University of Surrey

University of Surrey
Coat of arms of the University of Surrey
Former name
Battersea Polytechnic Institute (1891–1956)
Battersea College of Technology (1956–1966)
TypePublic research university
Established1966; 58 years ago (1966) (gained university status)
Endowment£5.8 million (2023)[1]
Budget£314.0 million (2022/23)[1]
ChancellorThe Duke of Kent[2]
Vice-ChancellorGaoqing Max Lu[3]
Academic staff
1,625 (2022/23)[4]
Administrative staff
1,605 (2022/23)[4]
Students15,645 (2022/23)[5]
Undergraduates10,860 (2022/23)[5]
Postgraduates4,790 (2022/23)[5]
Location
Guildford, Surrey
,
England
CampusCampus, multiple sites
Colours   Blue and gold
NicknameTeam Surrey
Affiliations
Websitesurrey.ac.uk

The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institution was previously known as Battersea College of Technology and was located in Battersea Park, London. Its roots however, go back to Battersea Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1891 to provide further and higher education in London, including its poorer inhabitants.[6]

The university is a member of the Association of MBAs and is one of four universities in the University Global Partnership Network. It is also part of the SETsquared partnership along with the University of Bath, the University of Bristol, the University of Southampton, and the University of Exeter. The university's main campus is on Stag Hill, close to the centre of Guildford and adjacent to Guildford Cathedral. Surrey Sports Park is situated at the nearby Manor Park, the university's secondary campus. Among British universities, the University of Surrey had the 41st highest average UCAS Tariff for new entrants in 2020.[7]

The university holds a number of formal links with institutions worldwide, including the Surrey International Institute, launched in partnership with the Dongbei University of Finance and Economics.[8] The university owns the Surrey Research Park, providing facilities for over 110 companies engaged in research. Surrey has been awarded three Queen's Anniversary Prizes for its research, with the 2021 Research Excellence Framework seeing the university rise 12 places to 33rd in the UK for overall research quality and 41% of the university's research outputs classified as "world leading". It was named The Sunday Times University of the Year in 2016, was nominated again for the same accolade in 2023, and was The Sunday Times University of the Year for Graduate Employment in 2022.

The chancellor of the university is Prince Edward, Duke of Kent. Current and emeritus academics at the university include ten Fellows of the Royal Society, twenty-one Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering, one Fellow of the British Academy and six Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences.[9] Surrey has educated many notable alumni, including Olympic gold medallists, several senior politicians, as well as a number of notable persons in various fields including the arts, sports and academia. Graduates typically abbreviate the University of Surrey to Sur when using post-nominal letters after their degree.[10]

  1. ^ a b "Financial Statements for the Year to 31 July 2023" (PDF). University of Surrey. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  2. ^ "University of Surrey Calendar". University of Surrey. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  3. ^ "New Vice-Chancellor joins Surrey | University of Surrey - Guildford". Archived from the original on 29 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Who's working in HE?". www.hesa.ac.uk. Higher Education Statistics Agency.
  5. ^ a b c "Where do HE students study? | HESA". hesa.ac.uk. Higher Education Statistics Agency.
  6. ^ Douglas, Roy (1991). Surrey: the Rise of a Modern University. Guildford: Surrey University Press Ltd. ISBN 1-85237-067-X.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference CUG Entry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Hodges, Lucy (26 June 2008). "Surrey University's new China institute will help to put it on the international map". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  9. ^ "University of Surrey fellows". University of Surrey. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  10. ^ Calendar Style Guide 2015 (PDF). University of Oxford. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2019.