The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With 18,410 students, it is the 57th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students (including the Open University).
Former names |
|
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Motto | Latin: Indagate Fingite Invenite |
Motto in English | Explore Dream Discover |
Type | Public |
Established | 1992 – University status 1970 – Plymouth Polytechnic 1862 – School of Navigation[1][2] |
Budget | £235.1 million (2021–22)[3] |
Chancellor | Jonathan Kestenbaum, Baron Kestenbaum |
Vice-Chancellor | Richard Davies[4] |
Academic staff | 1,560[5] |
Administrative staff | 915 (est.)[6] |
Students | 18,910 (2020/21)[7] |
Undergraduates | 15,200 (2020/21)[7] |
Postgraduates | 3,710 (2020/21)[7] |
Location | , England 50°22′27″N 4°08′19″W / 50.374121°N 4.138512°W |
Campus | Urban |
Colours | Terracotta Dark Blue Black[8] |
Affiliations | Association of Commonwealth Universities Channel Islands Universities Consortium EUA Universities UK |
Website | plymouth |
History
edit1862 – 2000
editThe university was originally founded as the Plymouth School of Navigation in 1862,[1][2] before becoming a university college in 1920 and a polytechnic institute in 1970,[1] with its constituent bodies being Plymouth Polytechnic, Rolle College in Exmouth, the Exeter College of Art and Design (which were, before April 1989, run by Devon County Council) and Seale-Hayne College (which before April 1989 was an independent charity).[citation needed]
It was renamed Polytechnic South West in 1989, a move that was unpopular with students as the name lacked identity. It was the only polytechnic to be renamed and remained as "PSW" until gaining university status in 1992 along with the other polytechnics. The new university absorbed the Plymouth School of Maritime Studies.[citation needed]
2000 – 2020
editIn 2006, part of the remains of the World War II Portland Square air-raid shelter were rediscovered on the Plymouth campus.[9] On the night of 22 April 1941, during the Blitz, a bomb fell on the site killing over 70 civilians, including a mother and her six children.[9] The bomb blast was so strong that human remains were found in the tops of trees. Only three people escaped alive, all children.[citation needed]
The university's first vice-chancellor was John Bull. He was succeeded by Roland Levinsky until his death on 1 January 2007, when he walked into live electrical cables brought down during a storm.[10] He was temporarily replaced by Mark Cleary (who then became vice-chancellor of the University of Bradford until 2013),[11] and then by Steve Newstead. Wendy Purcell became VC on 1 December 2007. She was placed on leave on 2 July 2014 by the university's governors while an internal review was conducted.[12] A month later the Higher Education Funding Council for England requested an independent external review of the university's governance.[13] In August 2014, the university was instructed by HEFCE to undertake an external review of its governance after vice-chancellor Wendy Purcell was placed on leave.[14]
Judith Petts CBE was appointed the University of Plymouth's vice-chancellor and chief executive in February 2016. She joined Plymouth from the University of Southampton, where she had been pro-vice-chancellor research and enterprise and previously the inaugural dean of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (2010–2013).[citation needed]
The university was selected by the Royal Statistical Society in October 2008 to be the home of its Centre for Statistical Education.[15] It also runs courses in maritime business, marine engineering, marine biology,[16] and Earth, ocean and environmental sciences.
