About Bangor University
Bangor is known as a ‘City of Learning’ and its university can boast it fits this description. The university was first founded in 1884 with a mere ten members of staff and 58 students in attendance. Known at the time as The University College of North Wales it was not until 1893 that it became The University of Wales, Bangor and consequently one of the three original constituent colleges of the University of Wales. The university has grown exponentially since then and currently hosts over 11,000 students and 2,000 members of staff.
In keeping with this exceptional history, Bangor still holds itself to the highest standards of learning today; the university is ranked within the top 40 within the UK in regard to research (as ranked by the Research Excellence Framework [REF] in 2014) and the REF recognised that more than three-quarters of Bangor’s research is either world-leading or internationally excellent, ahead of the average for UK universities. However, the academic prowess of Bangor is not the only area in which it excels; the National Student Survey (NSS 2017) saw Bangor ranked amongst the UK’s top 10 universities for student satisfaction (excluding specialist institutions).
In order to continue its excellent service and research growth Bangor recently invested in facilities such as the Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre, a multi-million-pound development which includes teaching facilities a theatre, cinema, bar, cafes and an innovation space used to host both university and council run events. Pontio is also home to Bangor’s Students’ Union. Other examples of Bangor investing in new facilities include 600 new rooms within St. Mary’s Student Village to house the influx of new students and a redevelopment of the University’s sports facilities at Canolfan Brailsford designed to encourage sports development and healthier lifestyle for students.
More specifically, Bangor’s School of Music & Media were part of a larger submission to UoA35: Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts, jointly with the School of Music and received 30% at the top 4* level (world leading) and 51% at the 3* level (internationally excellent). Overall, the school achieved a Grade Point Average of 3.4 out of 4; meaning that all the School’s research impact was of either world-leading or internationally excellent in quality.
The School has particularly strong relationships within the creative industries sector in Wales, and also engages with the creative economy more generally, within the UK and beyond. There is a thriving and welcoming research culture within the School as shown by its weekly research series ‘Media Sandwich’ that sees staff members, post-graduate students and researchers and practitioners from across the UK present their work within a supportive, yet critical, environment. Occasionally, the School will invite special guests, visiting scholars, and others to present on their research and practice. The School’s research specialities include work into digital culture, media and persuasive communication and creative theory and practice (practice-as-research).