University of Brighton
The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992.
The university focuses on practical, creative, and professional education, with the majority of degrees awarded also recognised by professional organisations or leading to professional qualifications. Subjects include pharmacy, engineering, ecology, computing, art, architecture, geology, nursing, teaching, sport science, journalism, criminology and business. It has around 18,000 students and 2,400 staff. The QS World University Rankings places the university within the top 100 internationally for Art and Design.
History
1858—1900: Early years
In 1858 the Brighton School of Art opened its doors to its first 110 students, in rooms by the kitchens of the Royal Pavilion. It moved in 1876 to its own building in Grand Parade, with the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, witnessing the laying of the new building's foundation stone.The Municipal School of Science and Technology opened in Brighton in 1897 with 600 enrolled students. In the 1960s new buildings were constructed in Moulsecoomb for what had become the Brighton College of Technology. In 1970 the School of Art and Brighton College of Technology merged to form Brighton Polytechnic.
What became known as the Chelsea College of Physical Education opened in 1898 in London under the headship of Dorette Wilkie. A two year course was offered where teachers were taught to teach. The college moved to Eastbourne in 1947. In 1976 it merged with Eastbourne and Seaford Colleges of Education to form the East Sussex College of Higher Education. The same year, Brighton College of Education merged with Brighton Polytechnic, giving the Polytechnic a campus at Falmer. It had opened in 1909 as the Municipal Day Training College in Richmond Terrace, Brighton.
1900—2000: University status
There was a further merger in 1979, when the East Sussex College of Higher Education merged with the polytechnic, creating a campus in Eastbourne. That institution had opened in London in 1898 as an institution training women and girls in physical education and moved to Eastbourne in 1949.UK polytechnics were granted university status in 1992 and Brighton Polytechnic became the University of Brighton under the provisions of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
In 1994 the Sussex and Kent Institute of Nursing and Midwifery became part of the university, increasing the number of students based in Eastbourne.
2000—present
In 2003 the Brighton and Sussex Medical School opened as a partnership between the University of Brighton, the University of Sussex and the Universities Hospitals Trust, the first medical school in South East England outside London.A Hastings campus was opened in 2003, originally named University Centre Hastings; it was subsequently closed in 2016.
In 2011, the Brighton International College, part of Kaplan International Colleges, opened on the Moulsecoomb campus, to provide international students with English language courses and preparatory academic tuition for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
In October 2019 the university launched the first new contemporary publics arts space in the city since 1999, named the Brighton Centre for Contemporary Arts. Brighton CCA is accessible to students and the public, hosting public exhibitions, events and commissioned work.
In 2023, students and staff protested in opposition to the university's plans to make 110 staff redundant, the protests ultimately failed to prevent redundancies and 104 lecturers were made redundant through 82 voluntary redundancies and 22 compulsory redundancies.
In May 2023, the university's Centre for Contemporary Arts was closed, the university says this is due to rising inflation, the "tuition fee freeze", and high energy costs.
Campuses and facilities
The university currently has three campuses: Falmer, City and Moulsecoomb.In 2018, the University of Brighton gained a first class award in the People & Planet's University League table – UK universities ranked by environmental and ethical performance.
Falmer campus, Brighton
The Falmer campus is approximately three miles from Brighton city centre. The School of Education, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Sport and Health Sciences, Centre for Nursing and Midwifery Research, International Health Development and Research Centre, Social Science Policy and Research Centre, Education Research Centre, the Centre for Learning and Teaching and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School are all based on this campus.Falmer railway station is immediately adjacent, as is the Falmer Stadium, home to Brighton & Hove Albion FC, which opened in 2011.
Facilities on the Falmer campus include a library, computer pool rooms, restaurant and cafe/bar, and the Students' Union cafe, aka The Hive, and shop. Sports facilities on the campus include floodlit 3G AstroTurf pitch, netball and tennis courts, a sports centre with fitness suite, two activity studios and a sports hall with six badminton courts, and a new sports pavilion which opened in 2015.
City campus, Brighton
City campus in Brighton city centre is home to the university's School of Art and Media,, the School of Humanities and Social Science, the University of Brighton gallery and Sallis Benney Theatre.The university's archives include the University of Brighton Design Archives, which houses collections from the Design Council and other British and global design organisations, and the moving image archive Screen Archive South East. Facilities include the specialist humanities, art and design library at St Peter's House, computer pool rooms, a media centre, a restaurant and cafe.
Moulsecoomb campus, Brighton
The Moulsecoomb campus is to the north of Brighton city centre on Lewes Road. Moulsecoomb railway station is nearby. It is the largest of the three campuses with over 8,000 students based there in the School of Applied Sciences, School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering and the School of Business and Law.Teaching and learning resources include rapid prototyping and design equipment including 3D scanners, CNS lathes and laser cutters, clinical skills and molecular biology laboratories, specialist labs for structural dynamics, geotechnics, thermal dynamics, hydraulics and avionics, a flight simulator, real-time trading room, and architecture and interior architecture studios. Facilities include Aldrich Library, computer pool rooms, two restaurants and five cafes. The new advanced engineering building opened in September 2017, and Elm House opened in 2021.
The University of Brighton and Ricardo UK jointly opened the Sir Harry Ricardo Laboratories on 14 November 2006. The laboratories are one of the largest UK research teams dedicated to internal combustion engines, the development of laser-based measurement techniques, fundamental modelling and computational simulation.
The University of Brighton Students' Union has its main offices in Cockcroft Building.
Eastbourne
The Eastbourne campus was in the south-western part of the town of Eastbourne, and had almost 3,000 students before its closure in 2024.Teaching and learning facilities at Eastbourne campus included exercise physiology laboratories, an environmental chamber, a human movement laboratory and the Leaf Hospital podiatry and physiotherapy clinic. Study facilities in Eastbourne included Queenwood library, computer pool rooms, a learning technologies suite, restaurants, and a students' Union shop. Sports facilities included a 25-metre swimming pool, sports hall, artificial outdoor pitch and dance studio.
The university closed this campus in 2024.
Libraries
The university has three libraries spread around its campuses.- Aldrich Library
- Falmer Library
- St. Peter's House Library
Organisation and administration
The university is organized in academic schools:- School of Applied Sciences
- School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering
- School of Art and Media
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School – joint with University of Sussex
- School of Business and Law
- School of Education
- School of Humanities and Social Science
- School of Sport and Health Sciences
Medical school
School of Business and Law
The School of Business and Law delivers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, part-time courses for professionals, and programmes for commercial organisations. Formerly part of Brighton Technical College, the school has been teaching business and management courses since the 1960s. It took its current name in 1986. The school is in Elm House on the Moulsecoomb campus, following a large redevelopment.The University of Brighton is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – an accreditation achieved by fewer than 6% of business schools globally.
Academic profile
The University of Brighton offers over 400 courses in a wide range of subjects.University of Brighton's International College provides academic preparatory programmes for students outside the EU. On successful completion of their programme and achievement of the required grades, students can progress to undergraduate and postgraduate degrees offered at the university.
University of Brighton Doctoral College provides academic, administrative and practical support for the university's community of postgraduate research students. There are Doctoral College campus centres on the Eastbourne and each of the Brighton campuses.