The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. Established in 1892, receiving its Royal Charter in 1926, the University has a long tradition of research, education and training at a local, national and international level. It was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 1998, and again in 2005. It is one of the ten most research-intensive universities in the UK, as well as being considered one of the top 200 universities in the world.
The University owes its origins to the Schools of Art and Science established in Reading in 1860 and 1870. These became part of an extension college of Christ Church of the University of Oxford in 1892, which became known as University College, Reading.
The new college received its first treasury grant in 1901. Three years later it was given a site, in London Road, by the Palmer family of Huntley & Palmers fame. The same family's continued support enabled the opening of Wantage Hall in 1908 and the Research Institute in Dairying in 1912.
The college first applied for a Royal Charter in 1920 but was unsuccessful at that time. However a second petition, in 1925, was successful, and the charter was officially granted on March 17, 1926. With the charter, the University College became the University of Reading, the only new university to be created in England between the two world wars.
In 1947 the University purchased Whiteknights Park, which was to become its principal campus.In 1984 the University started a merger with Bulmershe College of Higher Education, which was completed in 1989.
In October 2006, the Senior Management Board proposed the closure of its Physics Department to future undergraduate application. This was ascribed to financial reasons and lack of alternative ideas and caused considerable controversy, not least a debate in Parliament over the closure which prompted heated discussion of higher education issues in general. On October 10 the Senate voted to close the Department of Physics, a move confirmed by the Council on November 20. Other departments closed in recent years include Music, Sociology, Geology, and Mechanical Engineering. The university council decided in March 2009 to close the School of Health and Social Care, a school whose courses have consistently been oversubscribed.
In January 2008, the University announced its merger with the Henley Management College to create the university's new Henley Business School, bringing together Henley College's expertise in MBAs with the University's existing Business School and ICMA Centre. The merger took formal effect on the 1st August 2008, with the new business school split across the university's existing Whiteknights Campus and its new Greenlands Campus that formerly housed Henley Management College.
Campuses
The University maintains over 1.6 square kilometres (395 acres) of grounds, in four distinct campuses:
- Whiteknights Campus, at 1.23 square kilometres (304 acres), is the largest and includes Whiteknights Lake, conservation meadows and woodlands as well as most of the University's departments.
- The smaller London Road Campus is the original University site and is closer to the town centre of Reading.
- The Bulmershe Court Campus in Woodley is the second biggest campus belonging to the University
- The Greenlands Campus, on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire.
Research and Business Development
In the Research Assessment Exercise in 2001, five departments were awarded the top rate of 5* – Archaeology, English, Italian, Meteorology and Psychology, and fifteen departments were awarded the rating of 5. In the wake of the 2008 RAE, the university saw a cut of £4m (19%) in its recurrent research funding, the largest cut among the 1994 Group of British universities.
The Department of Meteorology was awarded a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2005. Reading was the first university to win a Queen's Award for Export Achievement, in 1989.
Library
The Whiteknights Main Library holds catalogue of over 1.2 million books, as well as a range of electronic resources, videos and archives. All in 14,000 square metres of public space on five floors of resources, a maintenance floor, entrance plaza and the Knowledge Exchange. The secondary library on the University's Bulmershe Campus supports teaching courses and provides resources in education, health & social care, music and film & drama. There is also a library in the University's Meteorology department.
Achievements
Important achievements include:
- being the first British university to integrate an industrial Research and Development Group on its campus (1972)
- being the first university to win the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement (1989)
- twice receiving the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education (1998 and 2006).
Research
The University of Reading is highly regarded, nationally and internationally, for the quality of its research and is committed to enhancing its position as a leading research University. To do this we will continue to produce excellent research, ensure that we have a sustainable funding base to pay for it, and provide the appropriate environment and necessary support to enable us to achieve our aims. Our research strategy sets out our vision and key aims in more detail.
Our research excellence extends across a broad range of disciplines in
- Environmental, Physical and Life Sciences
- Arts and Humanities
- Social Sciences
- Economics and Business
The University of Reading was ranked 194th in the 2008 THES-QS World University Ranking.
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