia and beyond'.
- A number of our academic teachers/supporters of learning have been successful in achieving University Teaching Fellowships for the excellence of their teaching.
- In December 2017, Dr Mat Timmis was accredited by the British Association for Sport and Exercise Science (BASES) for applied sport/exercise science pedagogy and is one of a handful of people in the country who have achieved this award.
Awards and recognition
We're winners
In 2020, we were named as one of the top 350 universities in the world for the fifth successive year – and one of the top 40 in the UK.
At the same time, we were named as the UK’s leading university for Education and Sports Science courses in the 2021 Guardian League Table. We're especially pleased to be one of the Guardian's top 20 UK universities for ‘Value added’, which measures how well we support our students, regardless of background, towards achieving their potential: a reflection of our commitment to providing inclusive learning environment.
This follows awards for the quality of our learning facilities, and the impact we're making on our students' employability, management and leadership skills.
Our final-year students have also rated their educational experience – including teaching, academic support, assessment and feedback – highly in the National Student Survey.
Campus Features
Four main campuses
As well as Cambridge, we have campuses in Chelmsford, London and ARU Peterborough. Our Chelmsford campus was originally in the city centre but moved to a new, purpose-built site in 1992. Today, you’ll find our striking, modern buildings nestled by the river in the city’s University and Innovation Quarter. Meanwhile, our campus at ARU Peterborough opened in 2011. It’s a dedicated health, social care and education site where we train many of our region’s nurses and social workers.
In 2015 we were pleased to introduce a new campus in the heart of London, where students study subjects including business, law and finance at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
We’ve invested over £115 million in our campuses in recent years. Cambridge benefitted from a major redevelopment in 2011, and in 2014 we completed work on our dedicated healthcare site on Young Street. It houses state-of-the-art clinical skills labs including mock hospital wards. Young Street is also home to our specialist Music Therapy Centre. In 2018, we opened a brand new Science Centre and a Law Clinic.
Meanwhile, in Chelmsford, we’ve embarked upon an ambitious development programme. In 1995, Her Majesty The Queen opened the fittingly named Queen’s Building, home to the University Library. It’s since been joined by (among others) our eye-catching Lord Ashcroft building; Sawyers Building with its SuperLabs; the Michael Salmon Building, which houses cutting-edge medical simulation suites; and Arise Chelmsford, which offers labs, workshops and office space to small businesses in the medical and advanced engineering sectors. The most recent significant development in our School of Medicine, which opened in September 2018, is training the region's future doctors in a purpose-built space featuring state-of-the-art skills facilities.
Looking to the future, we're proud to be involved in establishing ARU Peterborough – a brand new university for the city which will open its doors in September 2022.
Scholarships and Funding
Visa Requirements
How to apply and visa support
To apply for one of our English courses, simply complete an application form. You can find application forms on individual course pages.
Admissions process
Provided you meet the entry requirements for your course – and immigration requirements – our International Admissions team will usually send you a conditional offer.
If your offer is conditional, it means that we still need some documents or payment. For example:
- a copy of your passport
- a copy of your English qualification
- degree transcripts or references (if you are progressing onto an academic course)
- course deposit
- full course fees
- confirmation that you would like to accept your place.
If you are interested in our Pre-sessional Course (or Pre-sessional Course at ARU College) you will need to take a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved test centre.
Once we have your payment and documents (that meet course requirements), your offer will be made unconditional. We will then process your visa letter. We may contact you at this stage.
If you’re from a European Union or European Economic Association (EEA) country, you won’t need a visa.