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The University History

The University was founded as the Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and the Arts in 1869. Due to the dependence on shipping and trade to the city, the main function of the college was to train the engineers and skilled workmen who went on to work at the city docks, as well as at the large Royal Navy dockyard situated in Portsmouth. However, due to a decline in shipping and population since World War II, when large swathes of the city were destroyed by German bombing, the college was forced to diversify in terms of its syllabus and teaching in order to attract new students.

This steadily continued until the 1960s when, due to a massive government-sponsored expansion in Higher Education, the college was renamed Portsmouth Polytechnic. Along with this new name came the power for Portsmouth to award degrees, accredited and validated by the centralised CNAA. The expansion of the polytechnic continued and in the late 1980s, it was considered one of the largest and the best performing polytechnics in the UK. Portsmouth was granted university status with the power to validate its own degrees along with the other polytechnics in 1992, under the provision of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.

The University of Portsmouth is managed in accordance with Articles of Government approved by the Secretary of State. The Act also set the general format for an Instrument of Government determining the membership, constitution and organisational structure of Boards of Governors.

The formal inauguration of the University of Portsmouth was celebrated at a ceremony in the Portsmouth Guildhall on 7 July 1992.

About us

The University of Portsmouth is a university in Portsmouth, England. The University was ranked 60th out of 122th in The Sunday Times University Guide. The University is a member of the University Alliance, a group of 23 major business-focussed pre and post 1992 universities.

The University is split between two campuses: Guildhall and Langstone.

Langstone is the smaller of the two campuses, located in Milton on the eastern edge of Portsea Island, the island on which the city of Portsmouth sits. The campus overlooks Langstone Harbour and it is home to the University's sports grounds. It also includes a restaurant and bar, as well as a 'student village', which provides accommodation for 565 students in three halls of residence ; Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother (QEQM), Trust Hall and Langstone Flats. Students in QEQM and Langstone Flats have en-suite rooms. It used to be home of the University's School of Languages and Area Studies. The School has now moved into the Park Building on the Guildhall Campus.

The Guildhall site is much larger. Unlike most university campuses, it is not all enclosed on one tract of land, instead featuring various university buildings scattered throughout the centre of the city. This campus contains much of the University's teaching facilities, and nearly all of the Student Halls of residence (except the Langstone student village and two halls (Rees Hall and Burrell House) located on Southsea Terrace, the city's main esplanade).

The University Library (formerly the Frewen Library) was extended in 2006 at a cost of £11 million. Originally due to open in October, ongoing delays meant that it was not complete until January 2007, when it was opened by the crime writer P. D. James. The University has also in recent years invested in the Faculty of Science, in particular through the renovation of its aluminium-clad main building (St Michael's) which is adjacent to the student halls, James Watson.

A new faculty called "Creative and Cultural Industries" was opened in September 2006. It aims to provide a unique environment in which all aspects of creative thinking will flourish and develop by combining creative schools from across the university.

On 16 May 2007, Sheila Hancock OBE was appointed Chancellor of the University. Ms Hancock is an actor and author and received an honorary degree from the University in 2005 in particular recognition of her services to drama.