, mottoeng = They may have life and have it more abundantly , established = , type =

Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, administrative_staff = 618 , chancellor =

Reeta Chakrabarti Reeta Chakrabarti (born 12 December 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader and correspondent for BBC News. She is known for presenting ''BBC News at One'', ''BBC News at Six'', ''BBC News at Ten'' and ''BBC Weekend News'', and presenting regu ...

, vice_chancellor = Professor Karen Bryan , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , city =

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, state =

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

, country = England , campus = Urban , colours = , affiliations = , footnotes = , website = , coor = York St John University (originally established as York Diocesan College), often abbreviated to YSJ, is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

located on a large urban campus in

, England. Established in 1841, it achieved university status in 2006 and in 2015 the university was given research degree awarding powers for PhD and doctoral programmes. It is one of several higher education institutions which have religious foundations and is part of the Cathedrals Group of Universities. In , there were students, reading a wide variety of subjects, in five schools: School of the Arts; School of Education, Language and Psychology; School of Humanities; School of Science, Technology and Health; and York Business School.

History

The university descends from two

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

teacher training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

s, which were founded in York in 1841 (for men) and 1846 (for women). York St John University's founding mission was to improve access to education for people from all walks of life. In 1862, the women's college relocated to

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

. Over the next century, the colleges gradually diversified their education programmes. The colleges, St John's College (named for

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

) and Ripon College, merged in 1974 to form the "College of Ripon and York St John". In 1990 the combined institution formally became a college of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

; this arrangement allowed it to award degrees in the name of the latter, while remaining in practice largely autonomous. Between 1999 and 2001, all activities were transferred to York and the college received the name "York St John College". In February 2006, the College was granted the right to award degrees in its own name and the right to call itself a

university college In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

. On 10 July 2006 the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

approved a request from the college to become a full-fledged university; the name became "York St John University" on 1 October 2006, and the first Chancellor (installed at a ceremony in York Minster on 7 March 2007) was the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers ...

John Sentamu John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu, Baron Sentamu, (; ; born 10 June 1949) is a retired Anglican bishop and life peer. He was Archbishop of York and Primate of England from 2005 to 2020. Born near Kampala in Uganda, Sentamu studied law at Makerere Un ...

. Archbishop Sentamu retired in 2019 after 12 years as Chancellor. He was succeeded by BBC presenter

Campus

The university has an eleven-acre city centre campus on Lord Mayor's Walk, close to

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

and the city walls.

Creative Centre

Opened in 2021, the purpose-built Creative Centre spans three floors and provides teaching space for theatre, drama, creative writing and media production students. A whole floor is dedicated to computer science teaching and research and includes high-tech equipment for software engineering and games development. The Creative Centre also includes a 200-seat theatre for live performances.

Haxby Road Sports Park

The university's main sports facilities are at the Haxby Road site - one mile from the city centre. The university acquired the site in 2012 and it was named 'York St John University Sports Centre Nestlé Rowntree Park'. A multi-million-pound redevelopment included the creation of a 3G pitch for football and rugby. The facilities at the site also include grass pitches, outdoor tennis courts, sprint track, sports barn and strength and conditioning suites. In January 2021, three new indoor tennis courts were opened which are available for public use. As part of £1 million investment a 4G pitch matching the specifications of

York Community Stadium York Community Stadium (known for sponsorship purposes as the LNER Community Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Huntington, York, England. It is owned by City of York Council, and is shared by York City Football Club and York City Knigh ...

was built. During the 2021 Rugby League World Cup the sports park hosted the Cook Islands women's team and was the venue for the warm-up match between the

York Valkyrie The York Valkyrie are the women's rugby league team of York RLFC (known as York City Knights from 2002 to 2022) based in York, England. The Valkyrie, who were established in 2016 as the York City Knights Ladies, compete in the Women's Super Lea ...

and the

Papua New Guinea Orchids The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby league team, also known as the PNG Orchids represents Papua New Guinea in Women's rugby league. They are administered by the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League. Current squad Head coach: Ben Jeffr ...

on 20 October 2022.

Fountains Learning Centre

The Fountains Learning Centre, opened in 2004, is at the Clarence Street entrance to the campus. It provides access to resources of all kinds including books, journals, DVDs and videos, media equipment, approximately 400 computers and a 200-seat lecture theatre. It also includes a Costa Coffee open to members of the public.

De Grey Court

York St John University's £15.5 million De Grey Court was designed by leading architects Charles Thomson of Rivington Street Studio Architects in London. It has won many plaudits, including the highly lauded Lord Mayor's York Design Award and a Royal Institute of British Architects award.

Gallery

File:York St John University.jpg, Quad West entrance File:De Grey Court building, York St John University - geograph.org.uk - 1551891.jpg, De Grey Court building File:De Grey Street - geograph.org.uk - 1110720.jpg, De Grey Street File:New building for York St John University - geograph.org.uk - 995320.jpg File:The Old College - geograph.org.uk - 117286.jpg, The old college at Ripon, now converted to housing File:York St John University - geograph.org.uk - 1110739.jpg, Front of university from Lord Mayor's Walk File:Fountains Learning Centre.jpg, Fountains Learning Centre File:Haxby Road Sports Park entrance.jpg, Entrance to Haxby Road Sports Park File:Creative centre Campus.png, The Creative Centre

London campus

In 2018 York St John University's London campus opened, offering 7 postgraduate programmes. The London campus is located near the East India DLR station.

