, mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College
1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic
1992 - University of Sunderland (gained

university status A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

) , staff = , chancellor = Emeli Sandé , vice_chancellor = Sir David Bell , city =

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, state =

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...

, country = United Kingdom , campus = Sunderland, London and Hong Kong , students = 24,796 , undergrad = 17,527 , postgrad = 7,269 , former_names = Sunderland Technical College (1901–1969), Sunderland Polytechnic (1969–1992) , colours = Nasturtium & dark blue
Academic Colours
Sunderland University Academic Dress , type =

Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, affiliations =

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was established in 1913, and has over 500 member institutions in over 50 countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU is the world's oldest international network of universities. Its mission is t ...

, EQUIS,

Universities UK Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...

, Coalition of Modern Universities, Million+ , website = The University of Sunderland is a public research university located in

in the North East of England. Its predecessor, Sunderland Technical College, was established as a municipal training college in 1901. It gained university status in 1992. It now has campuses in Sunderland, London and Hong Kong, and has about 20,000 students.

History

Sunderland has been an important centre for education since 674 AD, when Benedict Biscop built

St Peter's Church St. Peter's Church, Old St. Peter's Church, or other variations may refer to: * St. Peter's Basilica in Rome Australia * St Peter's, Eastern Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia * St Peters Church, St Peters, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia ...

and monastery. St Peter's Church was the site of the greatest scriptorium north of the Alps. The oldest existing Latin version of the Bible – the ''Codex Amiatinus'' – was written at St Peter's Church. This area has been developed as the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's of the University of Sunderland. The university's £9m state-of-the-art Media Centre, launched in 2004, is near St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth.

Sunderland Technical College

The university's modern roots can be traced back to 1901, when Sunderland Technical College was established as a municipal training college. It was the first to offer sandwich courses. It began with four departments: Chemistry, Mechanical & Civil Engineering, Physics & Electrical Engineering and Commerce & Languages. Part-time lecturers taught other subjects, ranging from Latin to navigation. 671 students enrolled in the first year; it was more than three times the number expected. The college's longest-serving principal, the physicist VA Mundella was appointed in 1908 and served until his retirement in 1932.

Pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...

and

naval architecture Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, and ...

departments were established in 1921 and 1922 respectively. The Pharmacy Department began as a single bench in the Chemistry Department under the leadership of Hope Winch, but soon grew to become the largest in the country. From 1930, some students in the Faculty of Applied Science read for degrees of the

University of Durham , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...

. In 1930, a Mining Department was established and pharmacy students could read for the Bachelor of Pharmacy degree of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. Sunderland was also recognised by London University as a centre for its BEng (

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Ba ...

) degree in 1934. During the Second World War, Sunderland ran special courses for the armed forces and the

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

. In the 1960s, a PDP-8 hybrid computer was installed at the Chester Road site. There was also an Elliot Brothers 803B digital computer. A new complex of buildings, including a new

Students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to ...

and Hall of Residence facilities, on nearby Chester Road was opened by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...

in 1964.

Sunderland Polytechnic

Sunderland Polytechnic was established on 26 January 1969, incorporating the Technical College, the School of Art (which was also established in 1901) and the Sunderland Teacher Training College (established in 1908). Sunderland was among the first of 30 Polytechnics, like polytechnics or technological universities in other countries their aim was to teach both purely academic and professional vocational subjects. Their focus was applied education for work and their roots concentrated on engineering and applied science, they also created departments concerned with the humanities. As a polytechnic, Sunderland created the first part-time, in-service BEd (

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order f ...

) programme in the country.

University status

After the passage of the

Further and Higher Education Act 1992 The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been ...

, the polytechnic gained university status. Lord Puttnam became the university's first

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

in 1998. The

Sunderland Empire Theatre The Sunderland Empire Theatre is a large theatre venue located in High Street West in Sunderland, North East England. The theatre, which opened in 1907, is owned by City of Sunderland Council and operated by Ambassador Theatre Group Ltd, on be ...

was the regular venue for the graduation ceremonies, although they have been hosted at the Stadium of Light since 2004. In July 2007, he stepped down to become the Chancellor of the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...

. On 23 May 2008 the university announced that former Olympic athlete

Steve Cram Stephen Cram, (born 14 October 1960) is a British retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle distance runners during the 1980s. Nicknamed "The Jarrow Arr ...

had been appointed as Chancellor and would be officially installed at a ceremony on 27 June 2008. Singer and songwriter, Emeli Sandé was officially installed as the University of Sunderland's new Chancellor on 10 July 2019 during the university's summer Academic Awards. In 2018, it was announced that Sunderland was to host one of five new medical schools established under a UK government initiative to increase the number of training places for doctors. The medical school opened in September 2019. On 24 September 2018, Sir David Bell became Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Sunderland.

