University of Surrey
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]
Former name
Battersea Polytechnic Institute (1891–1956)
Battersea College of Technology (1956–1966)
1966 (gained university status)
£5.8 million (2023)[1]
£314.0 million (2022/23)[1]
1,635 (2021/22)[4]
1,575 (2021/22)[4]
15,575 (2021/22)[5]
11,450 (2021/22)[5]
4,125 (2021/22)[5]
Campus, multiple sites
Blue and gold
Team Surrey
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]
A major centre for satellite and mobile communications research, the university is in partnership with King's College London and the Dresden University of Technology to develop 5G technology worldwide.[8] It also 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
Surrey Sports Park, opened in 2010 to replace the former university sport facilities.
Student accommodation has been developed at Manor Park.
National rankings
12=
21=
21
301–400
285=
251–300
![Former Conservative Member of the European Parliament Kay Swinburne (MBA)[80]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Swinburne%2C_Kay-2652.jpg/80px-Swinburne%2C_Kay-2652.jpg)
Student life[edit]
Students' Union[edit]
The University of Surrey Students' Union is the sole representative body of Surrey students. They represent students on academic and welfare issues, as well as administering sports clubs and societies. The Union was incorporated as a non-profit charity in July 2011, so any takings from the Union's four commercial outlets are invested in supporting the membership side of the business. Four zones exist within the organisation representing Support, Voice, Community and Activity, with a sabbatical officer managing each one, as well as a president who is a member of the University Council. The Students' Union also organise events on a weekly basis which are held at their venues including Rubix and The Basement for students to take part in.[96]
In 2017 the university was specifically identified in the report by the Free Speech University Rankings as having "unfamiliar" restrictions on free speech because of a collection of its union byelaws regarding university mascot Steve the Stag: the mascot is not allowed to be depicted by students to be drinking, smoking or, as the report and subsequent articles directly quote, "involved in lewd acts".[97]
Subsequent editions of the Students' Union Byelaws contained a further explanatory note for this.[98]
Media[edit]
StagTV is the television station run by students at the University of Surrey. It is primarily run from offices on the main Stag Hill campus and it also creates content for the Students' Union, through which it is a constituted group, but has editorial independence. Other student media on campus include Stag Radio and The Stag.[99]