Academic profile

Courses

Around 100 degree course options are available to students at foundation and undergraduate level, including

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

data science Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract or extrapolate knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data, and apply knowledge from data across a br ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient ...

, biomedical science,

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

, film and television production (see filmmaking), media production,

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patie ...

occupational therapy Occupational therapy (OT) is a global healthcare profession. It involves the use of assessment and intervention to develop, recover, or maintain the meaningful activities, or ''occupations'', of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of ...

, literature,

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

, counselling, business management, marketing, tourism, history, music, music production, art, design, geography, theatre, drama, dance, sport related programmes, theology and primary education. At postgraduate and post-experience level, York Business School offers a suite of Masters programmes including a new MBA programme. Other subject areas offered at postgraduate level include theology, education, theatre, fine art, film production, music composition, counselling, health, linguistics and TESOL.

Research

In recent years York St John has developed its research capacity in Allied Health Professions & Studies; Psychology; Education; Sports-related Studies; English Language & Literature; Theology & Religious Studies; and Drama, Dance & Performing Arts. Over 30% of research was ranked as world-leading and internationally excellent in the last Research Excellence Framework (REF) review.

Institute for Social Justice

The York St John University Institute for Social Justice was launched in 2020 to support the university's mission "to stand up for social justice". The Institute works with people, partners and communities to address the inequalities facing society today.

Reputation and rankings

York St John University has risen seven places in the Guardian University Guide 2022 to 91st place. In the

National Student Survey The National Student Survey is an annual survey, launched in 2005, of all final year undergraduate degree students at institutions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. The survey is designed to assess und ...

2021, the university received an 86% satisfaction score and was ranked 36th of 122 English Higher Education provider

York St John University is in the top 10 UK universities for giving equal access to students from all backgrounds.

Scholarships

The university has a newly developed set of scholarships for 2021 which include specific scholarships for: students from low income families, students who are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, students who are carers, students whose parents or guardians have died serving their country in the Armed Forces and students who are seeking asylum or with Limited Leave to Remain in the UK.

Students' Union

The YSJ Students' Union (YSJSU), is associated with nearly 50 clubs and societies, covering activities and interests such as sports, languages, music, drama, religion and art. The Students' Union is led by three full-time sabbatical officers: SU President, President of Education and President of Wellbeing and Diversity. There are also a number of part-time officers including chairs of schools and liberation officers. The Students' Union building houses space for students to socialise and create committees.

Community initiatives

In 2021, the Students' Union launched the "Throw it our way" community campaign. In partnership with Mind, Oxfam, RSCPA & the York Community Furniture Store, the campaign aimed to reduce waste being created when students moved out of their accommodation and redistribute items to those in need. In April 2021, following the easing of some of the Coronavirus pandemic restrictions, the YSJSU launched the campaign "Reconnect the right way." The campaign aimed to normalise social anxiety, support local businesses and give advice on how to stay safe on nights out. In 2010, the university's Student Union began a programme of action designed to combat antisocial behaviour amongst students. Private security staff paid by the local council were reported to be on patrol until 3am, 2 evenings a week; Wednesday & Friday, in areas where numbers of complaints had arisen. In 2005, the Students' Union launched another community-friendly campaign called 'Pick It Up'. This campaign was designed to reduce litter levels on campus and in the surrounding community. In 2002, a campaign entitled "SSHH – Silent Students Happy Homes" was initiated to combat local residents' fears of College town, studentification. This has subsequently been adopted by other students' unions around the UK, although in many instances the expansion of the abbreviation has been dropped, leaving campaigns called "Shh", "Sshh", or variants .

Awards

In 2020, the Students' Union received a Silver Award from Investors in People. In 2017, the YSJSU attained an accreditation through "Quality Students' Unions" - a quality framework run by the National Union of Students. In June 2014, the Students' Union was short listed for Small and Specialist Students' Union of the Year at the annual NUS Awards. In 2012 the Students' Union was awarded silver in the Students' Union Evaluation Initiative, making it the only small Students' Union in the country to receive the award. In October 2009 the Student Union was awarded a Bronze Students' Union Evaluation Initiative award, one of 16 institutions to receive this accolade. Awards are made from bronze (lowest) to gold (highest). The scheme is administered by a former manager of Sheffield University Student Union. Currently

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

shares the gold award with the nearby

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , t ...

Sports

The Students' Union has many sports clubs.

York St John University Rowing Club York St. John University Boat Club (YSJBC) has a history beginning in 1852, eleven years after the founding of the institution where it is based. YSJ BC is notable for being the longest standing club of the university and has an affiliation to B ...

was founded 11 years after the college in 1852 and caters for all levels of experience; from competent rowers to complete beginners. As of academic year 2018–19, the biggest club is the dance club, which stands at 119 members, of which 18 compete at a national level. The club offers 10 types of classes (including ballet, jazz and street) to all its members and six to those on the competition team. The

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all ...

plays at Heworth Green: one team competes under the name York St John University in the

York Football League The York Football League is a association football, football competition based in North Yorkshire, England, founded in 1897. Currently it is known under the terms of a sponsorship agreement as the ''York Minster Engineering Football League''. ...

