Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University is a public research university located in Nottingham, England, which lies along the River Trent. Its origins date back to the establishment of the Nottingham Government School of Design in 1843, one of the earliest institutions of its kind in the United Kingdom. The university assumed its current status in 1992.
NTU operates across multiple campuses, including sites in the City Centre, Clifton, and Brackenhurst near Southwell, with an additional campus in London. Its academic activities are organised into seven schools spanning creative, professional, scientific, and environmental disciplines. With a student population exceeding 38,000, Nottingham Trent University is the seventh-largest university in the UK by total enrolment. In recent years, the university has received various awards, including the Times Higher Education University of the Year award in 2017 and The Guardian University of the Year in 2019. It is a member of sector bodies including the European University Association, Association of Commonwealth Universities, Universities UK, Association of MBAs, and Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
Additionally, the university owns and operates key cultural assets in Nottingham, including Bonington Gallery, a public contemporary art gallery based within the City campus, Metronome, a specialist venue for music and live events and Nottingham Conference Centre.
Nottingham Trent University and its predecessor institutions count among their alumni prominent figures in public life, business, the creative industries, academia, and professional sport in the United Kingdom and internationally. As of 2026, academic staff at Nottingham Trent University include fellows of the British Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences, the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Biology.
History
Foundation
Nottingham Trent University was formed by the amalgamation of several institutions of higher education in Nottingham. Its earliest origins lie in the Nottingham Government School of Design, founded in 1843, during a period when government-supported art and design education was promoted to support industry and manufacturing. The School of Design continued to operate through successive institutional changes and remains part of the university.Expansion and consolidation (1945–1970)
Following the Second World War, higher education provision in Nottingham expanded significantly in response to increased demand for technical and professional training. In 1945, the Nottingham and District Technical College was established. This was followed by the opening of the Nottingham Regional College of Technology in 1958, and the Nottingham College of Education at Clifton in 1959, which focused primarily on teacher training.In 1964, the Nottingham Regional College was opened, and in 1966 the original Nottingham College of Design was formally linked with the Regional College. These developments reflected national efforts to rationalise and expand further education and technical colleges during the post-war period.
Polytechnic era (1970–1992)
In 1970, the merged institutions were granted polytechnic status, becoming Trent Polytechnic. As a polytechnic, the institution played a significant role in vocational and professional higher education, in line with the national mission of polytechnics to widen access to higher education and strengthen links with industry and professional practice.In 1975, Trent Polytechnic amalgamated with the Nottingham College of Education, further consolidating its role in teacher training. The institution was renamed Nottingham Polytechnic in 1988.
During the 1970s, Nottingham Polytechnic gained national recognition for its photography education, particularly through collaboration with Derby College of Art. Under the leadership of Bill Gaskins, who joined the Polytechnic from Derby in 1971, and with the involvement of photographers such as Raymond Moore, the programme became influential within British photographic education. Figures such as Ifor Thomas were also nationally influential during this period.
Teacher training
Teacher training formed a substantial part of the Polytechnic’s provision during the post-war decades, reflecting national demand following the expansion of compulsory education. In the late 1970s, however, declining birth rates led to a reduction in teacher training places across England. While Eaton Hall Teacher Training College initially remained part of Trent Polytechnic, it subsequently closed in 1981.In 1984, the National Centre for School Technology was established at the Polytechnic as part of the British School Technology scheme, under the direction of Geoffrey Shillito and Ron Denney. This later became the Trent International Centre for School Technology. The Technology Education Project, launched nationally in 1985, was jointly directed from the Polytechnic. In 1988, the Centre for Enterprise was established, hosting the five-year Enterprise for Higher Education initiative, aimed at encouraging collaboration between higher education and industry.
University status and subsequent development (1992–Present)
Nottingham Trent University was granted university status in 1992 following reforms to UK higher education that enabled polytechnics to become universities. The institution adopted its current name the same year, succeeding Nottingham Polytechnic. Professor Ray Cowell was appointed as the university’s first Vice-Chancellor, overseeing the transition to university status and the consolidation of academic provision across its existing campuses.On Friday 11 November 1994, Katharine, Duchess of Kent opened the School of Science. In 1997, the Nottingham Trent University Venture Capital Fund was setup with £500,000 from the European Union. In the 1990s, the Southampton Institute of Higher Education, had its degrees validated by NTU. From July 2005 this institute would become Southampton Solent University.
