One of the most beautiful campuses in Britain is also one of the best provided for sports facilties.

Stirling was designated Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence in 2008 and is home to national swimming and tennis centres, as well as a golf course and a football academy.

The university, with its modern buildings in a loch-side setting beneath the Ochil Hills, has twice recently been voted the favourite UK destination of international students.

Stirling remains a relatively small institution of 9,000 students with a strong community feel.

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• The Times University Guide table

Related Links

• University of Stirling

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• Stirling University website

Subjects

There are no faculties, but five “core areas” have been identified: health and well-being, culture and society, environment, enterprise and economy, and sport.

Philosophy produced the best results in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, but nursing, film, media and journalism, economics, education and history all did well.

The university was the British pioneer of the semester system, which has now become so popular throughout higher education. The academic year is divided into two 15-week terms, with short mid-semester breaks. Students have the option of starting courses in February, rather than September. Successful completion of six semesters will bring a General degree; eight semesters, honours.

The emphasis on breadth is such that there are no barriers to movement between departments. Undergraduates can switch the whole direction of their studies, in consultation with their academic adviser, as their interests develop. The modular scheme allows students to speed up their progress on a Summer Academic Programme, which squeezes a full semester’s teaching into July and August. Full-time students are not allowed to use the programme to reduce the length of their course, but part-timers can use it to make rapid progress.

Applications were up by almost 8 per cent at the beginning of 2009. The intake is surprisingly diverse, with nearly 95 per cent of undergraduates state-educated and almost a third coming from working-class homes. Three-quarters are from north of the border. International exchanges are common, with many students going to American, Asian and European universities each year.

Among the sciences, only environmental science matched this feat, its success reflected in a new School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, with substantially refurbished facilities for both teaching and research. Sports studies are particularly popular, as are film and media studies, which acquired a £40,000 high-tech newsroom in 2004.

Campus

Recent campus developments have included the refurbishment of the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences. Journalism students have the use of a high-tech newsroom. The university is launching the UK’s first degree in financial journalism in 2009. The library is also undergoing major refurbishment, in a £14-million programme that is due to be completed for the start of the 2010-11 academic year. The university has more than 700 computers for student use, many available 24 hours a day, and all rooms in halls are wired for internet use.

The sports facilities, which include a 50-metre pool and a golf centre with indoor facilities and a synthetic putting green, are used for teaching and research, as well as for training by elite athletes and recreation for the university community. Sports studies are particularly popular, with 56 students in 2008 benefiting from a sports scholarships programme that is open to overseas, as well as UK students. It covers golf, swimming, disability swimming, tennis, triathlon and football.

Students appreciate the individual attention that a small campus university can offer, although some find the atmosphere claustrophobic. Stirling is not the top choice of nightclubbers, but the students’ union won “Best Bar None” status for three years in a row and there is a lively social scene. The MacRobert Arts Centre offers a full programme of cultural activities, while the surrounding scenery offers its own attractions for walkers.

The Highland campus, for nurses and midwives, is based in the modern Centre for Health Science, in Inverness. There is also a Western Isles campus, located in Stornoway, where the teaching accommodation is an integral part of the Lewis Hospital.

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