Campuses

There are two campuses in Sunderland, one in Hong Kong and one in London. The Sunderland campuses are City Campus and the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's.

Sunderland

St Peter's

St Peter's opened during the 1990s on the north bank of the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through ...

, the site of

and monastery built by Benedict Biscop in 674 AD. In September 2002, the campus was renamed ‘The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St. Peter's’, after the local businessman who was one of the university's primary supporters. The Sunderland Business School is similarly named ’The Reg Vardy Centre’, and another building, primarily used by the School of Computing and Technology, is ’The David Goldman Informatics Centre’. St Peter's Campus includes the following: North Shore (formerly Campus and Manor Quay), Wearbank House, Reg Vardy Centre, St Peter's Library, David Goldman Informatics Centre, Prospect Building (including Sir Tom Cowie Lecture Theatre), David Puttnam Media Centre, North Sands Business Centre and National Glass Centre (which houses the Glass and Ceramics department and the

Institute for International Research in Glass The Institute for International Research in Glass (or IIRG) promotes and facilitates research in Glass at a national and international level. It is part of the University of Sunderland, located in the National Glass Centre on the bank of the riv ...

). The

David Puttnam David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, HonFRSA, HonFRPS, MRIA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer, educator, environmentalist and former member of the House of Lords. His productions include ''Chariots of Fire'', which w ...

Media Centre houses television and radio production facilities for the School of Arts, Design and Media, student led community radio station (

Spark Sunderland Spark Sunderland (formerly 107 Spark FM and Spark FM) is a community radio station serving 15- to 30-year-olds in the Sunderland area. Spark carries a variety of content catering for both mainstream and niche musical audiences, specialising in ...

), and

Made in Tyne & Wear TalkTyne & Wear (formerly Tyne & Wear TV, Made in Tyne & Wear and LOCAL TV Tyne & Wear) is a local television station serving Tyne & Wear and parts of Northumberland and County Durham. The station is owned and operated by Local Television Limi ...

, and opened in 2003. The campus was officially opened in March 2004 by

Estelle Morris Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, (born 17 June 1952), is a British politician and life peer who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2001 to 2002. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) ...

, former Education Secretary and Pro Vice-Chancellor from 2005 to 2009.

City

In 2006, the Chester Road Campus was renamed City Campus, and work started on refurbishment of the Edinburgh Building administrative centre, the creation of the Gateway one-stop-shop for student support, and the redevelopment of Murray Library, and the Design Centre. The £12M CitySpace gym and leisure development opened in 2009, and in February 2011 the £8.5M Sciences Complex opened.

Halls of residence

The University of Sunderland has four halls of residence: Scotia Quay, Panns Bank, Clanny House, and The Forge U-Student Village. Clanny House is the largest halls of residence and is located on Hylton Road across the road from the

Sunderland Royal Hospital Sunderland Royal Hospital is an acute general hospital in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. It is managed by the South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Sunderland Union Workhouse Infirmary which w ...

. Scotia Quay and Panns Bank are based across the River Wear from St Peter's Campus, across the road from The Bonded Warehouse. The location of these halls used to be one of the many locations on the river that were used by the former ship building industry. Previous halls of residence include Ashbrooke, All Saints, Clifton, Westfield, Park and Williamson Halls.

London

On 26 April 2012, the University of Sunderland announced the opening of a new campus at

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

in London.http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/londoncampus/ University of Sunderland London Campus In 2012/13 the student population of the University of Sunderland London Campus was 2,277. Courses are offered in nursing, business, tourism and hospitality, as well as accounting and financial management.

Hong Kong

On 2 March 2017, the University of Sunderland announced the opening of a new campus in Hong Kong.

Organisation

Living Lab at the University of Sunderland, City Campus

The university has five academic departments, responsible for teaching and learning, academic development and research, and working with partners in business and industry. The faculties are supported by a number of service departments responsible for a wide range of activity such as student welfare and accommodation and includes teams with responsibility for managing the university estate, financial matters, and human resources. *Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing: Nursing, Health Sciences, Pharmacy, Psychology *Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries: Creative and Performing Arts, Design, Dance, Drama, Music, Journalism, PR, Film, Media, Cultural Studies, Fine Art, Glass, Ceramics, Photography, Radio, TV, Video, New Media *Faculty of Business, Law and Tourism: Accounting, Business, Management, Law, Tourism *Faculty of Education and Society: Education, English, Health Studies, History, Social Sciences, Combined Subjects *Faculty of Technology: Computing, Engineering The North East England Mining Archive and Resource Centre (NEEMARC) is a major archive for mining related data and includes health and safety information, legal records, technical reports and trade union records. NEEMARC is situated within the Special Collections Room of the Murray Library.