Like many UK universities, Nottingham Trent University has occasionally been the focus of public controversy and protest. Chairman of the university governors Sir David White, in the 1990s, was a friend of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and local Conservative MP Kenneth Clarke. Clarke was awarded an honorary degree in February 1996, which a high proportion of staff opposed, many in the NATFHE trade union. On Friday May 17, 1996, Clarke was given the degree at a ceremony. Around 200 angry chanting students gathered outside, with eight police officers present. There was an altercation between around 100 students and police, when Mr Clarke left the building. Clarke also presented the Harold Macmillan Memorial Lecture.
During the 1990s, the university undertook a period of early expansion. In 1999, the former Brackenhurst College was incorporated into Nottingham Trent University, becoming its third campus and extending the university’s provision in land-based, environmental, and agricultural disciplines.
In 2003, Professor Neil Gorman succeeded Ray Cowell as Vice-Chancellor, leading a phase of organisational consolidation and investment. In 2008, broadcaster and journalist Sir Michael Parkinson CBE was appointed as the university’s first Chancellor, a role intended to strengthen the institution’s public profile and external engagement.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York visited the teacher training campus on Thursday 26 April 2007. On Thursday 2 July 2015 Sophie, Countess of Wessex opened a Cell Therapy Centre, also on same campus
Further redevelopment of the City Campus took place in the early 2010s. In 2014, Olympic champion Sebastian Coe opened the new Students’ Union building, which formed part of wider campus investment projects aimed at expanding student facilities and accommodation. The same year, Professor Edward Peck was appointed Vice-Chancellor, succeeding Neil Gorman. In 2017, the university established Nottingham Civic Exchange, a university-based think tank intended to support research-informed policy engagement and place-based civic initiatives, with a focus on local and regional collaboration.
In June 2024, Nottingham Trent University hosted the final televised head-to-head debate of the 2024 United Kingdom general election campaign between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer. The debate, broadcast nationally by the BBC, took place at the university’s Newton Building and formed part of the corporation’s wider election coverage. The event attracted significant national media attention and positioned the university as a focal point for political debate during the closing stages of the election campaign.
Campuses
The university has five campuses: City, Clifton, Brackenhurst, NTU London and NTU in Mansfield.City
Located just north of Nottingham City Centre, the City site is home to over 17,000 students from Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Law School, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, School of Art & Design, School of Social Sciences, and the Centre for Broadcasting & Journalism. The university's flagship buildings are the regenerated Newton and Arkwright, which are both Grade II listed buildings. The Arkwright Building, constructed between 1877 and 1881, features an elaborate Gothic architectural style with gables, arches, and pinnacles. It was originally home to University College Nottingham, as well as the city library and a natural history museum, and was described at the time as one of the finest public buildings in Nottinghamshire.The adjacent Newton Building was constructed between 1956 and 1958 during the expansion of the Nottingham and District Technical College. Designed in a distinctive mid-20th-century Art Deco style, it is one of the tallest buildings in Nottingham. The building was officially opened in June 1958 by Princess Alexandra of Kent and remains one of the university’s principal teaching and administrative buildings.
On 18 May 2011, the two buildings were officially reopened by Sir David Attenborough.
The Boots Library is the main library of the university. It is in the centre of the city site and supports the schools of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Art & Design, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Law School and Social Sciences. It is a purpose-built building, completed in 1998 at a total cost of £13m; with a refurbishment completed in summer 2013. It is set over four levels plus a further level dedicated to 24-hour computing facilities. There are branch libraries on the Clifton and Brackenhurst campuses serving the schools located there, and include additional Animal Planet digital facilities.
The Recent Advances in Manufacturing database is published by the library and information department. It is a bibliographic indexing service providing information for manufacturing and related areas. Literature covered includes journals, magazines, books, videos, and conference proceedings with from 1990 to 2012.