A new business school is scheduled for completion in 2024, built to net zero carbon standards and set to become the study base for 6,000 students by 2030. 

Kedleston Road is the biggest of Derby’s three sites in the city. It hosts most teaching subjects as well as the students’ union, a multi-faith centre and the main sports facilities. The Markeaton Street site is the base for arts, design, engineering and technology courses, while courses including fine art and social care are based at Britannia Mill, a ten-minute walk away (although students can opt to take a shuttle bus between sites, if they prefer). Nursing has a school of its own in the market town of Chesterfield to accommodate a growing demand for places and to keep teaching up to date. Engineering and IT are also taught in Chesterfield, where the university has an innovation centre. In the spa town of Buxton, the university’s Devonshire Dome, formerly the Devonshire Royal Hospital, hosts courses including hospitality management.

Derby got a gold rating in the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), winning praise for its personalised learning and support.The university’s teaching scores well with its own students too: Derby is 16th for student satisfaction with teaching quality in our analysis of the results of the latest National Student Survey. The top-20 ranking represents a rise of five places year-on-year. For satisfaction with the wider undergraduate experience, Derby ranks 36th, climbing three places since 2021.

Students benefit from hands-on learning in “real world” simulation environments. Facilities include a crime scene house for forensic science students, a replica crown court, a Bloomberg financial markets lab and an NHS-standard hospital ward. Hospitality courses use industry-standard kitchens and a fine dining restaurant. The Devonshire spa is an award-winning commercial day spa that doubles as a classroom for spa management students.

A 6 per cent year-on-year dip in applications in 2021 brought them to their lowest level in nine years. Enrolments decreased twice as steeply. Numbers joining the university have fluctuated between 3,130 and 4,070 in the past decade.  

Links with local industry help to prepare students for the workplace, with internships available at Microsoft, IBM, Porsche, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and the locally-based Toyota, among others. Derby has fallen slightly — seven places — to 93rd in our analysis of graduate prospects, based on the proportion in highly skilled work or further study 15 months after graduation.

A new “omics” laboratory — covering a range of biological sciences — has been created to extend the university’s cutting-edge research. In an example of the collaborative work that the university nurtures with a range of regional partners, students at a Derby laboratory joined a drive to develop a ten-minute Covid-19 test that is now used worldwide.

Education and geology produced some of the best results for Derby in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) and have contributed to a six-place rise to 111= in our research quality index. More than two-thirds of the university’s submission in earth systems and environmental sciences was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent, the top two categories. The equivalent figure for education research was 63 per cent, and for allied health subjects and art and design it was 60 per cent.

Derby is in the top 20 according to our analysis of measures of social inclusion overall (19th). More than half (53.7 per cent) of new students are the first in their family to go to university.

Derby bursaries of up to £1,000 are awarded according to a sliding scale of household income and paid as £100 e-cards for study resources plus up to £900 cash. Students who achieve or exceed their course’s published Ucas tariff point requirements qualify for £1,000 academic achievement scholarships. There are also scholarships for international students and sports scholarships for student athletes competing from high county level up to senior internationals.

The sports centre at Kedleston Road has a HiPAC (high-performance analysis centre), fitness suite, climbing wall and an eight-court sports hall among its facilities, along with two all-weather pitches and outdoor tennis courts adjacent to it. 

Students who are experiencing problems with their mental health can book wellbeing appointments with a mental health practitioner or adjust their study schedule. Those with a long-term physical or mental health condition are offered regular support meetings with a specialist mentor. 

Derby’s halls of residence earned shortlisting in six categories in the National Student Housing Awards 2021, including Best Student Halls, Best Student Wellbeing and Best Value for Money, and won the Best Environmental Management award. First-years who apply by the end of July are guaranteed a place in the university’s stock of 1,962 bed spaces.

Located in the heart of England, Derby makes a legitimate case for being within easy reach of Manchester, London and Birmingham. The breathtaking scenery of the Peak District is on its doorstep.