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Your study experience

Our expert academics and fantastic facilities are here to give you all the skills, knowledge and confidence you need to tap into your potential.

At NTU, learning is doing – so whatever you’re studying, you can count on having expert support and relevant work experience opportunities through every step of your journey.

Our courses and teaching have been developed with careers in mind – not just degrees.

How you're taught

All of our courses are developed with a balance between theory and hands-on practice in mind and include embedded work-like experience – things like live projects, briefs, and professional competitions. Whatever the subject, we work closely with industry leaders to ensure that what you’re learning is what employers expect to see.

See our course pages to find out more about the learning experience on your course of interest.

Your learning experience at NTU will be shaped through a variety of teaching sessions and independent study, depending on your course. These include lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials. Each type of session brings something different to challenge you and increase your understanding of the subject area, alongside gaining the skills needed for your future.

Here are some examples of the typical learning environments you'll experience during your time at NTU:

These are delivered by an academic and held in lecture theatres, classrooms, and online. They will introduce you to the main themes of your subject and give you a framework to structure your learning around.

These are smaller interactive sessions led by an academic, providing an opportunity for you to debate and discuss your learning in groups.

You’ll be expected to prepare for all your lectures and seminars. Your course leader may set up study groups, where you can also discuss notes and share ideas with friends.

If your course requires access to technical support and the use of specialist facilities such as laboratories and studio spaces, you will have access to these, and your timetable will be carefully managed to abide by social distancing guidelines.

This can vary from essays to portfolios and presentations. Your course tutors will give you essential advice on writing university-level coursework in your course induction.

You will be provided with opportunities to experience the professional world and gain insight into business practises and behaviours. Every course will continue to have work-like experience embedded within it. Our Employability team are here to support you every step of the way. They can support you with:

  • jobs and opportunities
  • applications and interviews
  • placements and work experience
  • you can attend events, like job fairs and skills workshops.

Talk to them via their live chat on their dedicated employability website.

You may find that feedback at university-level is different to what you’ve experienced before, and it’ll almost always be given after you’ve handed in an assignment. You can contact your lecturers and tutors by email, or they may run office drop-in sessions if you’d prefer face-to-face feedback.

Learn from the experts

A scientist wearing lab goggles and a lab coat concentrating as he holds an object over a bunsen burner.

Our staff aren’t just tutors – they’re professionally qualified and experienced industry experts and researchers, ensuring that you will be taught with a real-life context and a focus upon practical relevance.

Our staff also conduct cutting edge research and bring these inspirational results to provide exciting, relevant and up-to-date teaching. 90% of our research work has been ranked as ‘world-leading’, ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘internationally recognised’, and the University has also received the Queens Anniversary Prize for a second time – the UK’s highest research honour. It’s these same research experts who will be delivering your learning and teaching.

The enthusiasm shown by tutors is incredible, and their willingness to share all their knowledge to help us and push us to the best of our ability is appreciated. The tutors are always on-hand to take time out of their busy schedules to help and talk about your work.

Alex Thorne, BSc (Hons) Architectural Technology

Where you'll learn

Over the past 15 years, we’ve invested more than £450 million across NTU’s campuses. A big chunk of that money has been dedicated to our teaching facilities: the equipment and everyday opportunities that’ll take your learning to the next level and get you ready for the career of your dreams.

Whatever you’re studying, we guarantee you’ll be working in industry-standard facilities — meaning you’ll be industry-ready once you’ve graduated. Here’s just a taste of what’s on offer.

All courses for agriculture and horticulture; animal, equine and veterinary sciences; conservation and ecology; food science and production; and geography, environmental science and climate change are based at NTU’s Brackenhurst Campus.

You’ll have access to some incredible facilities, such as a working farm (which includes sheep, tractors, arable crops, and our famous herd of Lincoln Red cattle); an equestrian centre with stabling for 65 horses; an animal unit that contains over 70 different species; a veterinary nursing centre; and a whole host of dedicated laboratories.

Courses in journalism, media production and media communications are based at our City Campus. You’ll study at our Clifton Campus for courses in English, Creative Writing, History, and joint honours in Humanities.

Our newly refurbished media suites and fantastic Centre for Broadcasting and Journalism provides you with day-one access to some incredible spaces, tools and technology. Facilities include a newsroom, digital radio suites, and even a fully furbished TV studio. You can also hire kit throughout the year, including top-of-the range lights, camera and sound equipment.

All courses for architecture; civil engineering, construction management and quantity surveying; product design and property management and development are based at NTU’s City Campus.

Our students have access to studios for metal, woodworking and model-making; lab spaces for testing materials, concrete and hydraulics; a heliodon, which tracks the movement of the sun in ‘solar-responsive’ architecture; a virtual technologies lab; waterjets, lathes and milling machines; plus 3D printers, and laser and plasma cutters.

Discover more of the School’s facilities.

The Nottingham School of Art & Design is based across three buildings on our City Campus; Fashion, Textiles, Knitwear, Photography and Fine Art courses are based in the Bonington Building; Fashion, Management, Marketing and Communication, and Filmmaking courses are based in Barnes Wallis; Visual Communications, and Design for Stage and Screen courses are based in the Waverley building.

