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Former names | Coventry Polytechnic (1987–1992) Lanchester Polytechnic (1970–1987) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Latin:Arte et Industria |
Motto in English | By Art and Industry |
| Type | Public |
| Established |
|
| Endowment | £1.06 million (2025)[1] |
| Budget | £362.8 million (2024/25)[1] |
| Chancellor | Eng Ahmed El Sewedy |
| Vice-Chancellor | John Latham[2] |
Academic staff | 1,890[3] |
| Students | 29,505 (2024/25)[4] |
| Undergraduates | 19,700 (2024/25)[4] |
| Postgraduates | 9,805 (2024/25)[4] |
| Location | , England |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colours | Coventry Blue[5] |
| Affiliations | |
| Website | www |
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Coventry University is apublic research university inCoventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to theCoventry School of Design in 1843. It was known asLanchester Polytechnic from 1970 until 1987, and then asCoventry Polytechnic until itgained university status in 1992.
Coventry is the larger of the two universities in the city, the other being theUniversity of Warwick. The Coventry University Group operates campuses in Coventry, Scarborough, London and Wrocław. It has two principal campuses: one in the centre of Coventry where the majority of its operations are located, and one inCentral London which focuses on business and management courses. Coventry also governs the higher education institutionsCU Coventry,CU Scarborough andCU London. Its colleges, which are made up of schools and departments, run around 300 undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Across the university there are 11 research centres which specialise in different fields, fromagroecology and peace studies to future of transport.
The annual income of the institution for 2024–25 was £362.8 million of which £15.5 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £437.3 million.[1] The university holds an overall Gold rating in the 2023Teaching Excellence Framework. Coventry is a member of theUniversity Alliance mission group.
The origins of Coventry University can be traced back to the founding of theCoventry School of Design in 1843. Later renamed the Coventry School of Art, it was again renamed in the early 20th century to the Municipal Art School as part of theEducation Act 1902. One final name change took place in the 1950s, when it became known as the College of Art.[6]
In the late 1950s, to address the need for a high level of technical training which the existing Coventry Technical College (nowCity College Coventry) could not meet, the construction of a new institution began. Opened in 1961, it was called the Lanchester College of Technology, named after the car engineerFrederick Lanchester.[6]
In 1970, the Lanchester College of Technology and the College of Art, along with the Rugby College of Engineering Technology in the neighbouring town ofRugby, amalgamated to form Lanchester Polytechnic.[7] The institution was designated as such in February 1971 by thenEducation SecretaryMargaret Thatcher.[8] The name Lanchester gave the institution a certain degree of obscurity (it was often confused with both Lancaster and Manchester), notably when none of the contestants on theBBC Radio 4 general knowledge showBrain of Britain could give its correct location.[9] The polytechnic cancelled its graduation ceremony in 1974 following theBirmingham pub bombings in fear that public gatherings could be targeted; the ceremony was eventually held in 2009, 35 years later.[10] Lanchester Polytechnic was renamed "Coventry Polytechnic" in 1987, and when theFurther and Higher Education Act 1992 afforded Coventry Polytechnic university status that year, the name was changed to Coventry University.
In 2010, a campus in London was established to further attractinternational students to the university.[11] In 2012 "Coventry University College" was set up within the main university campus, offering qualifications up to degree-level at a lower cost compared to typical university fees.[12]
As of 2017 Coventry is the highest-rankedmodern university in the UK in both the Guardian University Guide[13] – in which it ranks 12th overall – and the Complete University Guide.[14] It also places in the top 200 in the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2017,[15] which ranks universities around the world that are aged 50 years or under.
In July 2017, the university announcedMargaret Casely-Hayford as its newchancellor, replacingSir John Egan.[16][17]
The campus in Coventry is undergoing a £430 million investment programme for the period up to 2022,[18] with a new £37 million science and health building and £73 million student accommodation complex – opened in 2017 and 2018 respectively – central to the development scheme.
