University of Southampton

The University of Southampton is a research-intensive university on the south coast of England.

Founded in 1862 as the Hartley Institution, the University of Southampton was granted a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth II in 1952 in one of her first official acts as monarch.

Today the university has five campuses in Southampton, one in Winchester and another in Malaysia, and a student population of almost 25,000 students – a third of whom are international.

A founding member of the prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities, Southampton is a comprehensive university offering a choice of more than 300 degree programmes across a wide range of subject areas.

The university is at the forefront of pioneering cancer immunotherapy research, and its engineering research is pushing the boundaries of performance sport with the help of large-scale facilities such as wind tunnels and towing tanks.

Other centres of expertise include the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute, the Institute for Life Sciences, the innovative Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Zepler Institute – a multidisciplinary research centre for electronics, optics, nano and quantum technologies – and the Web Science Institute, pioneers of the worldwide web, open data and Internet of Things.

The University of Southampton actively helps student and staff start-up companies through its business incubators and Science Park. Over the years, the institution has also developed strong links with industry partners such as Microsoft, IBM and Philips.

The university is also a significant contributor to the regional and national economy.

Some of its most famous alumni include the BBC journalist and broadcaster Jon Sopel, Mercury Prize-nominated singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, BBC Radio One presenter Chris Stark and Formula One engineer Adrian Newey.