The University of Bolton

At the University of Bolton we are a community of professionals committed to developing our students for their professional lives.

Our heritage

The University is new, modern and growing rapidly - it achieved university status in January 2005, but it has a long history as a higher education provider. Before its title change the University of Bolton was Bolton Institute of Higher Education, which came into being in 1982. However, its origins can be traced back to the Bolton Mechanics Institute, founded in 1824. From that point the institution has been involved in a continuous programme of vocational and educational training: a focus on learning for professional advancement has been part of this higher education institution since its beginnings.

Professional focus

Postgraduate study offers you a wealth of opportunities - to significantly enhance your career prospects, to move in a new career direction, and to learn at a higher level that will give you a greater understanding of your subject and your place in the world around you.

Statistics indicate that many of our postgraduate students are successful in finding work within months of completing their studies - recent figures show just 6.5% were still looking for employment or further study six months after graduation.*

The University of Bolton has strong links with its business communities: we work with them to develop our professional programmes and our research mirrors our region's strengths. The Centre for Materials Research and Innovation has an international reputation for exciting new products, often working with local industry in their development. We understand the challenges facing the professional learner and we are developing new courses to match their needs. For instance, our MSc in Advanced Materials is unique in its flexibility and in the options it offers the professional learner.

The University is a major provider of teacher training - we specialise in training further and higher education teaching staff and we are the country's second largest provider of post-secondary, further and higher education training. We also offer a comprehensive range of professional development courses for those working in the education sector.

Our strong industry links allow us to provide a large number of professionally accredited courses through partnerships that include the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, the British Psychological Society and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Indeed, more than 30 of our courses are professionally accredited, reflecting the industry-needs focus of our courses' content.

Our future

We are building for our future - and yours. In 2008 we completed an £8m, two-year building development programme which included the £1.7m Innovation Factory, a new suite of teaching space which includes purpose-built, glass-fronted art studios leading out into Christ Church Gardens. That was closely followed by the completion of the £2.5m Social Learning Zone, a bright, spacious area to study, either in a traditional library setting or in a relaxed atmosphere with access to the latest wireless technology. The Students' Union facilities are located on a mezzanine floor in the Social Learning Zone along with a new all-day, every-day computer access room.

In 2012 we are set to open a new £30m research, teaching, leisure and health centre, in partnership with our local council and primary care trust. This ambitious development will not only offer impressive on campus student facilities - including an eight-lane swimming pool - but new state-of-the-art facilities for health and sports research and teaching.

*HESA, DLHE study 2007-8

For more information, please visit our Postgraduate and Professional Development web page at: http://www.bolton.ac.uk/ProspectiveStudents/Postgraduate/Home.aspx