[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]On the northern side of the Firth of Tay, down the eastern coast [PARA]of Scotland from Aberdeen, is Dundee. The Tay estuary, the [PARA]surrounding miles of beaches and highlands rising inland [ITAL]are very[PARA]picturesque. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Dundee.[PARA]It's a fairly depressed city, a hotch-potch of architecture.[EITAL] In an [PARA]area of town with some [ITAL]lovely [EITAL]views over the Tay, 1 mile west of [PARA]the city centre, is the self-contained campus of Dundee [PARA]University. Its buildings have sprouted over the last 100 years or [PARA]so and provide examples of most styles over that period - [ITAL]some [PARA]of the best and worst excesses. The Union Building, for [PARA]example, is a modernist glass-fronted thingy.[EITAL] Despite a sense of [PARA]space, there are few green areas, but the parks of Riverside are [PARA]only 1/4 mile away.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]The campus is compact and the University untraditional. The mix[PARA]of students on campus is broad - full of normal unpretentious [PARA]people (some students argue this is because so many come [PARA]through clearing) and there is fun to be had, but the atmosphere [PARA]isn't exactly rocking. By all rights, the main centre of activity [PARA]should be the Union, but it feels a bit flat and characterless. So [PARA]students find their own entertainment, forming clubs and losing [PARA]themselves in their work. [EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA]There is, in a sense, a 2nd site, where 360 students on medical [PARA]courses are based, 21/2 miles from the main campus, at [PARA]Ninewells Hospital, the largest teaching hospital in Europe. [ITAL]It is [PARA]isolated from the rest of the University[EITAL] although there is a local [PARA]bus service which connects the two every 10 minutes.[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 165,548 [BULL] London: 384miles [BULL] Edinburgh: [PARA]50miles [BULL] Aberdeen: 60miles[ESTAT][PARA]The city has just had a[ITAL] long overdue [EITAL]facelift[ITAL].[EITAL] The Tay itself, [PARA]Riverside and the port area have certain attractions and there are [PARA]1,300 acres of parkland including golf courses, a zoo and a [PARA]nature trail. There are 2 bridges over the Tay - a railway and a [PARA]road bridge, both of which are more successful than the first [PARA]bridge which collapsed in 1879 shortly after it was built, killing 75 [PARA]people [ITAL](as described in the poem by McGonagall, bad poetry [PARA]fans)[EITAL]. [ITAL]The people are friendly enough too. [EITAL]The city has several [PARA]museums, galleries and historic buildings including Bonar Hall (a [PARA]University-owned exhibition centre). [ITAL]Worth a mention[EITAL] are the [PARA]Observatory on Balgay Hill and Captain Scott's ship 'Discovery'.[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Dundee BR Station has services to London (5:50hrs, [PARA]3/day) and Edinburgh, as well as routes to other destinations, [PARA]including Birmingham and Bristol.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express, Stagecoach and Citylink services to [PARA]many destinations including London (ú26.50, 8.30 hrs, 2/day), [PARA]Edinburgh (ú5.40, 2hrs, 3/day), Glasgow (ú6.40, 1.40 hrs, 6/day).[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] From the south, the M90 goes up to Perth (19 miles west) [PARA]from where there's the A90, or the A914 which crosses the Tay.[PARA]From the north, there's the A92, A929 and A923.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Dundee (Riverside Park) Airport.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Not easy. Around Dundee there are too many [PARA]roundabouts where hitchers can get stuck all day. The best bet [PARA]is to get a lift on the A92 along the coast and, if heading south, to [PARA]try to pass close by Edinburgh.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] There's a [ITAL]good [EITAL]bus service, and it's [ITAL]fairly cheap[EITAL] (55p [PARA]across town), but the last is at around 11.15pm. There's only 1 [PARA]train stop in Dundee; 1 line comes along the Tay from Perth and [PARA]the other crosses the Tay heading south.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] Cheapest in Scotland.[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Not too hilly and theft isn't a major problem, but bikes [PARA]aren't really that necessary.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Arts/Soc Sci[EBOLD] 1,456 20pts[BOLD][PARA]Med/Dent[EBOLD] 940 24/19pts[BOLD][PARA]Science[EBOLD] 1,287 16/13pts[BOLD][PARA]Law/Accountancy[EBOLD] 764 25/18pts[BOLD][PARA]Arch/Town Plan[EBOLD] 404 19/14pts[BOLD][PARA]Food[EBOLD] 96 12pts[BOLD][PARA]Catering[EBOLD] 111 14pts[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 500,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 3,800 [BULL] Study places: 780 [PARA]Computer workstations: 844[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]More than 1/2 of the books are in the Main Library, but there are 2[PARA]others specialising in Medicine and Law.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 4full/2part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 6.3%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Dundee was first founded in 1882 and so it belongs to the civic[PARA]universities of the turn of the century. From 1897, it was an [PARA]outpost of [ULNE]St Andrews University[EULNE], only becoming an independent[PARA]university in 1967,[ITAL] adding a modern edge.[EITAL][PARA][BULL]Jerry Sadowitz: 'Dundonians are so thick, if you pour hot [PARA]water on their heads, you get porridge[ITAL].'[EITAL][PARA][BULL]Dundee has the 2nd largest number of HIV cases in Europe. [PARA]This [ITAL]appalling [EITAL]statistic is largely a result of local intravenous [PARA]heroin abuse.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Sir James Black (Nobel laureate, medicine; current Chancellor); [PARA]David Leslie (rugby); George Robertson MP (Lab).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, postgrads and part-timer on adult [PARA]education courses. There's a Union Handbook, available from DUSA.[PARA][PARA]
