How Many Universities Are There In Manchester?
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How Many Universities Are There In Manchester?

Jasmyne Jeffery December 5, 2022

Manchester is a popular location for students due to its lower cost of living and its student accommodation. It also brings in thousands of international students for its football fame as well. But just how many universities are there in Manchester?

With its connections to football, its cheaper lifestyle and its famous MediaCity, it’s not surprising that Manchester is a popular student choice. But there is more than one university in Manchester for potential students to choose from.

How Many Universities Are There In Manchester?

Manchester has 5 universities across its city. They are the following:

  • University of Manchester
  • Manchester Metropolitan University
  • The University of Salford
  • The Royal Northern College of Music
  • The University of Bolton

The University of Salford boasts its connections to MediaCity for its students, who can access TV studios, filming equipment and newsrooms. Elsewhere, the University of Bolton has recently opened two new buildings: the Queen’s Specialist Building and the National Centre for Motorsport Engineering. They’re also keen on putting “your student experience first.”

The odd one out on the list is the Royal Northern College of Music. The university is arts-based and “is dedicated to providing an outstanding education that propels students into careers as inspiring and versatile musicians, fully-equipped for exciting futures both on and off stage.”

Much smaller than the others, RNCM has less than 1000 students but they come from more than 60 countries to attend.

Where Is Manchester University Located?

The most famous and largest university in Manchester is located south of the city centre on Oxford Road. You really can’t miss it as it is the largest single-site university in the UK.

You’ll be glad to know that it’s just around the corner from countless McDonald’s and coffee shops. It’s also a short distance from the Royal Infirmary in case of an emergency. Any literature buffs or keen historians may also be eager to know that it’s very close to Elizabeth Gaskell’s house and the Pankhurst Centre. They’re well worth a visit if you have an afternoon off from lessons.

Manchester in general a city towards the north of England. Higher than the midlands but not as far up as Newcastle or Sheffield, it’s more or less in line with Liverpool.

Photo by Fran Serra on Unsplash

Where Is Manchester Metropolitan University?

Manchester Metropolitan is just around the corner from Manchester University but had a more central location. Right on the cusp of the city centre, it’s near a lot of transport links and entertainment hubs.

Plus, it’s close to all of Manchester’s museums. Whether it’s the Science museum, People’s History, or the Football museum, there’s a bit of history for everyone.

Is Manchester Metropolitan University Good?

When asking if a university is good, it’s always best to ask the students. After all, they are the ones who went!

According to the Student Crowd, MMU gets 4.01 out of 5, with all of its subcategories getting 5 out of stars. One reviewer thought the following:

“Great University, any questions you have you can ask your teachers and they will help you out. The campus is situated in a great location with many things nearby like restaurants and pubs. There is a graduate job scheme as well which helps provide you with valuable work experience after you’ve graduated which is great.”

Students think it’s better than the University of Surrey and Ashton University, but not quite as good as the University of Huddersfield. However, it does rank better than most at 50 out of 140.

For its 2023 world rankings, Times Higher Education placed it between 601-800 in the world. As this was out of around 1400 universities worldwide, it’s sitting in about the middle. However, the QS World University Rankings place it at a much lower 801-1000. This placement went up in 2020 but has mostly been in this section of the ranking since 2018.

The University of Manchester, on the other hand, ranked a very respectable 28.

So, it seems that students think MMU is better than academics, but they are the ones who have been.

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Jasmyne Jeffery is a full-time Entertainment and News Writer on university-themed website Freshered and HITC, and joined the company having previously worked in a freelance role. She attended the University of South Wales where she was also a student blogger and graduated in 2022 with a first-class honours degree in English and Creative Writing. Now, she puts her creativity to use reviewing university bars, Love Island episodes and the latest apps any 18-25-year-old is using.