University of Birmingham

Not to be confused with Birmingham City University or University of Alabama at Birmingham.

University of Birmingham
Coat of arms
Latin: Universitas Birminghamiensis[1]
MottoLatin: Per Ardua ad Alta
Motto in English
Through efforts to heights[2]
TypePublic
Established
Endowment£142.5 million (2023)[5]
Budget£909.1 million (2022/23)[5]
ChancellorSandie Okoro[6]
Vice-ChancellorAdam Tickell
VisitorThe Rt Hon Lucy Powell MP (as Lord President of the Council ex officio)
Academic staff
4,260 (2022/23)[7]
Students38,710 (2022/23)[8]
Undergraduates24,885 (2022/23)[8]
Postgraduates13,825 (2022/23)[8]
Location
Birmingham
,
England

52°27′2″N 1°55′50″W / 52.45056°N 1.93056°W / 52.45056; -1.93056
CampusUrban, suburban
ColoursThe University
                                    
College scarves
  • College of Arts and Law
                             
    College of Social Sciences
                              
    College of Life and Environmental Sciences
                           
    College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
                     
    College of Medical and Dental Sciences
                                 
Affiliations
Websitebirmingham.ac.uk Edit this at Wikidata

The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University)[9][10] is a public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as the Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery), and Mason Science College (established in 1875 by Sir Josiah Mason), making it the first English civic or 'red brick' university to receive its own royal charter, and the first English unitary university.[3][11][12] It is a founding member of both the Russell Group of British research universities and the international network of research universities, Universitas 21.

The student population includes 24,885 undergraduate and 13,825 postgraduate students (2022/23), which is the 10th largest in the UK (out of 169).[8] The annual income of the university for 2022–23 was £909.1 million of which £196.7 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £884.7 million.[5] In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, the University of Birmingham ranked equal 13th out of 129 institutions on grade point average, up from equal 31st in the previous REF in 2014.[13]

The university is home to the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, housing works by Van Gogh, Picasso and Monet; the Shakespeare Institute; the Cadbury Research Library, the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts; the Lapworth Museum of Geology; and the 100-metre Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, which is a prominent landmark visible from many parts of the city.[14] Academics and alumni of the university include former British Prime Ministers Neville Chamberlain and Stanley Baldwin,[15] the British composer Sir Edward Elgar and eleven Nobel laureates.[16]

  1. ^ Anderson, Peter John (1907). Record of the Celebration of the Quatercentenary of the University of Aberdeen: From 25th to 28th September, 1906. Aberdeen, United Kingdom: Aberdeen University Press (University of Aberdeen). ASIN B001PK7B5G. ISBN 9781363625079.
  2. ^ Ives et al. 2000, p. 238.
  3. ^ a b "Mason College". Birmingham University. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference The First Civic University was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c "Financial Statements for the Year to 31 July 2023" (PDF). University of Birmingham. p. 55. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Chancellors of the University of Birmingham". 1 August 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Who's working in HE?". www.hesa.ac.uk. Higher Education Statistics Agency.
  8. ^ a b c d "Where do HE students study?". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  9. ^ Curtis, Polly (29 July 2005). "Birmingham University houses tornado victims". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  10. ^ Bawden, Anna (11 February 2005). "Muslim students threaten to sue Birmingham University". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  11. ^ Whyte, William (16 January 2015). Redbrick: A Social and Architectural History of Britain's Civic Universities. ISBN 978-0-19-102522-8.
  12. ^ University guide 2014: University of Birmingham, The Guardian, 8 June 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  13. ^ "REF 2021: Golden triangle looks set to lose funding share". Times Higher Education. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  14. ^ "25 tallest clock towers/government structures/palaces" (PDF). Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  15. ^ K. Feiling, The Life of Neville Chamberlain (London, 1970), 11–12.
  16. ^ "Our Nobel Prize winners". University of Birmingham. Archived from the original on 9 August 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2016.