Aston University is a public research university located in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Founded in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston merged with Birmingham Central Technical College in 1966 and was granted university status in 1966. Aston has been a member of the Russell Group of British research universities since 2001.
Aston pioneered the integrated placement year concept over 50 years ago, and more than 70% of our students take a placement year as part of their degree. This means that they can gain up to 12 months’ work experience relevant to their degree programme before they graduate. Students have gone on to work for companies such as Google, Microsoft, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and Coca-Cola.
Our campus is based in the centre of Birmingham – one of Europe’s youngest cities and renowned for its culture, shopping and nightlife. The city has more canals than Venice and is home to two World Heritage Sites: Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania (the location of some of the earliest evidence of human existence) and Ironbridge Gorge (the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution).
We are ranked 9th in the UK for employability (The Economist) and our students have among the highest starting salaries in the country – £28,000 on average six months after graduation ( Guardian League Tables 2018).