University of Central Lancashire
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) traces its history back to 1828 when it was established as the Preston Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge. It then became the Harris College in 1956, Preston Polytechnic in 1973, Lancashire Polytechnic in 1984 and UCLan in 1992 when it was granted degree and higher degree awarding powers under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The University is located in the heart of Preston with additional campuses at Westlakes in West Cumbria, Llangollen in North Wales, and Burnley in East Lancashire.
Today UCLan is one of the UK’s largest universities. With a student and staff community approaching 38,000, it is the 5th largest employer in the North West of England. Being a global university, UCLan’s student body is drawn from 120 nationalities and a network of some 125 partnerships across the globe, which includes some longstanding partners of over 15 years. The university places collaborative network at the heart of what it does, offering international experience to its students.
The world-class quality of UCLan's education is widely recognised and in 2019 was awarded a Silver rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework. In the same year, UCLan was awarded a maximum of 5 stars in the QS Star ratings for its outstanding teaching, facilities and employability. The University is internationally renowned and in 2018 was the winner in the Internationalisation category from The Guardian University awards.
In 2010, UCLan became the first modern UK university to appear in the QS World University Rankings. In 2015, the Centre for World University Rankings placed UCLan in the top 3.8 percent of all worldwide universities, highlighting the progress the institution has made in providing students with real‐world learning experiences and reflecting the institution’s broad pool of academic talent.
The university’s reputation as a regional economic powerhouse has been boosted through its strong track record in supporting graduate business start‐ups; UCLan is ranked as the leading UK university for incubated start‐up businesses still active after three years of trading. It is ranked 2nd in the UK for the number of graduate start‐ups still active overall, and ranked 3rd in the UK for estimated turnover for active firms. In the last five years, UCLan has helped over 1,000 students or graduates start a business or became self‐employed: the 2nd highest figure in the UK.
Since August 2015, the Building Services and Sustainable Engineering, Building Surveying and Quantity Surveying programmes have been hosted by the School of Engineering after the restructuring of UCLan and have since been joined in that School by Architecture.
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