In 2010, students from the university occupied a room in the main campus to protest against rising tuition fees and cuts to courses.[17]
2020 – present
editIn 2021 work began to completely renovate the interior and exterior of the Babbage Building. The renovations will add an extra 10,000m² worth of space to the building, and create rooftop gardens which will be open to students.[18] Renovation works also began on the Intercity Place tower down by the Plymouth railway station.[19] In 2024 the university began the demolition of the nearby Brunel Building, announcing that it would become a new park space and the building's facilities would be moved into Babbage .[19]
In 2024, the University announced that Richard Davies would replace Judith Petts as Vice-Chancellor following her retirement.[20][4]
Campus
editWhen university status was gained in 1992, the university was based in on multiple sites. Under Vice-Chancellor Levinsky the university began a policy of centralising its campus activities in Plymouth.[21]
The Exmouth campus Rolle College housed the Faculty of Education and relocated to the new Rolle Building in August 2008. The decision was unpopular with students and the town of Exmouth itself. There were several protest marches and a campaign to keep the campus open.[22]
Completed developments include Portland Square, a library extension, refurbished and new laboratory and teaching facilities in many of the campus buildings, halls of residence near the Business School and a new £16 million Peninsula Medical School headquarters at Derriford Hospital, in the north of the city.[23]
The Marine Building has been constructed behind the Babbage Building to house civil engineering, coastal engineering and marine sciences.[citation needed]
Roland Levinsky building
editThe Roland Levinsky Building, designed by architects Henning Larsen with Building Design Partnership, is clad with copper sheets in a seamed-cladding technique, is nine storeys high and has 13,000 square metres (140,000 sq ft) of floor space.[24] The Faculty of Arts, previously based in Exmouth and Exeter moved here in August 2007. The building contains two large lecture theatres, the Jill Craigie Cinema, used by the film students to display their films and for showing of films to the public; three performance rehearsal studios; digital media suites; and a public art gallery which displays work by local artists groups, students and famous artists.[citation needed]
InterCity Place
editInterCity Place is an 11-storey tower building adjacent to Plymouth railway station currently undergoing renovations to turn the building into a centre for students studying medical degrees. The tower is being renovated by contractor Kier Group and is set to open in 2023.[25] The building used to be the Intercity House office block. The building is currently owned by Network Rail, but is being given to the university on a 150-year lease.[26]
During construction a fire broke out in the building resulting in the railway station and surrounding area to be evacuated, nobody was hurt from the incident.[27]
Student accommodation
editUniversity-managed or approved accommodation in the first year of study is guaranteed for all applicants who choose Plymouth as their first choice institution.[28] There are six university-managed halls: Francis Drake, Gilwell, Mary Newman, Pilgrim, Radnor and Robbins. Special accommodation arrangements can be made for students with disabilities or medical conditions.[citation needed]
Francis Drake
editFrancis Drake Hall of Residence | |
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General information | |
Address | Francis Drake Hall of Residence, James Street, Plymouth, Devon PL4 6AP |
Coordinates | 50°22′35″N 4°08′21″W / 50.376308°N 4.139249°W |
Current tenants | 329[29] |
Completed | June 2008 |
Renovated | 2021/2022 (External cladding) |
Owner | University Partnerships Programme (UPP) Ltd. |
Height | 25 m (82 ft) |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 8 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Willmore Iles |
Structural engineer | Airey & Coles |
Services engineer | DCL Consulting Engineers, Mitie |
Main contractor | Cowlin Construction |
Renovating team | |
Main contractor | Kier Group |
Other information | |
Parking | Permits required |
Website | |
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/student-life/services/accommodation/halls/francis-drake |
Francis Drake Hall of Residence is located on-campus at the university's main campus, owned by University Partnerships Programme (UPP) Limited. It is one of two halls located directly on-campus at the university.[30] It has 314 en-suite rooms arranged in flats with between three and ten rooms,[31] and 15 self-contained studio rooms, all spread across three blocks. The building's blocks are named after areas in the city - Armada, Barbican, and Citadel.[32] As of 2023, the building has a rating of 3.6 stars on StudentCrowd.[33]
The building also has on-site laundry facilities (Circuit Laundry), and a café attached to the ground floor,[34] which is open to the public and hosts events for outside organisations.[35]
The building is named after Francis Drake, an English sailor and privateer best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580.[36]
The site the building is located on was originally a car park for the university. Planning permission was granted in 2006 and construction began in the same year.[37] UPP hired Paula Willmore and Stephen Draper from Willmore Iles Architects to design the building, and Cowlin Construction to build it. The building was completed in June 2008.[38]
Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the owner and operator of the building, UPP Ltd. tested the cladding and found that it was safe to remain. However, the cladding was visually ageing and they decided to replace the cladding on the building as a precaution and to improve the building's appearance.[39] In a report filed by UPP, they stated that they found defects in the cladding and replaced it.[40] A pre-application document was submitted to Plymouth City Council's planning department on 18 June 2021,[41] which was then followed by the submission a full planning application on 20 August 2021, which was approved.[42] Work began at the start of the 2021/2022 academic year, with the main contractor being Kier Group.[43] Scaffolding was erected and students remained living in halls that year, which led to complaints from students who were living in the hall during this time.[39][44]
At 3pm on 24 April 2021, a fire broke out on the 6th floor of the building.[45] One person was injured, suffering from smoke inhalation, and a 21-year-old woman was later arrested under for arson after an investigation to determine the cause of the fire was completed.[46][47]
