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The University of Hertfordshire is a modern university based largely in Hatfield, in the county of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, from which the university takes its name. It has more than 23,000 students.
History In 1951, the de Havilland company gave land in Hatfield adjoining the A1 to Hertfordshire County Council for educational use in perpetuity; the Council used this to build and operate Hatfield Technical College, which trained aerospace engineers for Hatfield's then-dominant aerospace industry. In 1967 it became an early polytechnic. With the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992, the institution gained university status and became self-governing rather than controlled by the county council. There are three campuses of University of Hertfordshire. The main site of the university remains the original technical college buildings in Hatfield, though the site has had many new buildings added since. Notable among these is the Learning Resources Centre, a combined library and computer centre which is the largest university building of its kind in Britain. Computer science, engineering, and natural sciences are here, along with halls of residence including Telford Court, and the Roberts Way student village. Nearby in Hatfield is the de Havilland campus, built on a former BAe site. The Business School and the faculty of Humanities and Education are housed here, along with another library. The law faculty is based in St Albans, conveniently for the law courts. There were formerly campuses in Watford (Wall Hall) and Hertford (Balls Park), but these were closed when the de Havilland campus opened. A very small site in Bayfordbury houses the university's telescopes and the biology plus geography field station. The University has particular research strengths in History, Engineering, Computer Science, Astrophysics, Philosophy and Nursing. Since the town of Hatfield does not have a very active nightlife, the Students' Union (UHSU) puts on regular events at the Hatfield campus. These often take place in the Union's Hutton Hall or the peculiarly shaped building commonly known as the "Elehouse" because its original architecture was similar to the elephant house at London Zoo (built by Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson (1910-1999)). It is likely that the Medschool campus, when opened, will be built on the former Hatfield Aerodrome, on which the de Havilland campus is also sited. The university is seeking to set up a campus in China, where pupils will be taught in English and following English-designed courses. They are also seeking to set up a wine school in China. This promises to be the only one set up by a University from the UK. Faculties Hertfordshire was described as "the flagship of the former polys" by the Independent in 2002. * As a polytechnic, it was strong in aerospace engineering and computer science. More recently, it has built up its strengths in other areas such as pharmacology, history, geography and astrophysics. Entry requirements have been rising in recent years. The university has six faculties: (Faculties, Departments and schools details) UH Racing The University of Hertfordshire has one of the most successful Formula Student teams in the World. UH Racing has competed in many countries and has won many awards. UH Key Developments Awards Queen’s Award for Industry On 1 July 2004, the University of Hertfordshire was presented with the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade in recognition of outstanding achievement. The University received a special message of congratulations from the Queen, and our Vice-Chancellor and International Office staff also attended a special reception at Buckingham Palace. A Centre for Excellence In 2004 the University of Hertfordshire was awarded £4.5M by the Higher Education Funding Council for England to establish a Centre for Excellence in Blended Learning. This prestigious award enables us to establish our profile as a leading institution for learning and teaching. We work to combine established ways of learning and teaching with the opportunities offered by technology to ensure our students have the best possible learning experience. The Blended Learning Unit Fair Trade University In March 2005, University of Hertfordshire has officially been certified a Fair trade university. National Teaching Fellowships Three members of our staff have achieved lifelong Fellowship awards as outstanding teachers, as part of the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme introduced in 2000 by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland. e-Tutor of the Year One of engineering staff at the University of Hertfordshire successfully won the title e-Tutor of the Year in an annual national competition, launched in 2002 by the Higher Education Academy and the Times Higher Education Supplement. Rankings Professional Accrediation 1. The Royal Aeronautical Society. 2. The British Computer Society 3. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 4. The Engineering Council. 5. The Institution of Electrical Engineers. 6. The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. 7. The College of Radiographers. 8. The Health Professions Council. 9. The General Social Care Council. 10. The Nursing and Midwifery Council. 11. The British Psychological Society. 12. The Institute of Health Care Development. 13. The Law Society. 14. The Institute of Biomedical Science. 15. The Society of Sports Therapists. 16. The Arts Therapists Board. Academic Dress The University of Hertfordshire prescribes academic costume for its members. Both dress and undress are prescribed, though only dress is used in practice - for example, at the graduation ceremonies, held in St Alban's cathedral. The academic dress of bachelors of the university is a black stuff gown, with facings and long open sleeves gathered to a point at the elbow with a button. The master's gown is similar, but with spade sleeves. With these, on formal occasions such as graduations, is worn a hood of grey or white silk and stuff. In dress, grey hoods are worn by holders of diplomas below bachelor's level, and white hoods by bachelors. Masters add a border of purple silk. Because of the university's emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, there is no distinction between the academic dress of the various faculties. In dress, holders of initial doctorates wear red gowns with purple facings; higher doctorates have purple gowns with white facings. In undress all doctors wear master's gowns. The university is unusual among former polytechnics in also prescribing academic dress for undergraduates - the black stuff bachelor's gown with no hood - although, again, this is not used in practice. 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