University of Leeds
The
University of Leeds is a major teaching and research
university, one of the largest in the
United Kingdom. It is a member of the
Russell Group and is ranked in the top ten of UK universities for market share of research funding and numbers of applicants. It is one of the six original
civic universities.
Leeds is the fourth largest city in England, with a population of 715,000 [
1].It is situated in the metropolitan county of
West Yorkshire in northern
England.
As an important cultural centre,
Leeds is home to the
West Yorkshire Playhouse,
Opera North, the
Royal Armouries Museum and the future
Leeds City Museum.
The city has a key place in English sport, its teams including
Leeds United FC,
Yorkshire County Cricket Club,
Leeds Rhinos RLFC and
Leeds Tykes RUFC.
Headingley Stadium is used as a venue for international test matches by the
England cricket team.
The surrounding countryside around Leeds includes the picturesque
Yorkshire Dales and
Ilkley Moor, and the historic
spa towns of
Harrogate,
Ilkley and
Knaresborough. All are within easy reach by car, train or bus.
The University campus is located one mile (1.6 km) north of the
city centre of Leeds. It is within walking distance for both the city centre and
Headingley, a popular residential area for students. The main entrance to the campus for visitors by car is on Woodhouse Lane (A660), near the Parkinson Building (also known as University tower).
In addition to the main campus, there are also satellite locations at
Wakefield and
Bretton Hall in
West Bretton.
|
Parkinson Building, University of Leeds |
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.
In 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 modelled 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 practical nature of their scientific education; a field in which the ancient universities, with their focus on theological study, were felt to lag behind.
|
An early view of the Great Hall |
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.
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.
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
RAE.
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 and Country Planning, Food Science and Italian.
The University is committed to working with the
private sector and invests heavily in realising the commercial potential of its academic developments. Leeds attracts the highest level of industrial funding of any university in the UK.
Leeds was ranked 9th in the top ten UK universities by research income (2003/04) with £107.7m.
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's School of English as the sixth best in the UK.
During this academic year (2004-5) over 31,500 students are attached to 700 different first-degree programmes and 312 postgraduate degree programmes. A further 52,000 men and women are enrolled on short courses with the university. 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 (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.
Between May 2006 and June 2007, the University is undergoing a major rebrand, which will replace the combined use of the modified University Crest and the old green and red Parkinson Building logo, and also remove individual department and service logos from use. The University Crest will still be used in its original form for ceremonial purposes only. The new university colours are Green (Pantone 3435), Red (Pantone 187), Black (Pantone Black) and Beige (Pantone 468).
Leeds University Library is spread over six locations and holds, in total, 2.7 million books, 20,000 print and electronic journals, 600 databases and 130,000 electronic books . The main arts and social sciences library is known as the
Brotherton Library, while the main science and student library is the
Edward Boyle Library (both on the main campus). There is also the health Sciences library which holds resources for Medicine and Dentistry students.
There are 9,000 personal computers available across the campus along with 150 Sun computers and servers, 8 high performance Sun servers and 256 supercomputers.
The university has 496 hectares (1,230 acres) of land, with the main campus taking up 40 hectares (98 acres).
The university's student union,
Leeds University Union, includes numerous shops and bars and an award-winning nightclub, and is one of the largest student union operations in the UK.
There is accommodation provided in either catered or self-catered rooms, mostly reserved for first year undergraduate students but also for international students, postgraduates, staff and undergraduates who have been unable to find alternative accommodation.
;Self Catered
*
Bodington Hall*
Oxley Residences*
Tetley Hall*
Lupton Residences*
North Hill Court*
James Baillie Park*
Devonshire Hall*
St Marks Residences*
Montague Burton Residences*
Leodis Residences*
Shimmin*
Henry Price Building*
Sentinel Towers*
Clarence DockCatered
*Bodington Hall
*Devonshire Hall
*Lyddon Hall
*Charles Morris Hall
*Ellerslie Hall*
The Most Hon. the Marquess of Ripon,
KG,
LLD, 1904â€"9
*
His Grace Victor Christian William Cavendish, KG, LLD, FRS, 9th Duke of Devonshire, 1909â€"38
*
His Grace Edward William Spencer Cavendish, KG, LLD, 10th Duke of Devonshire, 1938â€"50
*
Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, CI,
GCVO,
GBE, RRC, LLD, Dr (honoris causa) de l'Université de Lille, 1951â€"1965
*
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, GCVO, LLD, 1966â€"1999
*
The Rt Hon Lord Bragg of Wigton,
MA, 1999-
*Sir Nathan Bodington, MA, LITTD, LLD, 1904â€"10
*
Sir Michael Ernest Sadler KCSI, CB, LLD, LITTD, 1911â€"23
*Sir James Black Baillie,
OBE, MA, DPHIL, LLD, 1924â€"38
*Bernard Mouat Jones, DSO, MA, DCL, LLD, 1938â€"1948
*Sir Charles Richard Morris (Baron Morris of Grasmere), KCMG, MA, LLD, DLITT, 1948â€"63
*Sir Roger Bentham Stevens, GCMG, MA, LLD, 1963â€"70
*The Rt Hon Lord Boyle of Handsworth, CH, MA, LLD, DLITT, HONFRCS, 1970â€"81
*Professor William Walsh, MA, (Acting Vice-Chancellor), 1981â€"83
*Sir Edward W. Parkes, DL, SCD, FENG, 1983â€"91
*
Professor Sir Alan G. Wilson, 1991-2004
*
Professor Michael Arthur, 2004-
Famous graduates include:
*
Ahmed, Kamal, executive news editor,
The Observer (Politics)
*
Bailey Rae, Corinne,
soul singer (English Literature, ?)
