[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Staffordshire Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA]Remember, Staffordshire University is named after the county not the town of Stafford - students might find themselves in either of 2 towns depending on where their course is based. Stafford is one of them and Stoke the other [ITAL]and never the twain shall meet. They may as well be separate institutions, having their own identities and loyalties. Both look down on the other,[EITAL] but what they have in common is that they are towns in the north-west Midlands, 16 miles apart. The Stafford campus on a green field site in the outskirts of the small and [ITAL]pretty [EITAL]county town. It is a former technical college made of 1960s concrete. [ITAL] It's a bit bleak in winter, but great for lazy days in summer marred only by the looming doom of exams.[EITAL] The Stoke part of the University is on 2 sites at College Road and Leek Road in the town centre of Stoke-on-Trent. [ITAL]Leek Rd has more of the feeling of a self-contained campus with playing fields and accommodation on site. [EITAL][HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA]Many students are on part time or professional courses[ITAL] and the University as a whole is developing very rapidly. Stoke and Stafford have totally different atmospheres despite attempts by the University to unite them:[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Stafford: [EBOLD](2,800 students - Engineering, Computing, Business) [ITAL]The site is small and students mix between subject groups and across other boundaries often imposed elsewhere. It can get claustrophobic since there's nowhere to escape to. Everyone knows the colour of everyone else's underwear, their genital diseases and so on. [EITAL] [HDNG]STOKE:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 244,800 [BULL] Manchester: 34miles[ESTAT][PARA]Stoke has suffered for the last couple of decades from urban decline and the closure of many local industries. In Hanley, there is a new shopping centre and Festival Park, once the site of the National Garden Festival, now has an [ITAL]excellent[EITAL] swimming pool and various other attractions. [ITAL]Most Stoke students here love it, but they didn't apply for the scenery[EITAL]; [ITAL]whoever painted this place forgot to wash his brush out between colours[EITAL]. The University has its own art gallery, the Flaxman, on site. See also [ULNE]Keele University[EULNE].[HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Stafford and Stoke are on the Merseyside and Manchester services to London. The Stoke site is right next to the station.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] National Express services to and from Stafford (ú2.75, 30mins, 2/day), Birmingham (ú4.25, 1:20hrs, 13/day), London(ú14.00, 3:35, 5/day).[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The M6 and A34 connect the 2 towns. Stafford is also served by the A518 and A513.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD][ITAL] In Stoke a hike may be hitched from the nearby ringroad and the M6 provides a launch pad for both towns.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local: [EBOLD][ITAL]Buses are regular, cheap and reliable[EITAL] and run between the towns and all round the region. The University runs a free minibus between sites 6 times a day.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD][ITAL] With many firms working in both towns, prices are competitive. [EITAL] Some offer student discounts[ITAL] which are worth remembering for late nights.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]For those with thighs like tree trunks, bikes are useful. [EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]NOS and REQUIREMENTS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Arts[EBOLD] 1,600 12-14pts[BOLD][PARA]Business[EBOLD] 1,769 14-16pts[BOLD][PARA]Computing[EBOLD] 1,454 8pts[BOLD][PARA]Design/Ceramics[EBOLD] 631[BOLD][PARA]Engineering[EBOLD] 802 8-10pts[BOLD][PARA]Law[EBOLD] 642 20pts[BOLD][PARA]Sciences[EBOLD] 1,537 8-18pts[BOLD][PARA]Soc Sci[EBOLD] 852 14-20pts[BOLD][PARA]Surveying[EBOLD] 234 12pts[BOLD][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][BOLD][STAT][BULL] Books: 300,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 2,200 [BULL] Study places: 1,118 [BULL] Computer workstations: 2,300[ESTAT][EBOLD][PARA]3 libraries: Leek Rd, College Rd and Beaconside (Stafford). At Stafford, [ITAL]which is renowned as a centre of computing expertise, [EITAL]the new, [ITAL]well-equipped[EITAL] Octagon Centre has opened - home of the School of Computing[ITAL].[EITAL][HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 6full/6part [BULL] Unemployed after 6mths (1992): 13.7%[ESTAT][PARA]Many find work in computing.[HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Students here are far from typical. Many are industry-sponsored part-timers with which the University maintains good links. Many others are mature students and mothers. Emphasis is placed on encouraging unconventional applicants, including students with disabilities, and any student under 21 who is resident in Staffordshire, Shropshire or Cheshire is guaranteed an offer, provided they meet the normal entry requirements.[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads (including diplomas and certificates) and postgrad, professional and post-experience students.
