The University of Buckingham is the UK's first and only independent university. All universities in the UK are formally independent (in the sense that they are self-administered), but because they accept government money in exchange for a significant loss of autonomy, only Buckingham can be called truly private. It was founded as the University College of Buckingham in 1976, before becoming a university in 1983. A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctor) in a variety of subjects. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The development of the University was heavily influenced by the libertarian Institute of Economic Affairs, in particular, Harry Ferns and Ralph Harris, heads of the Institute. In keeping with its adherence to a libertarian philosophy, the University's foundation stone was laid by Margaret Thatcher, who was also to be the university's Chancellor (nominal and ceremonial head) between 1993 and 1998. The university's two first Vice Chancellors (academic and administrative heads) were Lord Beloff and Sir Alan Peacock, both of whom were distinguished academics and prominent libertarians. See also Libertarianism and Libertarian Party Libertarian,is a term for person who has made a conscious and principled commitment, evidenced by a statement or Pledge, to forswear violating others rights and usually living in voluntary communities: thus in law no longer subject to government supervision. ... The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a London-based conservative think tank. ... Ralph Harris, Baron Harris of High Cross, born December 10, 1924, was head of the Institute of Economic Affairs from its foundation in 1955, and is the current chairman of smokers rights campaigners, FOREST. In 1979, during Margaret Thatchers first few months in power, he was made a... The Right Honourable Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925), is a British politician. ... A Chancellor is the head of a university. ... Sir is an honorary title. ...

Unlike other UK universities, the University operates a two-year undergraduate degree course, consisting of four terms, with the academic year running from January to December. As the charging of tuition fees has traditionally discouraged applications from UK students (who account for about 25 per cent of students), most of its students are from overseas, particularly from outside the EU. Many are from Commonwealth countries such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Nigeria, as well as such EU member states as Germany and Sweden. Look up January in Wiktionary, the free dictionary January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ...

The University specialises in law, accounting, and business studies. Some science departments such as biology now only offer research degrees, others such as psychology and computer and information sciences offer the full range of degrees. Law (from the Old Norse lagu) in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, proscribe or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide punishments of/for those who do... Accountancy (British English) or accounting (American English) is the process of maintaining, auditing, and processing financial information for business purposes. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... I HATE BIOLOGY Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ... Psychology (ancient Greek: psyche = soul or mind, logos/-ology = study of) is an academic and applied field involving the study of the human mind and human behavior. ... Computer science (informally: CS or compsci) is, in its most general sense, the study of computation and information processing, both in hardware and in software. ... Information Science or Informatics is the science of information. ...

Some of the humanities subjects such as history and politics have been merged with economics to offer 'international studies' but others such as English literature are still available as 'stand alone' degrees. Wikimedia Commons has media related to: History History studies the past in human terms. ... Politics is the process by which decisions are made within groups. ... Economics (from the Greek [oikos], house, and [nomos], rule, hence household management) is a social science that studies the production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods and services. ... The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian. ...

The new Department of Education has some of the most prominent educationalists in Britain including Professor Chris Woodhead (former head of OFSTED), Professor Anthony O'Hear (the director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy) and Professor Alan Smithers on the staff, and its Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE), which specialises in the independent sector, has recently been accredited qualified teacher status (QTS) and so also qualifies graduates to teach in the maintained sector.

Tuition fees for full-time undergraduates are equivalent to £12,000 p.a. (£3,000 per term) from July 2005 until January 2006 (when the per term fees will rise to £3,125). These tuition fees are approximately equivalent to the London School of Economics postgraduate fees, which are among the highest in the UK for UK/EU students. The University points out that the additional time spent on a degree (one year) represents lost earnings and additional fees, which make it a cost-effective option. It has been suggested that Hayek Society be merged into this article or section. ...

External links

• University of Buckingham website