Academic profile

According to The Complete University Guide League Tables 2019, the University of Sunderland was ranked 99th out of 131, an improvement on the previous year in which the university was ranked 102nd out of 129. The university was recognised by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' as England's best new university in 2001. In 2005 it was named by '' The Times Higher Education Supplement'' as the top university in England for providing the best student experience. It was one of six universities to be short-listed for 'University of the Year' in the Times Higher Education Supplement Awards 2012.

Research

The University of Sunderland entered 13 "units of assessment" (subject areas) into the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014). In 10 of these, some of the research was classified as "world leading" (4*). All 13 areas had research graded "internationally excellent" (3*). The subjects, and the fraction of research graded 4* and 3* were: Pharmacy (7%, 44%); Computer Science (0%, 14%); Engineering (2%, 22%); Business (2%, 2%); Law (0%, 5%); Social Work (3%, 27%); Education (5%, 11%); Sports and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism (3%, 16%); English (7%, 25%); History (6%, 28%); Art and Design (5%, 36%); Music, Dance, and Performing Arts (0%, 32%); and Media (25%, 38%). Overall, 6% of research was classified as "world leading" and 26% as "internationally excellent", with the university having an overall GPA of 2.12. Sunderland ranked 115th in the ''

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'' REF 2014 table (down from 104th in 2008), ranked by GPA. The university ranked 103rd in ''

''/''

Research Fortnight ''Research Fortnight'' is an independent publication that reports on research policy and funding in the UK. It is sold by institutional subscription; some 95% of universities in the UK subscribe to it, along with government agencies and researc ...

'' REF 2014 power table (down from 84th in 2008).

Student life

Sunderland Students' Union

The University of Sunderland Students' Union is an independent education charity, led by three

sabbatical officer In the United Kingdom a sabbatical officer is a full-time officer elected by the members of a students' union (or similar body such as students' association, students' representative council or guild of students), commonly at a higher education es ...

s who run the Union and are elected into the roles by their peers for a period of one year. The sabbatical officer positions are made up of: President:Education, President: Wellbeing and President: Activities. They are joined by five lay Trustees to make up the Trustee Board. The Students' Union is responsible for offering support and advice to students, leading campaigns and being the voice of the student body. The Students' Union's mission is to make all its members' University experience valuable for life. All students enrolled on a course at Sunderland University are automatically members of the Students' Union.

Sport

The university's Institute of Sport organises training events, courses and other sporting activities for students, staff and the local community. There are over 50 clubs and societies in 2018/19. Users have access to the £12m CitySpace building on the City Campus, which features a climbing wall, fitness suite, physiotherapy and injury centre, sports hall, multi-purpose suite and spectator seating.

Rowing

The University of Sunderland Boat Club is affiliated to

British Rowing British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representi ...

(boat code USN) and won the women's double sculls title at the 2004 British Rowing Championships.

SportsByte

Launched in September 2011, SportsByte is a journalism, news, and multimedia publication dedicated to covering a wide range of sports at all levels of competition across the City of Sunderland, the North East, and Globally. With a press team of over 150 student and community reporters, SportsByte is the largest sports-dedicated news and media publication in the North East of England, and is among the biggest in the UK. Within six months the website had spread its coverage to over thirty different sports and activities, and published three digital magazines. In spring 2012 SportsByte was shortlisted for the National Union of Students National Student Journalism Awards Best Student Media award.

Spark Sunderland

is a student-led community radio station. The station was awarded a full

Community Radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...

licence in 2008 from

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

. The station launched in October 2009 and broadcasts 24/7 from its base, The David Puttnam Media Centre, located at the St. Peter's University campus. It has a long heritage, through student programming on Wear FM and then temporary licences under the Utopia FM name between 1997 and 2008. The station is operated by a team of student and community volunteers. Spark has been successful in regional, national and international radio awards. The station itself has now won 3 awards as Best Student Radio Station in the New York Radio Awards where students have also gained awards for

Radio Drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

, Radio Documentary and Entertainment. Former volunteers are now working for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

, Capital FM and other BBC and Commercial Broadcasters.

Notable alumni

* Griselda Allan – English artist *

Richard Billingham Richard Billingham (born 25 September 1970) is an English photographer and artist, film maker and art teacher. His work has mostly concerned his family, the place he grew up in the West Midlands, but also landscapes elsewhere. Billingham is bes ...

