University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Yorkshire College. It became part of the federal Victoria University in 1887, joining Owens College (which became the University of Manchester) and University College Liverpool (which became the University of Liverpool). In 1904, a royal charter was granted to the University of Leeds by King Edward VII.

Leeds is the tenth-largest university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment and receives over 68,000 undergraduate applications per year, making it the fourth-most popular university (behind Manchester, University College London and King's College London) in the UK by volume of applications. Leeds had an income of £990.8 million in 2024–25, of which £185.6 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £999.3 million. The university has financial endowments of £95.9 million (2025), placing it within the top twenty British universities by financial endowment.

The university is a member of the Russell Group of British research universities, as well as the regional N8 Research Partnership and White Rose University Consortium.

Notable alumni include former prime minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer, current president of Ireland Catherine Connolly, former Home and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, NASA astronaut Piers Sellers, Hollywood actors Emma Mackey and Chris Pine and two Nobel laureates.

History

Prior to formation

The university's history is linked to the development of Leeds as an international centre for the textile industry and clothing manufacture in the United Kingdom during the Victorian era. The university's roots can be traced back to the formation of schools of medicine in English cities to serve the general public.

The Victoria University was established in Manchester in 1880 as a federal university in the North of England, instead of the government elevating Owens College to a university and grant it a royal charter. Owens College was the sole college of Victoria University from 1880 to 1884; in 1887 Yorkshire College was the third to join the university.

Origins of the Leeds School of Medicine and the Yorkshire College

In 1831, the Leeds School of Medicine was established with the aim of serving the needs of the five medical institutions which had been established in the city. In 1874, the Yorkshire College of Science was created to provide education for the children of middle-class industrialists and merchants. Financial support from local industry was crucial in setting up the college and aiding the students. The university continues to recognise these elements of its history; for example, there is still a Clothworkers' Court on campus.

The College of Science, modelled on Owens College, Manchester, was established in 1851 as non-sectarian, and was open to Protestant Dissenters, Catholics and Jews (though not then to women) since Oxford and Cambridge restricted attendance to members only of the Church of England. University College London was non-sectarian.

The religious qualification ceased in the 1850s but the classics-based education continued at Oxford and Cambridge. The Northern colleges continued to promote themselves as offering a general education that was progressive and pragmatic in nature as were the technical colleges of Germany and the ancient universities upon which they were modelled.

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 (due to the manufacturing and textile trades being strong in the West Riding). When classics, modern literature and history went on offer a few years later, the Yorkshire College of Science became simply the Yorkshire College. In 1884, the Yorkshire College absorbed the Leeds School of Medicine and subsequently joined the federal Victoria University (established at Manchester in 1880) on 3 November 1887. Students in this period were awarded external degrees by the University of London.

Campus

The university has 1,230 acres (498 ha) of land in total, with the main campus taking up 98 acres (40 ha). The main campus is located 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Leeds city centre and consists of a mixture of Gothic revival, art deco, brutalist and postmodern buildings, making it one of the most diverse university campuses in the country in terms of building styles and history. It is within walking distance of both the city centre and popular student neighbourhoods Hyde Park, Woodhouse, and Headingley. The main entrance to the campus for visitors by car is on Woodhouse Lane (A660), near the Parkinson Building. The former Woodhouse Cemetery is within the campus, now a landscaped area known as St George's Fields.

Parkinson Building

The Parkinson Building is a grade II listed art deco building and campanile named after the late Frank Parkinson, a major benefactor of the university who oversaw many new build projects from 1936 onwards. These commitments culminating in the official opening of The Parkinson Building (to which Parkinson donated £200,000) on 9 November 1951. The tower of the building is a well-known landmark in the city of Leeds and is used in the university logo and as a university symbol. The campanile is the highest point of the building and stands at 57 metres (187 ft) tall, making it the 17th tallest building in the city of Leeds.

