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TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > University Guides > Types of University
When choosing a university, it is important to know what the university is like. Most universities in the UK fit into one of about 5 categories, depending on when they were founded, there are other categories that can be applied though campus/non campus/city, research focused/teaching focused, large/small, collegiate/non collegiate etc etc. Universities created at the same time often share a number of characteristics and may therefore offer similar types of experience to their students. That is something of a generalisation, however, as universities within the same category are still by no means identical. In fact, no two universities in the country will give you the same set of experiences as a student.
Below is listed which institutions fall into each group.
Ancient Universities
Refers to medieval and renaissance universities that have continued to exist. Because no universities were founded in these countries between the 17th and 19th centuries, an ancient university effectively means one that was founded before the 17th century.
Red Brick Universities
The 6 civic universities originally called red bricks are:
The term is often (some would claim inaccurately) extended to include other universities granted a charter between the turn of the 20th century and 1963 including:
The term red brick is often used synonymously with the Russell Group and 1994 Group universities.
Plate Glass Universities
Refers to universities granted a charter between 1963 and 1992 (mainly in the 60s)
New Universities
Recently created universities
These universities were formerly university colleges and have been granted university status since 2005.
Other Universities
These universities do not fit into any of the categories above. They are a variety of different universities and may have a lot in common with one or more of the groups above. They also include the Universities of London and Wales (see below for a list of the institutions they are comprised of).
- University of Durham - Lampeter (Wales), UCL and KCL (London) and Durham were the only universities created after the Ancient institutions but before the civic red bricks were granted their charters in the mid 19th - early 20th century
- Royal College of Art
Unique Institutions
University Colleges
A university college offers degrees and can award them themselves (though some choose to have the degrees awarded by a full university), but is not recognised as a university. A number of UK universities started out as university colleges. There are currently still six university colleges in the UK
Colleges of Higher Education
- The Arts Institute at Bournemouth
- Bell College, Hamilton & Dumfries
- Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies
- Burton College, Staffordshire
- City College, Birmingham
- Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh
- Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, Glasgow
- Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow
- Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London
- Hull York Medical School
- Leeds College of Music
- Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
- Newman College of Higher Education, Birmingham
- Norwich School of Art & Design
- Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, London
- Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester
- Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow
- Rose Bruford College, Sidcup
- College of St Mark & St John, Plymouth
- Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh
- Trinity and All Saints, Leeds
- Trinity College of Music, London
- UHI Millennium Institute, Scottish Highlands and Islands
- Union Theological College, Belfast
- Wirral Metropolitan College
- Writtle College, Chelmsford
