A-Z OF UNIVERSITIES; Brighton

Age: four, if you count its years as a university; 120, if you start from its origins as the School of Science and Art.

How many lives? Five. First incarnation was the above. Then it become a technical college (remember them?); then it was reincarnated as colleges of art, education and technology; then it was a poly; and, finally, the real thing.

Address: Lives on three sites in Brighton (Grand Parade, Moulesecoomb, Falmer) and one in Eastbourne.

Ambience: the naughty seaside town is a great place to be a student. You can overdose on social life, clubs, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, naked bathing, the beach - but take care of the pebbles if you're going skinny- dipping. Two splendid piers - and the Brighton Festival. How can you resist it? On the debit side, the town has high levels of unemployment and an abundance of hobos to keep you in touch with the gritty side of life. Campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne are separated by spectacular coastal scenery and the South Downs.

Vital statistics: Strong tradition of vocational and professional courses has brought high ratings for employability of graduates. As the British university closest to the Continent, it has many courses with a strong European focus and some have exchanges with European universities.

Easy to get into? It varies. Three Bs at A-level needed for some courses e.g. pharmacy, physiotherapy, sport, art and design. Three Cs for engineering. Two Cs and a D for computing.

Added value: Good for sport. And good for students. There are 20,000 students in Brighton.

Glittering alumni: Harvey Goldsmith, big-time promoter; Helen Rollason, TV presenter; the late Helen Chadwick, artist.

Transport links: Good train, boat and road links whiz you to London (less than an hour by train). Not bad for global links, too: half-an-hour from Gatwick Airport and Newhaven cross-channel ferry port. Parking is a nightmare.

Who's the boss? Professor David Watson, historian, and a mover among vice chancellors. He's a member of Sir Ron Dearing's committee of inquiry into higher education.

Teaching rating: Decent showing in the higher education quality council's ratings, particularly in aspects of modern languages and linguistics and the history of art, architecture and design.

Research strengths: Came 70th (out of 102) in the league table of research excellence. In the recent research assessment exercise it received one relatively high grade, a four, for art and design. Is also noted for design history (houses the Design Council's national archive), computer science, sports studies, business and management, pharmacy and civil engineering.

Financial health: Is planning for steady growth. One of the universities expecting to be in the black by the end of the millennium.

Night-life: Lively, despite the fact that the student union nightclub, The Basement, has closed while the university builds a new wing.

Buzz-phrase: "What, no night-club?"

Cheap to live in? No, Brighton is only slightly less expensive than London, though Eastbourne is cheaper. Decent accommodation is hard to find.

Next week: Bristol University