The University of Salford is a public research university located in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, became a College of Advanced Technology in 1956 and gained university status in 1967, following the Robbins Report into higher education.
It has students () and is in of parkland on the banks of the River Irwell.
History
Origins of the Royal Technical Institute
The university's origins can be traced to the opening in 1896 of the Royal Technical Institute, Salford, a merger of Salford Working Men's College (founded in 1858) and Pendleton Mechanics' Institute (founded in 1850).Baseline Retrieved on 19 March 2009. The Royal Technical Institute received royal letters after the then-Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary) officiated at its opening ceremony, an event commemorated in the university's Redbrick Peel Building and which allowed 'Royal' to be appended to the name of the institute.
At the start of the 20th century, mechanical engineering, chemical works, textiles and construction dominated the industrial scene in Salford. This heavily influenced the choice of subjects offered in the nine departments initially opened. These were Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Applied Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Building, Dyeing, Spinning & Weaving, Domestic, and Art. Some 1,240 students registered for the first session in these departments. There were originally 19 members of staff.
In 1921 the institute was renamed the Royal Technical College, Salford. In 1958 the institution split into two organisations: the remaining Royal Technical College and a breakaway institution, Peel Park Technical College. This changed its name first in 1961 to Salford Technical College, before becoming the Salford College of Technology in 1970, and finally University College Salford in 1992.
Royal College of Advanced Technology The Royal Technical College became a CAT in 1956, and became known as the Royal College of Advanced Technology. In 1963, the government completed an inquiry into the state of higher education in the United Kingdom and produced the Robbins Report, which paved the way for the Royal College of Advanced Technology (and other Colleges of Advanced Technology) to assume university status by Royal Charter.
University status The Royal College of Advanced Technology became the University of Salford on 10 February 1967, when Queen Elizabeth II handed over the institution's Royal Charter. A multistorey chemistry tower was built in the 1960s between the Peel Building and the Salford Library, Museum and Art Gallery, but it was pulled down in the 1980s due to the damage it was causing to the foundations of these nearby buildings. The first Vice-Chancellor was Clifford Whitworth, after whom the university's main library is named. The first Chancellor was Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who remained the university's chancellor until 1991. Prince Philip took a keen interest in the university and he visited the university's award-winning acoustics laboratories in 2008. The breakaway University College Salford merged with the University of Salford in 1996, to form a single institution.
On 5 September 2016, Salford was represented for the third time on University Challenge and faced the Open University. The all male team, who sported the poet John Cooper Clarke as a mascot lost 210 to 115 points.
Campus and facilities
The main Peel Park campus is less than from Manchester city centre on the banks of the River Irwell, adjacent to Peel Park, possibly the first public park in the world, which opened on 22 August 1846.City of Salford's Parks. Date of page creation: 6 August 2007. Retrieval Date: 1 October 2007. A former president of the Students' Union described Salford in 2007 as "a relaxed campus close to Manchester, but cheaper and greener."The Times Online, Review of the University of Salford. Date of page creation: 21 September 2007. Retrieval Date: 1 November 2007.
Salford Crescent railway station is adjacent to the campus, and high frequency bus services operate to Manchester, Salford and Bolton and Liverpool. There are other university facilities within a mile of the main campus, namely the Frederick Road and Adelphi campuses. Most of the university administration buildings are along Salford Crescent, opposite the Peel Campus. The Salford Museum and Art Gallery, said to be the first unconditionally free public library in England, is located on the Peel Park Campus.
MediaCityUK In October 2010 the university opened a learning, teaching and research space at MediaCityUK. They will study in 39 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Major investment projects
The university embarked on a £150 million programme of investment in 2004, to deliver new buildings and carry out major refurbishment projects. These included: £22m Mary Seacole Building, opened in 2006, the purpose-built five-storey facility for the College of Health and Social Care. £10m Lady Hale Building for the Salford Law School which opened in February 2008. The whole building acts as its own night storage heating and cooling system thanks to a "Termodeck" system. £10m Innovation Forum Building Joule Physics Laboratory provides a suite of new, purpose-built physics teaching laboratories and is named after James Prescott Joule, whose former home is situated opposite the Peel Building. Opened in October 2011 – A new building for the university's College of Arts, Media & Social Sciences designed by 3XN Architects on the MediaCityUK site in Salford Quays – which will be home to five BBC departments.
In summer 2013 construction work started on the £55 million New Adelphi building. The building opened in September 2016 and houses music, performance, art, design and architecture students. Facilities include a 350 capacity theatre with flexible seating to suit a range of events, 140sqm studio theatre, 2 large TV acting studios, 36 dedicated rehearsal rooms, 6 industry-standard recording studios, 12 amplified performance spaces (music ensemble rooms), 2 dance studios, 3 floors of dedicated wood, metal, textiles, print and plastics workshops, 7 photographic studios, 14 instrumental tuition rooms, a double-height 100 sq m band-room/live room and a suite of flexible performance and studio spaces. It also features a small gallery space.