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Francis Drake
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Francis Drake Hall of Residence (Rear)
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Mary Newman
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Robbins
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Radnor
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Gibbon St (Left: Pilgrim, Right: Robbins)
Organisation and administration
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2024) |
Faculties and Schools
editThere are three faculties which each contain a number of schools:
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business
editThis faculty contains the School of Art, Design and Architecture, Plymouth Business School, and the School of Society and Culture, including the Plymouth Institute of Education.[citation needed]
The faculty offers degrees in Anthropology, Architecture, Built environment, Business and Management, Criminology, Education, English, Game design, History, Illustration, Art history, 3D Design, Fine Art, Law, Marketing, Music, Photography, Professional Policing, Media arts, Sociology, and Theatre & Performance.[citation needed]
Faculty of Health
editThe Faculty of Health contains the Peninsula Dental School, Peninsula Medical School, School of Biomedical Sciences, School of Psychology, School of Health Professions, and School of Nursing and Midwifery. The Faculty runs degrees in Adult Nursing, Biomedical Sciences, Child Health Nursing, Dentistry, Medicine, Mental Health Nursing, Midwifery, Dietetics, Optometry, Social Work, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry, Physiotherapy and Paramedicine.[citation needed]
Medicine and Dentistry were first established as part of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry in 2000, which operated as a partnership between Plymouth University and the University of Exeter.[48] In January 2012 the two founding members of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD), the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, outlined their plans to expand independently and grow the success of the now nationally recognised professional health education provider. These changes came into effect from the start of the 2013 academic year.[citation needed]
Faculty of Science and Engineering
editThis faculty contains the School of Biological and Marine Sciences, the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, and the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Subjects taught in the Schools include Biological Sciences, Marine Biology, Marine Sciences, Chemistry, Geology,[49] Geography, Environmental Science, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Games Development, Mathematics, Data Science, Mechanical Engineering, Civil and coastal Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Robotics.[citation needed]
Coat of arms
editThe arms, crest, badge and supporters forming the university's coat of arms were granted on 10 April 2008, in Grant 173/189, by the College of Arms.[50]
The books represent the university's focus on learning and scholarship. The scattering of small stars, represent navigation, which has played a key role in the history of the city and the university. The scallop shells in gold, represents pilgrimage, a sign of the importance of the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers from a site near the Mayflower Steps in the Plymouth Barbican aboard the Mayflower in 1620. A Pelican and a Golden Hind support the shield and reflect both the original and later, better known, name of Sir Francis Drake's ship. The crest contains the Latin motto, "Indagate Fingite Invenite" which translates as "Explore Dream Discover" and is a quote from Mark Twain, reflecting the university's ambitions for its students and Plymouth's history of great seafarers.[citation needed]
The letters patent granting arms to the University of Plymouth were presented by Eric Dancer, Lord Lieutenant of Devon, in a ceremony on 27 November 2008, in the presence of Henry Paston-Bedingfeld, York Herald of the College of Arms, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Plymouth, Judge William Taylor, the Recorder of Plymouth, and Baroness Judith Wilcox.[51]
Academic profile
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2024) |
Academic Partnerships
editThe Academic Partnerships network is a collaboration between the university and local colleges across the England and the world. Plymouth is the main sponsor of Marine Academy Plymouth.[52] It is also the main sponsor of UTC Plymouth, which opened in September 2013.
Reputation and rankings
editNational rankings | |
---|---|
Complete (2025)[53] | 65= |
Guardian (2025)[54] | 84 |
Times / Sunday Times (2025)[55] | 70 |
Global rankings | |
ARWU (2024)[56] | 701–800 |
QS (2025)[57] | 661–670 |
THE (2025)[58] | 501–600 |
The University of Plymouth ranks 503rd in the CWUR World University Rankings 2017[59] In The Times and Sunday Times University League Table 2018, the University of Plymouth's world ranking was listed as joint 701st[60] and 601–650 in QS World University Rankings 2019.[61] Times Higher Education ranked Plymouth 401–500 in its World University Rankings 2017–18,[62] and ranked it 65th among 200 institutions in its World Young University Rankings 2017.[63]
The results of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework showed that, overall, Plymouth was ranked joint 66 of 128 UK institutions, rising 9 places from the previous Research Assessment Exercise in 2008.[64] Across all assessed subject areas Plymouth showed substantial evidence of 3* (internationally excellent) and 4* (world leading) research, and this was particularly evident in Clinical Medicine, Computer Sciences & Informatics, Psychology, Psychiatry & Neuroscience, and Earth Systems & Environmental Sciences, where 79–85% of research was ranked as 3* or 4*.[65]
Plymouth was the first university to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark in recognition of working as a genuine social enterprise, caring for communities and protecting the planet.[citation needed]
Notable academics
edit- Colin Rallings, political scientist
- Michael Thrasher, political scientist
- Richard Jozsa, mathematician
- Maged N. Kamel Boulos, health informatician
- Alexis Kirke, composer and filmmaker;
- Eduardo Reck Miranda, professor in Computer music and composer
- Roy Lowry, August 2006 world record holder for launching the most rockets at once;[66]
- Iain Stewart, geologist and BBC documentary host.