In September 2019, Coventry purchased the 22-acre farmRyton Organic Gardens from the charity Garden Organic, who remains on site as a tenant along with theHeritage Seed Library and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme '5-Acre CSA' sitting alongside the university's own Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience.[19][20]
Coventry currently occupies a purpose-built 33-acre (13 ha) campus in Coventry City Centre adjacent toCoventry Cathedral and theHerbert Art Gallery and Museum. It occupies a mix of new purpose-built buildings,converted structures, and those inherited from its predecessor institutions.[21]
The centrepiece of the campus is The Hub[22] which opened in August 2011. The Hub is the home of the Coventry University Students’ Union, student support services, a bar/nightclub, a food hall and food outlets which are catered by Sodexo[23] In September 2012, a new £55 million engineering building was opened, with facilities such as a full-scaleHarrier jump jet, a wind tunnel and flight simulators.[24][25] The Hub was awarded aBREEAM 'excellent' rating and between them The Hub and the engineering building feature sustainable initiatives such asgrey-water harvesting, a biomass boiler and agreen roof.[26][27] The opening of the buildings marks the first stage of a £160 million redevelopment plan of the campus phased over 15 years.[28]
Coventry's £20 million library opened in 2000 and is on the outskirts of the campus. It was officially opened byPrincess Anne in September 2001 and contains over 2,000 print periodicals, 350,000monographs, and more than 6,000 video tapes, audio tapes and films.[29] The library has a distinctive turreted exterior and has won awards for its interior design which features a light distribution system to make the most of natural light throughout the building.[30]
There are two converted buildings on the campus. A former car engine factory built in 1910 located next to the university's library now houses theCoventry Business School, and a cinema built in 1880 on Jordan Well is currently home to the School of Media and Performing Arts, now part of the College of Arts and Society, and formerly part of the Coventry School of Art and Design.[31]
To the south of the main campus is the 20-acre (8.1 ha) Coventry University Technology Park, abusiness park owned by Coventry University Enterprises Limited, a commercial subsidiary of the university, and through which several of the university's commercial subsidiary operations provide business services to local and national organisations. Tenants of the park aresmall businesses which receive support from the university and are allowed access to the university's library.[32] The park is also home to conference facilities at the TechnoCentre building, the Coventry and Warwickshire New Technology Institute, which works with companies to address skills shortages in ICT and advanced technology,[citation needed] and a digital lab forserious game and other technology development.[33]
Coventry has adopted a policy of naming its buildings after people or organisations with a significant local or regional impact. These include former Coventry-based automotive companyArmstrong Siddeley; Shakespearean actressEllen Terry; Coventry-based automotive pioneerFrederick Lanchester; Victorian novelist, critic and poetGeorge Eliot; the father of the bicycle industryJames Starley (building demolished in early 2020); former MP forCoventry East and political journalistRichard Crossman; artistGraham Sutherland, whose building was later demolished and replaced by a new building named after composerDelia Derbyshire,[citation needed] who is best known for composing the theme song to theBBC seriesDoctor Who; and founder of theMorris Motors automotive manufacturerWilliam Morris.[31]
The College of Engineering, Environment & Science has a former RAFHarrier T.4 aircraft, tail number XW270, used as a teaching aid.[34]
CU Coventry campus openedon Mile Lane, Coventry in 2012.
CU London Dagenham was established as a new campus in 2017 located in the former Dagenham Civic Centre.
CU London Greenwich opened in 2020 and operates from a new campus at 6 Mitre Passage, on theGreenwich Peninsula.
CU Scarborough located inNorth Yorkshire opened in 2016.
Coventry University's London campus was opened in 2010. The campus is located in University House, 109–117 Middlesex Street in the City of London.
Coventry University Wrocław campus opened in September 2020, offering courses taught in English. It is the first foreign university inPoland.
Coventry University is headed formally by the Chancellor, a largely ceremonial role, currently Eng Ahmed El Sewedy.[36] The Chancellor is supported by sixPro-Chancellors and is appointed by the university's Board of Governors.[17] Terms for the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellors are five years in length; the number of terms a Chancellor can serve is unrestricted while Pro-Chancellors are limited to two.[17] The university is led on a day-to-day basis by the Vice-Chancellor, who is supported by four Deputy Vice-Chancellors and threePro Vice-Chancellors.[37] The position of Vice-Chancellor has been occupied, currently, by John Latham since March 2014.[2]
Coventry is a member of theUniversity Alliance mission group,[38] of which Latham is a former chair.[39]
Coventry is divided into threecolleges, each divided into different schools, and 1 independent school.[40] In 2023, Coventry University de-established the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, whilst reorganising the remaining 3 faculties into Colleges
College of the Arts and Society
College of Business and Law | College of Engineering, Environment and Science
School of Health and Care The School of Health, formerly part of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, was renamed, and sits outside of the college structure.