*
Battle, John,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Leeds West (English, 1976)
*
Bell, Steve, political cartoonist for
The Guardian (Fine Art, 1974)
*
Byford, Mark, deputy
Director-General of the
BBC (graduated
LLB in
Law, 1979)
*
Campbell, Alan,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Tynemouth and
Government Whip (Politics)
*
Clements, Jonathan, writer (Japanese, 1994)
*
Dacre, Paul, editor of the
Daily Mail (English, 1970)
*
Dyson, Jeremy, screenwriter and member of
The League of Gentlemen (Philosophy, 1989)
*
Enkhbayar, Nambaryn, President of
Mongolia (2005-)
*
Fay, Dr Christopher,
CBE (chairman of the advisory committee on business and the environment, chairman of
Expro International and a director with BAA and Anglo American, and chairman and chief executive of
Shell UK from 1993–1998, graduated from Leeds with
BSc and
Ph.D. in
civil engineering).
*
Fletcher, Kat, president of the
National Union of Students of the United Kingdom (Sociology)
*
Harrison, Tony, poet (Classics with Linguistics, 1958)
*
Hattenstone, Simon, features writer,
The Guardian (English)
*
Hoggart, Richard, sociologist and author of
The Uses of Literacy (English, 1939)
*
Illsley, Eric,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Barnsley Central (graduated
LLB in
Law)
*
Jameson, Storm, writer (English, 1912; MA 1914)
*
Jordan, Professor V. Craig,
OBE (responsible for pioneering research into
breast cancer and the development of the cancer drug Tamoxifen,
BSc and
Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1969 and 1972)
*
Knopfler, Mark,
OBE, rock musician,
guitarist,
singer and
songwriter (English, 1973)
*
Leslie, Christopher,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Shipley 1997-2005 (Politics & Parliamentary Studies, 1994)
*
McGowan, Alistair, actor, comedian and impressionist (English, 1986)
*
Porter, George, chemist, Nobel prize winner and President of the
Royal Society (Chemistry, 1941)
*
Porter, Ivor, Retired Ambassador
*
Rayner, Jay, features writer and restaurant critic,
The Observer (Politics)
*
Shipman, Harold, serial killer (Medicine)
*
Short, Clare,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Birmingham Ladywood and former
International Development Secretary (Political Science, 1969)
*
Soyinka, Wole, Nigerian writer and first African winner of the
Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986 (English)
*
Stekelman, Greg, writer and illustrator, author of
A Year in the Life of TheManWhoFellAsleep (English and Spanish, 1998)
*
Straw, Jack,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Blackburn and
Leader of the House of Commons (graduated
LLB in
Law, 1967)
*
Thompson, Georgie,
Sky Sports News presenter (Broadcast Journalism)
*
Truswell, Paul,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Pudsey (History)
*
wa Thiong'o, Ngũgĩ,
Kenyan author (English)
*
Wilson, Andy, rugby league correspondent for
The Guardian (Politics)
*
Witchell, Nicholas,
BBC newsreader and royal and diplomatic correspondent (graduated
LLB in
Law)
*
Wood, Mark, Chairman and CEO of
ITN (German, 1974)
*
Wood, Mike,
Labour Member of Parliament for
Batley and Spen*
Yentob, Alan,
BBC Creative Director (graduated
LLB in
Law, 1968)
*
Kershaw, Rich, King Bell (graduated
Bachelor in
Bells, 2006)
Famous lecturers include:
*
Bauman, Zygmunt -
sociologist*
Bragg, William Henry -
physicist/
chemist (Physics, 1909-1915)
*
Crighton, David -
mathematician (Mathematics, 1974-1986)
*
Hoon, Geoff -
politician*
Ingold, Christopher -
chemist*
Isserlin, Benedikt - Semitist and ancient historian
*
McGuckin, John Anthony - former Reader in
Patristic and
Byzantine Theology*
Meadow, Roy -
paediatrician*
Soyinka, Wole - Nigerian Nobel Prize winner
*
Stewart, J. I. M. (
Michael Innes) -
writer (English, 1930-1935)
*
Thompson, E. P. -
historian (Extra Mural, 1948-1965)
*
Tolkien, J. R. R. -
writer (
English, 1920-1925)
*
Wright, Verna, MD, FRCP - senior lecturer,
rheumatology*
University of Leeds website*
About the University*
University re-brand*
University centenary website*
Leeds University Union website*
Unipol Student Homes website*
Leeds student life - BBC website
