The University of Portsmouth

The University of Portsmouth is a university within the city of the same name. It was founded as the Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and Arts in 1869 and was later known as the Portsmouth Polytechnic until 1992 when it became a university. It is a member of the University Alliance and the Channel Islands Universities Consortium.

There is plenty of help and advice on hand for international students that start from their arrival in Portsmouth. The university operates an orientation week that helps students find their way around the university and explore the services on offer. This also introduces them to the support services including those for academic and wider life and even meeting up with other students. These events are organised by the International Office, based within the Nuffield Centre who also organise events during the year and are point of call for international students. The Students Union offer a wide range of services as well as organising the clubs and societies for students to get involved with outside the classroom. The union was the first in England and Wales to register as a full charity in 2006 but has been in operation since at least 1911, when it published a magazine called The Galleon. It is now based in a building at the northern end of Ravelin Park and includes a student activities centre, a social learning space, a bar and a radio station. The clubs and societies at the university are organised into five different bodies: the Athletic Union, Societies, Student Media, Volunteering and RAG (Raising and Giving). There are some 40 plus sports clubs ranging from football and rugby to lacrosse, pole dancing and octopush, a type of underwater hockey. Societies includes everything from politics and lifestyle groups to a law society as well as the longest running paintball club in the UK.

The university has two main campuses. The smaller of the two is in Milton on the east edge of Portsea Island, overlooking the Langstone Harbour. It is home to the sports grounds, restaurant and accommodation for around 550 students in its halls of residence. The larger campus is called the University Quarter and is around the city centre. Most of the teaching facilities and the residence halls are found here. There is also the University Library, reopened after refurbishment in 2006 by crime writer PD James. Other notable features include St Michaels, the new Science Faculty building and the Creative and Cultural Industries building, opened in 2006. The university also has a partnership with the Military Technological College of Oman. Students can live in halls of residences on both the campus as well as within private accommodation within the larger community. The halls of residence offer options including catered or self-catered and en-suite or shared bathroom facilities to allow students to opt for the type of housing that suits them and their budget. The Guildhall Halls are within the centre of the city while Rees and Burrell are close to Southsea Common and the Langstone Student Village is part of the smaller secondary campus overlooking Langstone Harbour. All international students are guaranteed a place in halls of residence for their first year.

There are courses available from this university with the following field of studies:
• - Accounting and finance
• - Forensic accounting
• Architecture
• Art and design
• Biology and life sciences
• Business and management studies
• - Business and human resource management
• - Entrepeneurship and management
• - MBA
• Civil engineering and construction
• Computer sciences and IT
• - Data telecommunications and computer networks
• - Economics and finance
• Electronic and electrical engineering
• Engineering
• - Mechanical engineering
• - Engineering management
• Health sciences
• - Health Care Management
• History
• Languages
• - Translating and Interpreting
• Law and legal studies
• Linguistics
• - Marketing
• Mathematics
• Media studies and publishing
• Medicine and surgery
• - Dentistry
• Pharmacy and pharmacology
• Physics
• Politics
• - Politics and International Relations
• Psychology
• Social sciences
• Sports science
• Teacher training and education