Built and Natural Environment

The School is one of the largest in the country with over 100 specialist academic staff, meaning that our teaching is highly discipline specific. We have great links with a number of relevant professional bodies - so much so that the regional offices of both the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) are located within the School.

Northumbria University is highly engaged with the business and community of the North East. Positioned in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, the city centre is just 5 minutes walk from the campus, providing great access to a variety of bars, restaurants, shops, music and cultural venues. Slightly further afield one can visit The Coast or a number of attractive locations outside of the city, by making use of the many efficient public transport links.

Postgraduate study

The School is forward thinking in its approach of considering the Built and Natural world alongside each other - each discipline takes expertise from the other in order to provide comprehensive learning. Teaching is provided with access to the latest technologies and lab equipment, ensuring that all students are provided with cutting edge equipment which is at the forefront of their field.

There is a dedicated postgraduate resource centre with student work space, IT facilities and teaching materials. The School has excellent links and remains in good contact with a network of industry and professional bodies.

Postgraduate taught courses follow challenging, but varied work patterns, with students have sufficient access to field work, as well as theory.

A number of postgraduate programmes are also available to study by Distance Learning mode, please visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/dl for more information.

Research

Ongoing research is at the core of the School's activity. Our research directly feeds into our teaching provision which not only enhances teaching material, but also ensures that students have access to academic staff who are highly active in producing innovative and discipline-specific work, winning research contracts, writing authoritative reports and publishing in leading academic journals. The School is at the forefront of organising research conferences, frequently involving an international platform.

In the latest (2008) submission to the Architecture and the Built Environment panel, 100% of the School's submission was rated ‘nationally significant', of which 90% was recognised as ‘internationally excellent or world leading'.

There are a number of research centers within the School, such as the Disaster and Development Centre (DDC), Built Environment Visualisation Centre (BEVC) and Sustainable Cities and Research Institute (SCRI) - which provide a hub of expertise for specific areas of built and natural environmental research.

Facilities

On campus, student facilities are outstanding. The School has five specialist IT labs where the latest software and printing facilities are available. Depending on the programme studied, Built and Natural Environment students can make the most of facilities such as built environment labs or the Visualisation Centre - a semi immersive display facility, allowing 3D computer modeling and virtual reality across all disciplines of the School.

The University library has 5 floors of books and journals, offering a comprehensive range of materials to support your study and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, the University now boasts a multi-million pound sports centre, complete with gym, running track, swimming pool, climbing wall and sports arena.