Type Public HE Director Dr Gordon Mellor | Established 2008 | |
Address 502 Avebury Bvd, Milton Keynes, MK9 3HS, Milton Keynes, England Affiliations Milton Keynes College
University of Bedfordshire | ||
The University Campus Milton Keynes (UCMK, previously known as University Centre Milton Keynes) is a small higher education institute in Milton Keynes, England, which is operated by the University of Bedfordshire. The long term aim of the institution is to be the seed for a new, independent university in Milton Keynes.
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History
UCMK began as 'the University Centre Milton Keynes', part of Milton Keynes College and supported by the University of Bedfordshire, The University of Northampton and The Open University. It was opened on 29 September 2008, with start-up funding provided by the Milton Keynes Partnership, which purchased the initial building (a former office block) in Central Milton Keynes.
In October 2009, the University of Bedfordshire (acting as lead academic partner) made a successful bid to the Higher Education Funding Council for England to expand provision at UCMK, one of just six such centres to have achieved this.
In September 2012 the centre ceased to be part of MK College and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Bedfordshire. The university announced plans for a new campus in the city, with the new name of the institution being 'University Campus Milton Keynes', and this was opened at Saxon Court on Avebury Boulevard in September 2013.
From March 2017 the brand 'UCMK' is no longer in use and the campus now operates as University of Bedfordshire Milton Keynes Campus.
Academics
When it was part of MK College, the campus offered Higher National Certificates, Higher National Diplomas, Foundation Degrees and the Professional Graduate Certificate in Education as programmes of study, as well as various management and professional courses. Whilst Milton Keynes College was the chief operator of UCMK, most higher education courses were accredited by the University of Bedfordshire, with some courses accredited by the University of Northampton, The Open University and Oxford Brookes University.
Today, under the operation of the University of Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes campus offers Foundation degrees, Bachelor's degrees and Master's degrees.
Foundation degrees
Bachelor's degrees
Master's degrees
Other higher education in the Milton Keynes area
There are two Universities within 5 miles of UCMK: the Open University and Cranfield University. However, the Open University is a national university for learners in their own homes and workplaces, with no dedicated facilities to provide conventional face-to-face teaching for local students. Cranfield University is exclusively a post-graduate institution, without any undergraduate students.
From 1982, De Montfort University operated a small campus in Kents Hill, with some teaching via a video link. In 2003, De Montfort University closed the site as part of a general retrenchment.