Durham University

Durham was one of England’s leading centres of medieval scholarship, although it was not until 1832 that it formally became a university in its own right.  Today it has a turnover of £328 million, employs 4,400 staff and has a student body of 12,870 undergraduate and 4,700 postgraduate students. Twenty-six percent of its student body and 36% of its academic staff come from outside the UK.

The university seeks the highest distinction in research and scholarship, and is committed to excellence in all aspects of education and transmission of knowledge. In the recent UK-wide assessment of the quality of research in universities, 33% of the university’s research was rated as world-leading and a further 50% rated internationally excellent.

While the university has a medieval World Heritage Site at its heart, it has always been forward-looking.  It was one of the first universities to admit women on an equal footing to men, in 1890, and the first to award civil and mining engineering degrees to meet regional and national needs during the industrial revolution.

Durham’s research directly informs teaching of both undergraduates and postgraduates, and creates multidisciplinary programmes through research centres and institutes. In partnership with policy-makers, industry, the public sector, and communities around the world, Durham’s cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural research shapes local, national and international agendas.