– English photographer and artist who is best known for his photobook Ray's A Laugh which documents the life of his alcoholic father Ray, and obese, heavily tattooed mother, Liz. * Kerry Ann Christiansen – British actress who began her career in the popular British children's TV series Byker Grove. *

– Retired track and field athlete. Along with fellow Britons Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett, he was one of the world's dominant middle-distance runners during the 1980s. *

Terry Deary William Terence Deary (born 3 January 1946) is a British children's author of over 200 books, selling over 25 million copies in over 40 languages, best known as the writer of the ''Horrible Histories'' series. Since 1994 he has been one of Britai ...

– British children's author of over 200 books, selling over 25 million copies in over 40 languages. * Ortis Deley – English television presenter, radio DJ and actor. * Carl Ivar Hagen – Norwegian politician and former vice-president of the Norwegian Parliament. *

Goldie Harvey Susan Oluwabimpe "Goldie" Filani Harvey (23 October 1981 – 14 February 2013) was a Nigerian professional singer and a Big Brother Africa star. Personal life Susan Oluwabimpe "Goldie" Filani was married to Andrew Harvey, an engineer based in Ma ...

– Nigerian professional singer and a Big Brother Africa star. *

Jeanette Henderson Dr. Jeanette Henderson (1953–2019) was an author, academic, radio broadcaster, policy maker, social worker and Tribunal Specialist Lay Judge in the field of mental health. Early life Jeanette Henderson grew up in County Durham. Education I ...

- Author, academic, Specialist Lay Mental Health Tribunal judge, social worker, broadcaster. * Peter McArdle – English artist, member of the Stuckists art group and gallery owner. *

Katy McLean Katy Daley-McLean (born 19 December 1985) is an English retired rugby union player, who captained England Women. She also featured for Loughborough Lightning. Playing career She played for England as captain and at fly-half for the Loughboro ...

– Rugby player, captain of England Women's National Rugby Union team. * Jonathan Morrell – English presenter and journalist currently employed by Channel 7, in Perth * Andy Ogle – professional Mixed Martial Artist, Former Featherweight for UFC. *

Ross Pearson Ross Pearson (born 26 September 1984) is a retired English mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A 26-fight veteran of the UFC, he was a three-time "Fight of the Night" winner and was the lightweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 9 ...

– Professional Mixed Martial Artist, Lightweight for the UFC, Lightweight Winner of The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom *

Gita Ramjee Gita Ramjee (née Parekh; 8 April 1956 – 31 March 2020) was a Ugandan-South African scientist and researcher in HIV prevention. In 2018, she was awarded the ‘Outstanding Female Scientist’ award from the European and Developing Countrie ...

- South African scientist and researcher in HIV prevention * Mike Rumbles – Scottish Liberal Democrat politician * Elizabeth Scarr – scientist *

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as '' Top Gun'' (1986), '' Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''D ...

– English film director and producer * Chris Stevenson – Author and professor of mental health nursing at Dublin City University, where she was also head of the School of Nursing *

Robin Storey Rapoon is a musical project of Robin Storey, a former member of Zoviet France, who has released material on notable independent labels such as Staalplaat, Soleilmoon, Manifold, Beta-Lactam Ring, and Lens Records. Selected discography * '' ...

– English ambient musician with

Zoviet France Zoviet France (also known as :$OVIET:FRANCE:, Soviet France, :Zoviet-France: and latterly usually written as :zoviet*france:) are a music group from Newcastle upon Tyne in north east England. While often dissonant and made of industrial text ...

and

Rapoon Rapoon is a musical project of Robin Storey, a former member of Zoviet France, who has released material on notable independent labels such as Staalplaat, Soleilmoon, Manifold, Beta-Lactam Ring, and Lens Records. Selected discography * ...

. * Andrew Singleton – British neurogeneticist currently working in the USA. * Charlie Spedding – English former long-distance runner. * Andrew Zisserman – Computer Vision Researcher *

Assassin (deejay) Jeffrey E. Campbell (born 22 December 1982), better known as Agent Sasco, and Assassin, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.Johnson, Richard (2012)‘ONLY A MATTER OF TIME’ – Deejay Assassin awaits that moment, ''Jamaica Observer'', 20 January 2 ...

– Jamaican Musician *

Jordan North Jordan North (born 14 February 1990) is an English radio DJ, known for hosting shows on BBC Radio 1. In 2020, he was announced as the runner-up of the twentieth series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. Early life North was born in ...

– presenter at BBC Radio 1 * Chris Ramsey (comedian) - comedian, television presenter, podcaster and actor

References

External links

University of SunderlandSunderland Student Union
{{authority control 1969 establishments in England

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...