[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA]On the northern side of the Firth of Tay, down the eastern coast of Scotland from Aberdeen, is Dundee. The Tay estuary, the surrounding miles of beaches and highlands rising inland [ITAL]are very picturesque. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Dundee. It's a fairly depressed city, a hotch-potch of architecture.[EITAL] In an area of town with some [ITAL]lovely [EITAL]views over the Tay, 1 mile west of the city centre, is the self-contained campus of Dundee University. Its buildings have sprouted over the last 100 years or so and provide examples of most styles over that period - [ITAL]some of the best and worst excesses. The Union Building, for example, is a modernist glass-fronted thingy.[EITAL] Despite a sense of space, there are few green areas, but the parks of Riverside are only 1/4 mile away.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]The campus is compact and the University untraditional. The mix of students on campus is broad - full of normal unpretentious people (some students argue this is because so many come through clearing) and there is fun to be had, but the atmosphere isn't exactly rocking. By all rights, the main centre of activity should be the Union, but it feels a bit flat and characterless. So students find their own entertainment, forming clubs and losing 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 courses are based, 21/2 miles from the main campus, at Ninewells Hospital, the largest teaching hospital in Europe. [ITAL]It is isolated from the rest of the University[EITAL] although there is a local bus service which connects the two every 10 minutes.[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 165,548 [BULL] London: 384miles [BULL] Edinburgh: 50miles [BULL] Aberdeen: 60miles[ESTAT][PARA]The city has just had a[ITAL] long overdue [EITAL]facelift[ITAL].[EITAL] The Tay itself, Riverside and the port area have certain attractions and there are 1,300 acres of parkland including golf courses, a zoo and a nature trail. There are 2 bridges over the Tay - a railway and a road bridge, both of which are more successful than the first bridge which collapsed in 1879 shortly after it was built, killing 75 people [ITAL](as described in the poem by McGonagall, bad poetry fans)[EITAL]. [ITAL]The people are friendly enough too. [EITAL]The city has several museums, galleries and historic buildings including Bonar Hall (a University-owned exhibition centre). [ITAL]Worth a mention[EITAL] are the 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, 3/day) and Edinburgh, as well as routes to other destinations, including Birmingham and Bristol.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express, Stagecoach and Citylink services to many destinations including London (ú26.50, 8.30 hrs, 2/day), 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) from where there's the A90, or the A914 which crosses the Tay. 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 roundabouts where hitchers can get stuck all day. The best bet is to get a lift on the A92 along the coast and, if heading south, to 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 across town), but the last is at around 11.15pm. There's only 1 train stop in Dundee; 1 line comes along the Tay from Perth and 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 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 [BULL] Computer workstations: 844[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]More than 1/2 of the books are in the Main Library, but there are 2 others specialising in Medicine and Law.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 4full/2part [BULL] Unemployed 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 universities of the turn of the century. From 1897, it was an outpost of [ULNE]St Andrews University[EULNE], only becoming an independent university in 1967,[ITAL] adding a modern edge.[EITAL][PARA][BULL]Jerry Sadowitz: 'Dundonians are so thick, if you pour hot water on their heads, you get porridge[ITAL].'[EITAL][PARA][BULL]Dundee has the 2nd largest number of HIV cases in Europe. This [ITAL]appalling [EITAL]statistic is largely a result of local intravenous heroin abuse.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Sir James Black (Nobel laureate, medicine; current Chancellor); David Leslie (rugby); George Robertson MP (Lab).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads, postgrads and part-timer on adult education courses. There's a Union Handbook, available from DUSA.[PARA][PARA]