- Alexis Kirke, performer and artist
- John Scott, sociologist.
- Jacqueline Andrade, professor of psychology [67]
- Richard Thompson, marine biologist who coined the term "microplastics".[68][69][70][71]
- Jonathan St B. T. Evans, professor from the school of Psychology who has contributed greatly to the discussion of Dual-Process theory
Notable alumni
edit- Seb Clover, world's youngest single-handed cross-Atlantic sailor
- Philip Payton, historian.
- Monty Halls, BBC wildlife presenter
- Michael Underwood, television presenter
- Judith Wilcox, Baroness Wilcox, life peer
- Jane Wilson-Howarth, travel writer and physician.
- Steve Augarde, children's author.
- Sue Austin, artist.
- Julian Bovis, artist.
- Pen Dalton, artist.
- Andrea Polli, artist.
- Hatice Güleryüz, artist.
- Ellen Levy, multimedia artist and scholar.
- Mandy Chessell, computer scientist at IBM.
- Darren Jones, MP for Bristol North West.
- Matt Cooke, journalist.
- Laura Anne Jones, politician.
- Mark Williams, politician.
- Darius J. Pearce, politician.
- Heather Koldewey, marine biologist.
- David Sims, marine biologist.
- Clare Nasir, meteorologist.
- Members of the band Meeky Rosie.
- Jaka Singgih, Indonesian businessman and politician.
- Tom Rivett-Carnac, Officer of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
- Gareth Owen (sound designer), sound designer.
- Heiko Andreas von der Gracht, futurist.
Students' union
editUniversity of Plymouth Students' Union, usually abbreviated "UPSU" is a non-profit making organisation. Each year, students elect the officers who will represent them for the following year. The Union offers a range of services and stages a number of events throughout the year. As well as events, the Union is the base for most of the sports teams and societies at the university.[citation needed]
Controversies
editIn 2014 a clash of personalities at the top of the university led the then vice-chancellor Wendy Purcell to be suspended. Part of the dispute was over the commissioning of ceremonial chairs at a cost of £95,000 without the board's approval.[72] A linked case saw the chair of the board of governors, which had suspended Purcell, William Taylor investigated of sexual harassment of female staff.[73] Purcell was later appointed to a newly created role of president with compensation of £125,000 for loss of office and maintaining her salary of £250,000.[74][75]
See also
editReferences
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- ^ a b Alston Kennerley (2001). "Ch. 4 Plymouth School of Navigation". The Making of the University of Plymouth. ISBN 1841020699.
- ^ "Annual Report and Financial Statements Year Ended 31 July 2022" (PDF). University of Plymouth. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ a b Chadwick, Louis (14 October 2024). "Plymouth University's new Vice-Chancellor puts 'Students first' in opening messages". Plymouth Chronicle. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ "Who's working in HE? – HE staff by HE provider". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ "Facts and figures". University of Plymouth. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ a b c "HE student enrolments by HE provider 2014/15 to 2020/21". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ "Academic dress and gowning". University of Plymouth. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.
- ^ a b Tony Rees, Gerry Cullum and Steve & Karen Johnson (8 July 2007). "Portland Square Air Raid Shelter at Plymouth". CyberHeritage.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
- ^ "Power cable kills university boss". BBC. 2 January 2007.
- ^ "University boss successor named". BBC. 4 January 2007.
- ^ "Plymouth University vice-chancellor suspended". BBC News. 2 July 2014.
- ^ Gallacher, Neil (5 August 2014). "Regulator calls for Plymouth University review". BBC News.
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- ^ Telford, William (6 July 2021). "Work starts to create Plymouth University engineering block". Business Live. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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- ^ "Medical school plans new headquarters". BBC Devon. 6 January 2002.
- ^ "The Roland Levinsky Building, Plymouth University". Scott Wilson website. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
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- ^ "Find Student Accommodation Francis Drake Hall of Residence, Plymouth | UCAS". accommodation.ucas.com. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
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- ^ "05/02029/FUL | Redevelopment of existing car park to provide teaching and administrative facilities and en-suite residential accommodation for undergraduate and post graduate students | Land At James Place North Hill Plymouth". 22 November 2005. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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- ^ "UPP Bond 1 Limited Investor Report" (PDF). 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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- ^ "21/01603/FUL | Re-cladding of building with Rockpanel | Francis Drake Halls James Street City Centre Plymouth PL4 6AP". planning.plymouth.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
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