Maurice Keyworth Building

The Leeds University Business School is housed in the renovated 19th-century buildings (known as the Maurice Keyworth Building), which used to belong to Leeds Grammar School on the Western side of the University of Leeds campus. The university have also constructed further modern buildings on the business school area of campus known as the Innovation Hub; costing £9.3 million. The building is a three-storey building of 4350 m2 (gross capacity), with the third floor accommodating the Innovation Hub.

Roger Stevens Building

Built in 1970, the Roger Stevens building houses 25 lecture theatres and is considered one of the most iconic structures on campus. It is named after diplomat, civil servant and former vice-chancellor Roger Stevens. In the Leeds Architecture Awards 2025 it received The People's Choice Award from a shortlist of 10 put to a public vote. Other nominated buildings on the shortlist were Bridgewater Place and Victoria Gate.

Great Hall

The university's Great Hall is one of the most prominent buildings on campus alongside the Parkinson Building and the numerous brutalist buildings which are Grade II listed. The Great Hall was built on the site of the Beech Grove Hall Estate which was purchased in 1879 by the Yorkshire College when joining the Victoria University. This was demolished in 1884 and became the site of the Clothworkers buildings, the Baines Memorial Wing and the Great Hall. The buildings were designed by the renowned Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse RA in red brick with dressings of Bolton Wood stone in a Gothic Collegiate style. The cost of the build was £22,000, raised partially by public appeal. The building housed the university library until the opening of the Brotherton Library in 1936.

Academic profile

During the 2024/25 academic year, 36,330 students were enrolled. There were around 560 different first-degree programmes and approximately 300 postgraduate degree programmes in 2009–10. Whilst maintaining its strengths in the traditional subjects (for example more students studying languages and physical sciences than anywhere else in the UK), Leeds has also developed expertise in more distinctive and rare specialist areas such as Colour Chemistry, Fire Science, Nanotechnology and Aviation Technology with Pilot studies.

Libraries

The university library is spread over five locations, and holds, in total, 2.78 million books, 26,000 print and electronic journals, 850 databases and 6,000 electronic books: making it one of the largest research libraries in the UK. The main arts and humanities library is the Brotherton Library, located in the Parkinson Building. The main science, social sciences and engineering library is the Edward Boyle Library, located in the centre of the campus and named after Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth who was vice-chancellor from 1970 to 1981. Medicine, dentistry and healthcare students are served by the Health Sciences Library, located in the Worsley Building, and there is an extension of this library at St James's University Hospital. The Laidlaw Library on the main campus, serving the needs of undergraduates, opened in May 2015. It is named after Lord Laidlaw who gave £9,000,000 towards its construction.

The university library houses numerous archives, rare books and some objects in its Special Collections ranging from 2,500 BC to the 21st century. Special Collections holds five collections designated as outstanding by the Arts Council England. These are the English Literature Collections, the Leeds Russian Archive, the Liddle Collection, the Cookery Collection and its Gypsy, Traveller and Roma Collections. The repository contains William Shakespeare's First Folio Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories. & Tragedies published in 1623. Special Collections also holds copies of the second, third and fourth folios. There is a copy of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first published 5 July 1687.

Special Collections holds over 300 incunabula most of which are in the Brotherton Collection. It also contains a considerable number of medieval manuscripts. The extensive coin collection consists of 15,000 coins and medals with a wide chronological and geographical spread. The Feminist Archive North Collections are on deposit. These contain a material relating to women from 1969 to the present day.