|
In the financial year ended 31 July 2013, Coventry University had a total income of £220.43 million and a total expenditure of £199.71 million.[41] Key sources of income included £136.53 million from tuition fees and contracts, £45.18 million from funding body grants, £8.82 million in research grants and contracts, £1.96 million from investment and endowment income, and £27.92 million from other income.[41]
Coventry University is anexempt charity under the Charities Act 1960. Commercial activities are undertaken by six subsidiaries wholly owned by the university. These subsidiaries are together known as the Coventry University Group, and deliver education, business support, partnership and consultancy, and serious game development to local and national organisations.[41][42]
Coventry offers more than 130 undergraduate degrees and 100 postgraduate degrees over its four faculties, as well as qualifications such asfoundation degrees andHigher National Diplomas (HNDs). It has introduced the teaching of disaster management at undergraduate level (the first such course in the UK)[43] as well as parapsychology[44] and health journalism[45] at the postgraduate level.
The university's student body in 2024/25 consisted of 38,430 students: 31,645 undergraduates and 6,785 postgraduates.[4] Part-time students in 2013–14 made up 15% of undergraduates and 39% of postgraduates.[46] The drop-out rate for first year undergraduates is 8.9% and the undergraduate intake fromstate schools is 97%.[47] The university employs over 1,800 academic staff and is the fourth largest employer in Coventry.[48]
Tuition fees for undergraduate students at the university are variable and range from £7,500 to £9,000 depending on the degree programme, following the United Kingdom government'sdecision in 2010 to raise the maximum limit universities can charge UK and EU students.[49] The university cited the variable fee structure in explaining the rise in applications received for 2012 compared to the previous year, despite an overall national fall.[50]
TheResearch Assessment Exercise 2008 classed that research conducted by the university in the subjects ‘Allied Health Professions and Studies’, ‘Computer Science and Informatics’, ‘Electrical and Electronic Engineering’, ‘Library and Information Management’, ‘Politics and International Studies’, ‘Social Work and Social Policy & Administration’, and ‘Art and Design’ contained elements of 'world-leading' research.[51]
| National rankings | |
|---|---|
| Complete (2026)[52] | 59 |
| Guardian (2026)[53] | 70 |
| Times / Sunday Times (2026)[54] | 78 |
| Global rankings | |
| ARWU (2025)[55] | 901–1000 |
| QS (2026)[56] | 558= |
| THE (2026)[57] | 601–800 |
Nationally, Coventry is ranked 38th byThe Guardian University league tables 2023, 44th byThe Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2023 and 53rd by The Complete University Guide 2023. Internationally, Coventry is ranked within the top 601–650 universities in the world by the 2020 QS World University Rankings.
Subject strengths inThe Complete University Guide 2020 rankings include Food Science (7th),[58] Hospitality, Leisure, Recreation and Tourism (13th)[59] and Drama, Dance and Cinematics (20th).[60]
The Guardian 2015 rankings include Architecture (16th),[61] Building and Town and Country Planning (7th),[62] Design & Crafts (15th),[63] Drama & Dance (19th),[64] Mechanical Engineering (19th),[65] Film Production and Photography (1st),[66] Hospitality, Event Management and Tourism (5th),[67] Mathematics (19th),[68] Media & Film Studies (12th),[69] Nursing and Midwifery (9th)[70] and Social Work (10th).[71] In 2023, Guardian ranks its International Relations (7th) overall best in the UK.[72]
A 2008 RAE ranking of UK Psychology programs ranked Coventry 73rd, which is near the bottom of all UK universities,[73] and a 2014 REF study ranked the overall quality of Coventry's Psychology, Psychiatry, and Neuroscience programs 45th out of 82 UK universities, placing it in the bottom half.[74]
The People & Planet Green League 2013, a UK ranking based on environmental and ethical performance, placed Coventry 43rd, gaining a 'First Class' rating.[75] According to the 2013National Student Survey, 90% of Coventry University students were satisfied with their course.[76]
In 2017, the university gained a Gold in the Government'sTeaching Excellence Framework and maintained the rating in 2023.[77]
Coventry University's Department of Industrial Design won theQueen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in the 'Engineering and Technology' category for "[e]ducating tomorrow’s world leaders in automotive design" in 2007.[79] In 2020, Coventry's Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, a partnership withUnipart Manufacturing Group, received the same award.[80]
