University of Roehampton

The university has its roots in the traditions of its four constituent colleges, all of which were founded in the 19th century as women's teacher training colleges:

• Whitelands College – Founded in 1841, the college is one of the five oldest institutions for training educators in England. A flagship women's college of the Church of England, it was the first college of higher education in the UK to admit women. It occupies a 14-acre site overlooking Richmond Park.
• Southlands College – Founded in 1872, the college derives its ethos from its Methodist foundation. It offers an open and valuable community for all of its members, and regularly organises a range of events and activities to help build and support the community.
• Digby Stuart College – Established in 1874 as a teacher training college for Roman Catholic women. The college owes its existence to the Society of the Sacred Heart, whose members continue to support the college and the university.
• Froebel College – Founded in 1892, the college was established to further the values of Friedrich Fröbel, the German educationalist who pioneered a holistic view of child development. It is one of the UK's major centres for initial teacher training.

All four colleges were founded to address the need to educate poor and disadvantaged children. In 1975, the four colleges joined to form the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education.

Roehampton was formerly an equal partner in the now-dissolved Federal University of Surrey (along with the original University of Surrey in Guildford). On 1 August 2004, the University of Surrey Roehampton became Roehampton University.

Since 2011, the university has been branded University of Roehampton. However, its legal name remains Roehampton University.[3] In 2012 the last college, Whitelands, was legally merged with the university, bringing all the colleges into a common management structure.[4] Schiller International University degrees are awarded and accredited by Roehampton.

• Department of Dance
• Department of Drama, Theatre and Performance
• School of Education
• Department of English and Creative Writing
• Department of Humanities
• Department of Life Sciences (including Nursing)
• Department of Media, Culture and Language
• Department of Psychology
• Department of Social Sciences
• Roehampton University Business School
• Roehampton University Law School (opened in 2015)

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, 66 per cent of Roehampton research submissions were classed as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent'.

Dance was the top performing subject, with 94% of research rated 4* and 3* – making it the highest rated department in its subject area in the UK. Roehampton was also ranked 3rd in London for research quality in Education, and the 4th for English. In both Roehampton was the strongest performing university in London in these subject areas.[16]

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), Roehampton University was ranked first in the country for Dance and Biological Anthropology. Ten out of the fifteen subjects that submitted work included at least some proportion of research judged to be world-leading in terms of its originality and significance. 78% of all research undertaken at the university was of an international standard. This has led to the university having "one of the strongest research profiles among modern universities" (post-1992 universities).[17]

In December 2014, according to Higher Education Funding Council for England, the university is the most research-intensive post-1992 university in the UK. Roehampton submitted work by more than two-thirds of its academic staff, in 13 subject areas, to Hefce's Research Excellence Framework programme. This is the highest proportion of any post-1992 university. Overall, 66 per cent Roehampton's research was judged either world leading or internationally excellent.[18]

The RSU is the main organisation of student representation at the University. It is led by student officers elected by the student body, and aims to promote the interests and welfare of all those studying at Roehampton. It is also a focal point for social activities, and is responsible for organising events like the Summer Ball, Summer Ball being the biggest event of the academic year. Attracting over 2000 students and held on campus, the event attracts a variety of musical and entertainment acts.[19] The RSU also organises nights out in London, some of these consist of the Clapham grand once a month, fez club Putney on Wednesday nights and the unions special event the Bop hosted at the union bar. The Union itself has 12 different bars, cafes and restaurants spread around the campus.[20]

In September 2013 Roehampton Students' Union was awarded £226,900 from NUS Students' Green Fund for a sustainability initiative with a focus on urban food growing. The project is called Growhampton.[21] Growhampton runs a cafe, the Hive, alongside a regular market day,[22] where food produced by students and small local organisations is sold. In June 2015, Wandsworth Council awarded Growhampton funds[23] to launch a food education outreach programme, which now operates in Wandsworth schools, youth groups and community groups, with a focus on food growing. Growhampton also works directly with a local charities, including Regenerate and Paradise Co-op.[24]

The Union runs Fresh Network,[25] which provides the opportunity for students to get engaged in radio and TV production, and social media.

The Union also runs charity events called R.A.G (raising and giving). This involves students voting for three charities to help raise money for during events such as R.A.G we. From 2014 the RAG has included a 'jailbreak' in which pairs of students would try to get as far away from the university as possible on little or no money.

• Official website
• Roehampton University Students' Union