Organisation and governance

Faculties

The various schools, institutes and centres of the university are arranged into seven faculties, each with a dean, pro-deans and central functions:

Arts, Humanities and Cultures (English; History; Philosophy, Religion and History of Science; Institute for Colonial and Postcolonial Studies; Leeds Humanities Research Institute; Institute for Medieval Studies; Languages, Cultures and Societies; School of Media and Communication; Design; Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies; Music; Performance and Cultural Industries)

Biological Sciences (School of Biology; School of Biomedical Sciences; School of Molecular and Cellular Biology)

Business (Accounting and Finance; Analytics, Technology and Operations; Economics; International Business; Management and Organisations; Marketing; People, Work and Employment)

Social Sciences (Education; Law; Politics and International Studies; Sociology and Social Policy; Graduate School)

Engineering and Physical Sciences (Chemical and Process Engineering; Civil Engineering; Chemistry; Computer Science; Electronic and Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Mathematics; Physics and Astronomy)

Environment (Earth and Environment; Geography; Institute for Transport Studies, School of Food Science and Nutrition)

Medicine and Health (Leeds Dental Institute; Healthcare; Medicine; Leeds Institute of Genetics, Health and Therapeutics; Leeds Institute of Health Sciences; Leeds Institute of Medical Education; Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine; Institute of Psychological Sciences)

Governance

The Court serves as a mechanism for the university's accountability to the wider community and to stakeholders, making sure that the university is well managed, properly governed and responsive to public and local interests and concerns. It is made up of mainly lay members.

The Council is the governing body of the university, consisting of mainly lay members along with representatives of staff and students. It is responsible for the proper management and financial solvency of the university, with major policy decisions and corporate strategy being subject to its approval.

The Senate is the principal academic authority of the university. It oversees academic management and sets strategy and priorities, including the curriculum and maintenance of standards.

International partners

The university holds a number of formal links with institutions from around the world to share teaching and research and facilitate staff and student exchanges. Numerous European universities participate in the Erasmus Programme which permits learning across the many institutions in this region. Students at Leeds may choose from twinned European universities, with each faculty having particular university affiliations.

Student life

Students' Union

The Leeds University Union is a National Union of Students affiliated body, located on the main university campus. The union's main purpose is to support Leeds students through providing socialising opportunities, societies and group support, help and advisory services and to aid students wishing to volunteer, campaign and engage with the local communities. The Leeds University Union is also a founding member of the Aldwych Group, which represents the students' unions of the members of the Russell Group.

The University of Leeds Refectory is the university's main canteen during the day, serving a range of hot and cold food whilst in the evenings it is converted into one of Leeds's largest music venues, having a 2,100-person capacity for live events. Many famous bands and musicians have played at the University of Leeds Refectory throughout their careers. These include The Who who recorded Live at Leeds at the venue (originally in 1970, and then returned in June 2006 to recreate the original show), Bob Marley and the Wailers (as heard on the remastered 2004 Deluxe edition of Burnin' ), Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and more recently Muse (recorded and played on MTV), The Strokes, Bloc Party, Manic Street Preachers, KT Tunstall, Arctic Monkeys, The Coral and Paul Weller.

Student newspaper

The Gryphon (formerly known as the Leeds Student) is the weekly student newspaper, published free every Friday during term-time and distributed around the University of Leeds. The articles are written by students, and are largely about local and student based issues. It is one of the country's most active university newspapers and regularly wins national student media awards. Leeds Student was formed in 1970 by the merger of the Leeds University Union newspaper (Union News) and the then Leeds Polytechnic Students Union newspaper, but in November 2005 Leeds Metropolitan University students voted to disaffiliate from Leeds Student, citing under-representation. The name was changed to The Gryphon in 2014.

Leeds Student was the 2009 winner of The Guardian Student Newspaper of the Year award and short-listed for The Guardian Student Magazine of the Year. Former editors of the newspaper include Paul Vallely (The Independent) and Nicholas Witchell (BBC News).

Leeds Student Radio

Leeds University Union also operates the student radio station Leeds Student Radio, broadcasting live on their website from 9 am to midnight every day during term time.

LSTV (Leeds Student Television)

LSTV (Leeds Student Television) is a student television station run by students from the University of Leeds. LSTV produces weekly video content such as Entertainment programme 'On Campus', Sports programme 'Sideline' and News programme 'The Essential', which focuses on local and university news affecting students at the University of Leeds and the local Leeds community.

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