Leeds University

Introduction

The University of Leeds is a major teaching and research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire; one of the largest in the United Kingdom with over 65,000 full-time students. It is a member of the Russell Group and is ranked in the top ten of UK universities for market share of research funding. Established in 1904, it is one of the six original civic universities, and in 2006 it was ranked second for the number of applications received.

History of Leeds University

The University's history is linked to the development of Leeds as an international centre for the textile industry and clothing manufacture in the Victorian era. Its roots stretch back to the early nineteenth century and it was one of six civic universities in industrial cities given royal charters at the beginning of the twentieth century. Prior to this wave of expansion in higher education, only four universities - Oxford, Cambridge, London and Durham - were established in England.

Origins

An early view of the Great Hall, next to the Clothworkers' CourtIn 1831, the Leeds School of Medicine was set up; serving the needs of the five medical institutions that had sprung up in the city.

Then in 1874, the School was joined by the Yorkshire College of Science, intended to provide education for the children of middle-class industrialists and merchants. Financial support from local industry was crucial (there is a Clothworkers' Court at the University to this day).

The College of Science was modeled on Owens College, Manchester, established in 1851 as a non-sectarian alternative to Oxford and Cambridge, where religious tests were applied and those outside the Church of England were not allowed to receive degrees or were barred from entry outright. Owens College, like the earlier University College London, applied no such tests and was open to Protestant Dissenters, Catholics and Jews.

While religious tests for students at Oxford and Cambridge ceased in the 1850s, northern colleges continued to promote themselves as offering a distinct type of teaching. They took pride in the progressive and pragmatic nature of their scientific education; a field in which the ancient universities, with their focus on theological study, were felt to lag behind.

The Yorkshire College of Science began by teaching experimental physics, mathematics, geology, mining, chemistry and biology, and soon became well known as an international centre for the study of engineering and textile technology. When classics, modern literature and history went on offer a few years later, the Yorkshire College of Science became the Yorkshire College. In 1887, the College merged with the School of Medicine.

Victoria University and royal charter

Leeds was given its first university the following year when the Yorkshire College joined the federal Victoria University, which had begun life when Owens College was awarded a royal charter in 1880. Leeds now found itself in an educational union with close social cousins from Manchester and Liverpool.

Unlike Owens College, the Leeds section of the Victoria University had never barred women from its courses. However, it was not until special facilities were provided at the Day Training College in 1896 that women enrolled in significant numbers. The first female student to begin a course here was Lilias Annie Clark, who studied Modern Literature and Education.

The Victoria University was short-lived. Manchester and Liverpool were keen to establish independent universities, unhappy with the practical difficulties posed by maintaining a federal arrangement across broad distances. The University of Leeds was granted a royal charter as an independent body by King Edward VII in 1904.

Present day

Leeds is a leading research institution, and a member of the Russell Group of Universities. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise - that of 2001 - the University was placed seventh nationally for the number of top scoring researchers and eighth for 'research power' out of 173 institutions taking part in the exercise.

Just under 800 researchers at the University were given ratings of 5* or 5, meaning that 70 per cent of the University's researchers were working at the highest level on projects of international importance.

The University received the highest 5* grade, denoting work at the forefront of international research, in six subjects: Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, English, Town, Country Planning and Food Science.

The University is committed to working with the private sector and invests heavily in realizing the commercial potential of its academic developments. Leeds attracts the highest level of industrial funding of any university in the UK.

The University’s educational partnerships have included providing formal accreditation of degree awards to Leeds Trinity & All Saints, although this is now establishing itself as a university in its own right.

In The Times Higher Education Supplement Rankings 2006, Leeds was placed 19th in the UK, 50th in Europe and 121st in the world. For Arts and Humanities subjects it was ranked 55th in the world.

The University has an excellent reputation for teaching and provides a wide range of courses for students. The Times Good University Guide 2005 ranked the University top in dentistry, sixth in English and fourth in communication and media compared to other UK universities.

The University of Leeds Business School is regarded as one of the best in the UK. In its most recent ranking the school's MBA programme was placed at 15th in Europe by The Economist.

During the 2005-2006 academic year, over 52,000 students were attached to 700 different first-degree programmes and 474 postgraduate degree programmes. Additionally, over 52,000 people were enrolled on short courses. It has also developed expertise in more distinctive and rare specialist areas such as colour chemistry, fire science and aviation technology with pilot studies.

In December 2004, financial pressures forced the University's governing body (the Council) to decide to close the Bretton campus (along with the University's other satellite site in Wakefield). Activities currently at Bretton will be moved to the main University campus in the summer of 2007 (allowing all current Bretton-based students to complete their studies there). There has been substantial opposition to the closure by the Bretton students.