Coventry University's BA Acting Stage and Screen/Theatre and Professional Practice Degree has been the recipient of several international awards for its 'Immersive Telepresence in Theatre' project[81] conducted in conjunction with the Theatre Arts Degree at Tampere University and L'Escola Superior d'Art Dramàtic de les Illes Balears (ESADIB). The project, which enables student performers to rehearse and perform remotely using telepresence technologies won Gold in the Arts and Humanities category at the 2016 Reimagine Education Awards and won double Golds in the Arts and Humanities and Hybrid Learning Categories at the 2018/19 Reimagine Education Awards. It was also highly commended at the 2018 Times Higher Education Awards. The project has conducted several collaborations with Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Purdue University in the US and a live motion-capture performance between New World Symphony in Miami and Tampere in Finland. In March 2018, the project was invited to Hong Kong as part of the GREAT Festival of innovation organised by the UK's Department of Trade as one of the key examples of innovative education practices in the United Kingdom. In November 2020 the project was awarded the Guardian University Award for Internationalisation.[82] In 2025 the degree programme in partnership with L'Escola Superior d'Art Dramàtic de les Illes Balears, Spain, won the PIEoneer Award for Study Abroad and Exchange Experience of the Year for their 'Romeo and Juliet Online' project.[83]
Coventry was named 'Entrepreneurial University of the Year' in the Times Higher Education Awards 2011.[84]
The university is one of only a select few higher education institutions in the history of the Queen's Awards to be honoured. In the awards' 50th anniversary year, Coventry University has been commended in the International Trade category in recognition of its 'continuous achievement' since 2009.[85]
The university holds an annual public degree show which exhibits conceptual designs and performances by final year undergraduate students of the Coventry School of Art and Design.[86]
Accommodation for students is provided by the university and by private companies. Coventry owns four facilities for undergraduate students: Bishop Gate, Godiva Place, Singer Hall and Cycle Works as well as several houses around Coventry, mostly in the Earlsdon area.[87] It also manages four facilities: Apollo House, Lynden House, Radford Road, Parish Rooms and Pillar Box, the latter being exclusively for postgraduate students.[88]
Facilities provided through partnerships Coventry has with private companies, such asUnite, Liberty Living andDerwent Living,[89] include Liberty Park (shared with the University of Warwick), Trinity Point, Paradise Place, Sherbourne House, Callice Court and Raglan House. New accommodation facilities shared with the University of Warwick down the city's Trinity Street and Market Way opened in autumn 2010, with two more along Corporation Street and Greyfriars Lane opening the following year.[88] Further plans to expand accommodation for Coventry students in the city centre was announced in April 2013 with the expected conversion of the former Hotel Leofric into student flats.[90]
In total, the university's accommodation can provide for 3,579 students.[88]
Coventry University Students' Union (CUSU) is a registered charity that acts as a representative and campaigning organisation for students at Coventry University. It is headquartered in The Hub and has a variety of membership services including supporting more than 100 sports clubs and societies, a free advice centre and a volunteering department. CUSU owns and runs an independent nightclub on Far Gosford Street which opened in November 2012 despite opposition from a rival nightclub.[91]
Coventry University's sports team, Team Phoenix, represents the university in five sports.[92] Coventry annually competes with the University of Warwick in a series of formal and informalvarsity matches over a number of different sports. Coventry is an entrant inFormula Student through its Phoenix Racing team, finishing 42nd out of 102 entrants in 2012[93] and winning an award for the most fuel-efficient car in 2011.[94]
Coventry's student radio station isSource Radio.[95]
The head of the polytechnic was titled "Principal" and, later, "Director":[96]
The university holds an annual public degree show which exhibits conceptual designs and performances by final year undergraduate students of the Coventry School of Art and Design.[97]
Notable students of Coventry University (and its previous incarnations Lanchester Polytechnic and Coventry Polytechnic) include:
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