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Facilities for Study and Research

Postgraduate students joining St Mary's have access to a wealth of printed and electronic information resources, both directly through the library and indirectly through our close proximity to specialist libraries in London.

The Learning Resources Centre

The Learning Resources Centre Our Learning Resources Centre (LRC) combines library and IT services and a social learning space (i-learn café). The LRC is open six days a week during semester time and five days a week outside, with swipe controlled entry there is access to IT facilities for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The LRC has a range of different study spaces including group, quiet and silent areas, and around 130 computer workstations. All students have access to the internet, email, Microsoft Office applications and wireless network in the LRC.

The University College uses an online learning environment called St Mary’s Online (SMOL) which facilitates distance learning, the sharing of experiences between students and allows access to programme content, self- assessment tools and other learning support facilities. Masters’ programmes taught off campus mostly use this technology.

The LRC holds around 120,000 books and subscribes to 450 printed journals. You will have access to the full text of over 3,000 online journals through databases including EBSCO (Academic Search Premier, Psych Info, etc), LexisNexis and Science Direct from your own home, workplace or wherever you can access the internet.

Our participation in various cooperative schemes means that our postgraduate students have access to over 150 academic libraries in the UK and Ireland. Students on parttime taught programmes and all those studying for an MPhil/PhD are entitled to borrowing facilities at many of these libraries.

Each programme area has a subject librarian who works closely with academic staff and is able to offer support with information resource queries you may have. A Learning Café within the LRC offers a different kind of learning environment in informal and pleasant surroundings. The LRC is open during semester time from 8.30 to 21.00 Monday to Friday and 11.00 to 17.00 on Saturdays. Access to IT facilities is available outside these hours.

Design, Print and Reprographic Services

We offer a fast, competitive service to students that includes high/medium volume photocopying, production of teaching and project materials such as pamphlets, leaflets, posters and lamination and thesis binding. In addition to the central service photocopiers are provided within the LRC.