We’re also excited to announce the imminent opening of our new £35 million Design and Digital Arts Building (DaDA), scheduled for completion in autumn 2023 – a celebration of NTU’s proud 175-year design heritage.

Our bespoke studios build for modern art, design, fashion, costume making and photography, are equipped to enable you to explore, expand and refine your craft in both a personal and collaborative way. We also have a Mac suite that’s equipped with industry-standard creative software, electronic garment and knitwear technology, dye facilities and our own on-site theatre.

Discover more of our Art & Design facilities.

Courses for accounting and finance, economics, business, management and marketing based at our City Campus.

You’ll have access to facilities that are based around the real world of business and financial analysis. The crown jewel is our Business Lab – a trading room that comes equipped with Bloomberg software, giving you access to financial data from around the world. You can follow the performance of global markets and even create your own portfolio of stocks.

All of our law courses are based on our City Campus.

Through our on-site teaching law firm – NLS Legal – there are plenty of opportunities for you to gain a real world perspective by applying your skills and knowledge to actual cases. You will also have the opportunity to hone your skills in our purpose-built mock courtrooms. Through mock trials and mooting, you’ll develop your presentation and research skills, building confidence as you go.

Courses in Psychology, Criminology, Professional Policing, Sociology, Politics and International Relations, Youth, Health and Social Care and Social Work are based at our City Campus. Courses in Nursing, Paramedicine, Education, Childhood and Teacher Training are based on our Clifton Campus. There are also undergraduate Nursing and Ambulance Technician courses taught at NTU in Mansfield, along with foundation and BA top up degree courses in Criminal Justice, Working with Children, Young People and Families, and Education.

Psychology students work in dedicated spaces with specialist equipment that measures brain activity, eye movement and auditory perception, as well as computational modelling tech and virtual reality simulators. Our dedicated suites for behavioural studies allow you to explore everything from social interaction to cyberpsychology.

At our Clifton Campus, Education and Teacher Training students plan and deliver lessons in simulated classrooms, and Nursing and Paramedic Science students study in our brand-new state-of-the-art Health and Allied Professions Centre, featuring mock hospital wards, consultation and counselling rooms, creative teaching spaces and specialist equipment.

Nursing and Ambulance Technician students at NTU in Mansfield are taught in cutting-edge facilities including mock wards, a clinical preparation room and virtual reality wall.

Courses in Biosciences, Chemistry, Forensic Science, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Sport Science and Biomedical, Electronic and Electrical, Sport and Mechanical Engineering are based at our Clifton Campus. Our foundation course in Sport Science and our HND and HNCs in Engineering are based at NTU in Mansfield.

You’ll get hands-on with some of the University’s most cutting-edge facilities. These include our environmental chambers, which can simulate almost any climate or altitude in the world; an on-site observatory; a ‘crime scene house’ that can stage scenarios for forensic investigation; and the Rosalind Franklin ‘super lab’, which is recognised as one of the best in the UK.

Courses in media, games, music and esports are based at Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.

Based in the heart of Nottingham’s award-winning Creative Quarter, Confetti are specialist creative industry institute part of Nottingham Trent University and their campus is home to the very best technology, studios and equipment, industry-connected tutors and over 2000 passionate and committed students.

We offer professional courses, foundation and top-up degrees to Bachelors level in: nursing; paramedicine; education; criminal justice; business; sport science; and working with children, young people and families.

Our staff and student community is based at the £6.5 million University Centre — a self-contained hub that includes cutting-edge teaching and learning facilities, a range of stylish social spaces, a comprehensive library, a fleet of open-access PCs, and a number of dedicated study areas. Our subject-specific facilities include the Institute of Health and Allied Professions, which contains clinical skills areas and a VR wall conveying virtual reality emergency scenarios. For sport science students, there’s a high-end sport science laboratory.

Campuses and facilities

Explore our stunning campuses and industry-standard facilities to see where you'll be studying, living and thriving in Nottingham.

Support at every stage

A student and a lecturer sat in pink armchairs with their laptops, deep in discussion.

Mental health and wellbeing are key to your happiness and success at university, and we’ve got an award-winning student services team on hand to make sure you’ll get the help and guidance you need.

If you have a disability, a mental health condition, or a long-term health condition, we’ll work with you to provide dedicated, personalised support. You’ll have access to SilverCloud, our online wellbeing portal, plus one-to-one appointments and drop-in sessions with our teams of academic skills tutors and librarians.

We’re also big on peer-to-peer support. When you arrive, you'll immediately be paired with a second or final-year student from your course. This is our CERT Mentor scheme – an initiative where students help students. You’ll have the support of someone who knows your course, who knows what it’s like to be new and a bit nervous when settling successfully into university life

Support isn’t a one-size deal, and any bump in the road you might face during your NTU journey, we’ll be here to guide you through it.

CERT Student Mentors

Each first-year undergraduate student is assigned a Student Mentor, they play an important role in helping new students settle in to life at NTU. Known as CERT (Collaborative Engagement and Retention Team) Student Mentors, they are second year, final year, or postgraduate students who studied the same course as you.

You'll meet your CERT Student Mentor as part of your induction.