University of Staffordshire

, mottoeng = Dare to know
, type = Public
, endowment = £70 million (2015)
, administrative_staff = 1,375
, chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford
, vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones
, students = ()
, undergrad = ()
, postgrad = ()
, city = Staffordshire ( Stafford; Stoke-on-Trent; Lichfield; London
, state = Shropshire ( Shrewsbury)
, country = England, United Kingdom
, campus = Urban and rural
, colours=Red and white

, website =
, affiliations =

Staffordshire University is a public research university in Staffordshire, England. It has one main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent and four other campuses; in Stafford, Lichfield, Shrewsbury and London.

History

In 1901, industrialist Alfred Bolton acquired a site on what is now College Road and in 1906 mining classes began there. In 1907, pottery classes followed, being transferred from Tunstall into temporary buildings, and in 1914 the building now known as the Cadman Building was officially opened as the Central School of Science and Technology by J. A. Pease, President of the Board of Education. A frieze over the entrance depicts potters and miners. In 2013, the Library Conference room in the Cadman Building was renamed the Alfred Bolton Room.

In 1915, a department was established for the commercial production of Seger cones used to measure and control the temperatures of ceramic furnaces, based upon research completed by the principal, Joseph Mellor. Grants from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust in 1924 were used to develop the ceramics library and in 1926 the name of the institution was changed to North Staffordshire Technical College. By 1931 extensions to the Cadman Building ran along Station Road and housed the Mining Department. A grant was awarded from the Miners’ Welfare Fund to fund the building work. The new extension also housed the library, which by now had 35,000 volumes. By 1934 the college consisted of four departments: Engineering (nearly 800 students), Pottery (just over 600 students), Mining (just under 500 students), and Chemistry (under 300 students).

In 1939, new engineering workshops were occupied for the first time and the land opposite the Cadman Building was purchased. By 1950 Victoria Road had been renamed College Road and the site now extended over . The Mellor Building and Experimental Production Block (now Dwight Building) were constructed for the North Staffordshire College of Technology by 1960.

Various faculty movements and further building work resulted in North Staffordshire Polytechnic being formed in 1970 with the merger of Stoke-on-Trent College of Art, North Staffordshire College of Technology (both based in Stoke-on-Trent), and Staffordshire College of Technology in Stafford. In 1977, the polytechnic absorbed Madeley College of Education, formerly County of Stafford Training College, a teacher training facility in Madeley, Staffordshire specialising in physical education.

The polytechnic developed traditional strengths of the component institutions, e.g. ceramics (Stoke-on-Trent), computing (Stafford) and sports education (Madeley). The mining department closed as result of the decline of coal mining in the 1980s. New subjects were developed. North Staffordshire Polytechnic was among only a handful of third-level institutions in the UK to offer International Relations as a dedicated degree. The 1992 UK government Research Assessment Exercise placed the International Relations Department as the highest-rated in the institution.

In 1988, the institution changed its name to Staffordshire Polytechnic. In 1992, it became Staffordshire University, one of the new universities based on former polytechnics.

Campuses

The university has one main campuses, and four other campuses in Stafford, London, Lichfield and Shrewsbury,and extensive links with National, European and transnational academic institutions.

Stoke-on-Trent

The main campus is in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, and primarily offers law, business, sciences, applied computing, engineering, arts, design, games, journalism and media production courses. These are split into two areas, one on College Road (on the site of the former County Cricket Ground), and the other on Leek Road. A Science Centre was opened in 2012 as part of a major redevelopment adjacent to Stoke-on-Trent railway station. In 2022, the University opened a new £42 million building on the Leek Road site - The Catalyst. This 8,800 sqm, four storey building, brought together the delivery of apprenticeships and skills, to meet employer demand, in flexible, high-quality, digitally enabled space.

The Stoke campus also features its own student nightclub called LRV (Leek Road Venue). This nightclub hosts a variety of student nights on various days of the week but its main open nights are on a Wednesday and Friday.

A public film theatre is situated on the side of the Flaxman building on College Road, which shows mainstream and independent films on a regular basis to an audience of up to 180 people, as well as being used for large lectures. In 2006, a TV studio facility was opened by former BBC Director General Greg Dyke in the Arts, Media and Design faculty building on College Road, Stoke. The £1 million development features up-to-date technology and industry specification equipment.

The Stoke-on-Trent campus is also home to the Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre. Named after Stoke City player and football legend, Sir Stanley Matthews CBE, the sports centre is located on Leek Road campus and is open to students, staff and the public.

Staffordshire University London: Digital Institute

Located at Here East in East London, the Digital Institute opened in 2019 and is a state-of-the-art facility focused on new and emerging technology, primarily based around Games and Computing courses, key specialisms of the University since the 1960s. It houses studio-style learning environments with a fully-equipped control room and other high-tech facilities including a dedicated esports arena. In 2021, the university invested £3.5m to increase its footprint to 31,133 sq feet, and allow the provider to expand the range of courses it has on offer for 2022.

Stafford and Shrewsbury

Nursing, midwifery, operating department practice and paramedic science courses are taught at the "Centre of Excellence" in Stafford on Blackheath Lane and at the "Centre for Health Innovation" in Shrewsbury which is situated at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

In March 2022, the university opened the £5.8 million state-of-the-art Centre for Health Innovation. Featuring the most advanced health simulation technology, the Centre offers a series of flexible and immersive simulation spaces designed to enhance clinical competency and the learning experience for students.

The new Centre was part-funded by Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) via the Government’s Getting Building Fund. The LEP allocated £2.89m to the scheme to help bring forward the pioneering facility and generate further opportunity for learners and businesses in the area.

The facility was officially opened by Professor Mark Radford CBE, Chief Nurse for Health Education England and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England and honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University.

As well as being the study base for more than 2,000 student nurses, midwives, operating department practitioners and paramedics, the Centre also offers a platform for new collaborations with local business and healthcare and technology industries.

Lichfield

In 1998, in partnership with Tamworth and Lichfield College, the university opened a newly built campus in Lichfield.

Shrewsbury, Telford, and Oswestry

This part of the university is mainly for nursing and midwifery courses, and is still part of the university despite all three settlements being located in the neighbouring county of Shropshire.

Overseas

The university has many overseas students studying for Staffordshire University awards in Belgium, China, Vietnam, France, Greece, India, Kosovo, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, Spain, and Sri Lanka. The university also conducts a twinning programme with DISTED College in George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

Staffordshire University offers programmes in Hung Yen, Ecopark Township, Vietnam through the British University Vietnam. The university has a strong partnership with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.

Halls of residence

The university offers guaranteed accommodation for all first-year students, provided the university is their firm UCAS choice. All accommodation is situated close to all teaching, sporting, and Union venues.

Stafford

The Stafford campus has its own halls of residence, Stafford Court, comprising over 264 en-suite single study bedrooms and 290 single study bedrooms with shared facilities. The various houses take their names from villages in Staffordshire: Brocton, Derrington, Eccleshall, Gnosall, Haughton, Knightley, Levedale, Milwich,_Norbury,_Staffordshire">Norbury_

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