- published: 23 Jul 2014
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The University of Bristol (informally Bristol) is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the British red brick universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.
Bristol has been named inside the global top 30 by the QS World University Ranking. It has an average of 14 applicants for each undergraduate place, and average A-level attainment of successful entrants equivalent to four grade As.[citation needed] For the most popular courses, such as Economics and Law, the applicant to place ratio is 40:1. The University had a total income of £408.8 million in 2010/11, of which £106.7 million was from research grants and contracts. It is the largest independent employer in Bristol.
Current academics include 18 Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences, 10 Fellows of the British Academy, 13 Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering and 31 Fellows of the Royal Society.
Bristol i/ˈbrɪstəl/ is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007. It is England's sixth and the United Kingdom's eighth most populous city, one of the group of English Core Cities and the most populous city in South West England.
Historically within Gloucestershire, the city received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after London, alongside York and Norwich, on the basis of tax receipts, until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century. It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.