An extension to the existing Newton Building, which houses the School of Computing, Science and Engineering, was awarded planning permission in May 2016. The £16 million project, known as the Engineering Showcase, was due to feature exhibition space to display engineering solutions, research/demonstration spaces, open-plan collaborative learning spaces, informal and formal presentation spaces, a café and 'maker-space'. Plans for the extension were put on hold in favour of a wider campus redesign, with the possibility of a brand new building to house teaching and laboratory facilities for a range of disciplines in Science, Engineering and Environment. An autonomous vehicle research centre was built in place of the proposed extension.
In July 2020 work started on a £65 million new science, engineering & environment building. The four-storey, 15,550 square metre building opened in September 2022 and is designed to facilitate students, academics and industry partners working together on cutting edge industry facing project.
Library The Library was opened in 1971 by Prince Philip, the then chancellor of the university. It was renamed the Clifford Whitworth Library in 1984 following the death of the university's first vice-chancellor, Clifford Whitworth. A two-storey extension was added to the left of the building in the 1990s and was further extended in the 2000s into the top floor of Lady Hale Building via a link bridge. Between 2016 and 2018 the Clifford Whitworth Library underwent a major £6.2 million refurbishment.
Facilities
Peel Hall has seating for nearly 400 people, hosts many musical performances and is the main venue for the midday recitals. The hall is housed in the Peel Building, a red brick and terracotta Victorian building on the Peel Park Campus.
The university's Robert Powell Theatre, named after the Salford-born actor, mostly stages live performances of modern works and participatory work for younger audiences.
At the heart of the Peel Park Campus, the Chapman Gallery hosts a wide range of modern and contemporary art exhibitions that showcase the work of up and coming artists, university staff, students and the community of Salford.
The Tom Husband Leisure Centre is on the Peel Park Campus and adjacent to the Students' Union. It contains a gym, 25m swimming pool, sauna and spa, squash courts, climbing wall, and a multi-use sports hall.
The Adelphi Studio Theatre is a small theatre venue based in the School of Music, Media and Performance's Adelphi Building.
Organisation and administration
Chancellors
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1967–1991) Sarah, Duchess of York (1992–1995) Sir Walter Bodmer (1995–2006) Sir Martin Harris (2007–2009) Irene Zubaida Khan (2009–2014) Jackie Kay (2014–2021) Lucy Meacock (2022–present)
Vice-Chancellors Clifford Whitworth (1967–74) John Harold Horlock (1974–81) Sir John Michael Ashworth (1981–89) Thomas Mutrie Husband (1990–97) Michael Harloe (1997–2009) Martin Hall (2009–14) Helen Marshall (2015–2023) Nic Beech (2023–present)
Research and development centres The United National Institute for Prosthetics and Orthotics Development is located in the university's Prosthetics and Orthotics division of its School of Health, Sport and Rehabilitation Sciences. It is the only prosthetics and orthotics higher education provider in England.
The KidsCan Children's Cancer Research Centre is in the university's John Armstrong Welsh Laboratories at the Centre for Biochemistry, Drug Design and Cancer Research.Biomedical Sciences Research. Centre for Biochemistry, Drug Design and Cancer Research. University of Salford, p. 1. It was established in 2002 to develop treatments with fewer side effects for children and young adults.KidsCan, 2002, p. 2.
Academic profile The university is organised into four schools:
School of Arts, Media and Creative Technology School of Science, Engineering and Environment School of Health and Society Salford Business School
International students come from China, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, Greece, Nigeria, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Malaysia and Bulgaria. Previously, with its three colleges, 12 schools, nearly 20,000 students, and over 2,500 staff, Salford had a turnover of some £156m in 2006/07. A report from social and economic impact report published in 2019, sets the turnover to £180.5m in 2019,
The university is a founding member of the Northern Consortium of universities.
In October 2008 it was announced that compulsory redundancies were likely at the university, as part of a plan to save £12.5 million over three years. A notice by the university registrar said that Salford needed to invest £300 million in university estate and £40 million in moving the arts and media faculty to the "MediaCityUK" site at Salford Quays, where the BBC is to establish its northern headquarters. The notice went on to say that these additional costs came in the context of a number of pressures: salary bills that had "exceeded the university's expectations"; a "serious problem" with student retention; the "credit crunch"; and three "seriously underperforming" schools. Affected schools include the School of Nursing, Salford Business School and the School of Community Health Sciences and Social Care.
Teaching quality and rankings
In the 2024 Guardian University League Tables, the University of Salford placed 83rd out of 122 universities.
The Times newspaper ranked Salford 72nd in 2024.
Student life