(they are currently in the Premier Division of that league system); their reserve team also feature in Reserve Division A, which is the top reserve league. Its origins date back to 1872 when J. Morton persuaded the Sports Association to take up association football. The

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

club is probably the oldest club – the first record of cricket being played was in 1848, seven years after the opening on the Training College. The club has strong links with its Old Johns Cricket Association, whose president is ex-student Harry Gration. The hockey club is one of the biggest clubs within the university, offering 1st and 2nd men's and ladies teams and a mixed team. The men's 1st team are the last ever BUSA National Plate champions, having won the competition in 2008. The

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

club is also present and represents York St John in BUCS too. As of 2019, students formed an

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional sports, professional players, individually or as ...

society and teams formed in titles such as,

Overwatch ''Overwatch'' is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of online multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment: '' Overwatch'' released in 2016, and ''Overwatch 2'' released in 2022. Both games fe ...

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by '' Defense of the Ancients'', a custom map for ''Warcraft III'', ...

, and CSGO.

Societies

YSJSU houses around 30 different societies ranging from Musical Production, Drama, Geek Society, and course based societies too such as Physiotherapy, Geography, Primary Education and many more. The societies work together on many projects in the year and all have the opportunity to win the title of Society of year at the annual Societies Awards Dinner.

Democratic structures

As of September 2016, the Students' Union moved to a new democratic structure in order to further student engagement with the Union. The Students' Union is led by a student executive of twelve, including three full-time officer trustees and nine chairs of schools representing each of the university schools. The current president of York St John Students' Union is Tim Holmes. The current president of education is Jenny Marchant. The current president of wellbeing and diversity is Kirsten Jolley. The executive all hold seats on the Student Council (previously Senate) and the other seats are filled by elected members of each of the six Students' Union 'Zones' (student forums). Any student can submit a motion to the Student Council on any issue regarding life at university. The motion is then debated by members of Senate and either passed or not passed as policy.

Community links

Public events

The university regularly hosts in person and virtual lectures, discussions, art displays and presentations for the public to attend.

York St John Communities Centre

Founded in 2016 and based on the university campus, the Communities Centre offers counselling, support groups and drop-in sessions for local residents. It also conducts research into mental health issues. Specialist areas are bereavement and domestic abuse and the Centre regularly collaborates wit
Independent Domestic Abuse Services
(IDAS).

Notable alumni

* Paul Blomfield, Labour Member of Parliament for Sheffield Central * Geoff Cooke, former England Rugby International Manager *

Tom Danby Thompson Danby (10 August 1926 – 26 December 2022) was an English dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for England, ...

, double Rugby Union & League International * Peter Davies, Professor of Economic History and maritime historian * Julia Davis, comedy writer and actress best known for writing and starring in the BBC Three sitcom '' Nighty Night'' and for her role as

Dawn Sutcliffe Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's h ...

in popular BBC comedy '' Gavin & Stacey''. * Harry Gration, television presenter, best known as one of the main presenters for the

BBC Yorkshire BBC Yorkshire is one of the English regions of the BBC. It was formed from the division of the former BBC North region into BBC Yorkshire and BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, based in Kingston upon Hull. Serving West, North and South Yorkshire a ...

regional magazine programme '' Look North'' * Alistair Griffin, singer/songwriter who first came to the public's attention on the 2003 BBC television series '' Fame Academy 2'' *

Bella Hardy Bella Hardy (born 24 May 1984) is an English contemporary folk musician, singer and songwriter from Edale, Derbyshire, England, who performs a combination of traditional and self-penned material. She was named Folk Singer of the Year at the 2014 ...

, folk singer * Jack Harrison, VC MC (1917) and Rugby League player * Edward Jarvis FRAI, author and theologian * Matt Messias, ex professional football referee * Scarlett Moffatt, television personality, famous for '' Gogglebox'', '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and '' Beauty School Cop Outs'' * Peter D. Robinson, presiding Bishop of the

United Episcopal Church of North America The United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) is a church in the Anglican tradition and is part of the Continuing Anglican movement. It is not part of the Anglican Communion. The UECNA describes itself as "embracing the broad base of cer ...

and Bishop of the Missionary Diocese of the East * Peter Squires, former England rugby international *

Tim Smith Tim, Timothy or Timmy Smith may refer to: Musicians *T. V. Smith (born 1956), British singer and songwriter *Tim Smith (Cardiacs) (1961–2020), English singer-songwriter and frontman of Cardiacs * Timmy Trumpet (born 1982), Australian DJ and prod ...

, BBC Radio 2 presenter * Tom Wilkinson, former professional footballer * Eileen Fenton, first woman to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

References

External links

*
York St John University Students' Union
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in England Buildings and structures in York Culture in York Universities UK