RAC Cirencester
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| Motto | Latin: Avorum Cultus Pecorumque; (from Virgil's Georgics) "Caring for the Fields and the Beasts" |
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| Type | Public |
| Established | 2013 - University status 1845 - College |
| President | HRH The Prince of Wales |
| Principal | Professor Joanna Price |
| Students | 1,185 (2014/15) |
| Undergraduates | 950 (2014/15) |
| Postgraduates | 235 (2014/15) |
| Location | Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK |
| Campus | Rural |
| Colours | Black, maroon, yellow |
| Website | rau.ac.uk |
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The Royal Agricultural University or RAU (previously known as the Royal Agricultural College or RAC) is a university located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. The university provides more than 30 land-based undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes to students from over 45 countries through the School of Agriculture, the School of Business and Entrepreneurship, the School of Equine and the School of Real Estate & Land Management.
The Royal Agricultural University was founded as the Royal Agricultural College in 1842, at a meeting of the Fairford and Cirencester Farmers’ Club. Concerned by the lack of government support for education, Robert Jeffreys-Brown addressed the meeting on "The Advantages of a Specific Education for Agricultural Pursuits". A prospectus was circulated, a general committee was appointed and Earl Bathurst was elected President. Funds were raised by public subscription: much of the support came from the wealthy landowners and farmers of the day, and there was no government support. The first 25 students were admitted to the College in September 1845.
Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter to the College in 1845 and sovereigns have been patrons ever since, visiting the College in every reign. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales became President in 1982.
The College gained full university status in 2013 and changed its name accordingly. It had 1,185 students in the 2014/15 academic year and saw a 49% rise in applications between 2008 and 2013. The Royal Agricultural University was named the safest university in the South West in 2013, and is ranked top in the UK for spending on facilities.
Construction of the main building, in Victorian Tudor style, began in April 1845, was designed by SW Daukes and Hamilton, and built by Thomas Bridges of Cirencester.
The university operates two farms:
In 2011, an old sheep shed at the front of the farm complex was turned into the 'Rural Innovation Centre' a building designed for the training of students and members of the public in vocational skills such as rough-terrain forklift truck driving, blacksmithing, chainsaw and welding course, etc. The building cost £1.2 Million to transform. The RIC was officially opened in March 2014 by Sir John Beddington and the site was visited in November 2013 by HRH Prince Charles.
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