Stephenson College is a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

of the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was founded in 2001 as part the university's Queen's Campus in

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and civil parish on the River Tees's southern bank. It is in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 24,741 at the 2011 census, in t ...

. In 2017-19, it relocated to the city of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, joining

Josephine Butler College Josephine Butler College is a college at Durham University. It is located at the Howlands Farm site next to residences of Stephenson College, Durham, Stephenson College. In the centre of the college is a grass-covered hill, called "The Mound." It ...

at the Howlands Farm site on Elvet Hill. It is named after

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...

, the 19th-century

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

engineer and pioneer.

History

In Thornaby (1992-2019)

In 1992, University College, Stockton (UCS) was established on a new site in

, in the borough of

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees, often simply referred to as Stockton, is a market town in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England. It is on the northern banks of the River Tees, part of the Teesside built-up area. The town had an estimated ...

, as a joint venture between the

and the

University of Teesside , mottoeng = Deeds Not Words , established = 1930 – Constantine Technical College1969 – as Teesside Polytechnic 1992 – gained university status , type = Public , endowment = £0.23 m (2019/20) , chancellor ...

. This was initially a joint venture, granting joint degrees validated by both institutions ( BAs and

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

s). However, Teesside, which had only become a university in 1992, had difficulties in taking on its responsibilities for the college and Durham took full control in 1998. A programme of integration with Durham began, leading to the college becoming a college of the University of Durham in 1994 — the only college with teaching responsibilities. Further integration led to the campus being renamed the University of Durham, Stockton Campus (UDSC) in 1998, with teaching responsibilities being separated from the college structure. In 2001 UDSC was split into two colleges: George Stephenson College and

John Snow College John Snow College is one of 17 constituent colleges of the University of Durham in England. The College takes its name from the nineteenth-century Yorkshire physician John Snow. It was founded in 2001 on the University's Queen's Campus in St ...

. In 2006 the college name was changed to Stephenson College. 2010 saw the opening of Stephenson Central, in the middle of the college, housing a library, games, meeting and TV room with a bar at the centre, as well as the

Junior Common Room A common room is a group into which students and the academic body are organised in some universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland—particularly collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge, as well as the University of Bristol ...

office.

In Durham (2017-present)

Stephenson College and the other Queen's Campus college,

, relocated to Durham on a phased basis starting in October 2017, completing in 2019. Stephenson College took over buildings formerly occupied by

Ustinov College Ustinov College is the largest college of Durham University, located in Durham, North East England. Founded as the Graduate Society in 1965, it became a college in 2003 and was named after then-chancellor, Sir Peter Ustinov. Formerly at the Howl ...

on the Howlands Farm site, adjacent to

. The college is a 15 minute walk from the Mountjoy site which contains the vast majority of departments and large lecture theatres.

Facilities

Accommodation

Stephenson is a self-catered college, with rooms arranged in flats with shared kitchens. All rooms are single-occupancy, and include en-suite rooms as well as those with shared bathrooms. As of 2023, the college has 1304 members, with 433 living in college accommodation.

Communal facilities

Communal facilities in the college include "Platform 1", the college's café and bar; "Platform 2", a performance venue and social space with two dart boards and a pool table;"Platform 3", a study space and library; a shop, two gyms, further study spaces and a music room. The college also shares use of a multi-use space, Howlands Hall, with Josephine Butler college, which is used for sporting activities as well as formal meals.

Dining

Stephenson is a self-catered college and has no dining hall. However, optional formal and informal communal meals are held, with around 6 of each during the year.

References

External links

Stephenson College
official website
George Stephenson College JCR
undergraduate student organisation {{Authority control Colleges of Durham University Educational institutions established in 2001 2001 establishments in England Buildings and structures in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees Education in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees