The University of Greenwich is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

located in London and

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, United Kingdom. Previous names include Woolwich Polytechnic and Thames Polytechnic. The university's main campus is at the Old Royal Naval College, which along with its Avery Hill campus, is located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Greenwich also has a campus in

Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...

, Kent, as part of a shared campus. The university's range of subjects includes architecture, business, computing, mathematics, education, engineering, humanities, maritime studies, natural sciences, pharmacy and social sciences.

History

The university dates back to 1890, when Woolwich Polytechnic, the second-oldest

polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

in the United Kingdom, opened in Woolwich. It was founded by Frank Didden, supported by and following the principles of Quintin Hogg, and opened to students in October 1891. Like Hogg's pioneering venture in London's Regent Street, it initially combined education with social and religious functions. In 1894 it focused on an educational role, concentrating on higher technical education appropriate to its location close to

Woolwich Dockyard Woolwich Dockyard (formally H.M. Dockyard, Woolwich, also known as The King's Yard, Woolwich) was an English Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard along the river Thames at Woolwich - originally in north-west Kent, now in southeast London - whe ...

and the Royal Arsenal; William Anderson, director-general of the Ordnance Factories, was a trustee and later a member of the board of governors. Its premises were also used for day schools – the first Woolwich Polytechnic School was established in 1897. In 1970, Woolwich Polytechnic merged with part of Hammersmith College of Art and Building to form Thames Polytechnic. In the following years, Dartford College (1976), Avery Hill College of Education (1985), Garnett College (1987) and parts of

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

and the City of London College (1988) were incorporated. In 1992, Thames Polytechnic was granted university status by the

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

government (together with various other polytechnics) and renamed the University of Greenwich in 1993. On 1 January 1993, the Thames College of Health Care Studies, itself a merger of three local nursing and midwifery training schools, officially merged with the newly designated University of Greenwich, becoming a full faculty of the university. Formerly a UK government research agency, the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) was incorporated into the university in 1996. In 2001, the university gave up its historic main campus in the Bathway Quarter in Woolwich, relocating to its current main campus in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

. In 2018, the University of Greenwich started a partnership with

Charlton Athletic F.C. Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, London, Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Thei ...

In 2019, the university's main cafeteria was operated by BaxterStorey, which paid its workers £9.25 per hour without contractual sick pay. After four strike days in October 2019, Greenwich University announced in early January 2020 that all outsourced cafe workers, cleaners and security guards would receive the London living wage of £10.55, in addition to the same sick pay and annual leave as university staff.

Organisation

Academic disciplines at Greenwich are organised into four faculties which host a range of subject expertise within them: * Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences * Business School * Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences * Faculty of Engineering and Science The university also has a number of professional service directorates that support students and the Faculties.

Campuses

Greenwich

Greenwich Campus is located mainly in the Old Royal Naval College, into which it moved in the 1990s when the premises were sold by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The campus is home to the Business School, the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences and The Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences. The campus also includes the Greenwich Maritime Institute, a specialist maritime management, policy and history teaching and research institute, and the Institute for Lifecourse Development. The Old Royal Naval College includes "The Painted Hall", painted in the 18th century by Sir James Thornhill, with over 40,000 square feet of painted surfaces including 200 painting of kings, queens and mythological creatures. The campus has a large library at Stockwell Street which houses an extensive collection of books and journals, language labs and a 300-PC computing facility. Other facilities include specialist computer laboratories, including one at Dreadnought centre, a TV studio and editing suites. The Stephen Lawrence Gallery, in the Stockwell Street building, showcases the work of contemporary artists and is linked to the School of Design. The award-winning Dreadnought Building hosts the Students Union and the Faculty of Education, Health and Human Sciences. It has psychology and neuroscience laboratories, an early years simulated classroom, a gym, a bar, a cafe, computer laboratories, and teaching and social spaces for students. The building was formerly the Dreadnought Seaman's hospital, named after the quarantine and hospital ship which was moored on the Thames at Greenwich in the mid 19th century. HMS ''Dreadnought'' had previously been a

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

and fought at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

Avery Hill

The Avery Hill Campus is situated in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

, south of the Avery Hill Park in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, south-east London. The campus is home to student accommodation and to the Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences. Courses taught at the site include Teacher Training, Nursing (Adult, Child, Mental Health, Community, Learning Disability), Midwifery, Paramedic Science, Speech and Language Therapy, Physiotherapy, PE and Sport, and Sports Science. Facilities include a 220-seat lecture theatre, computer laboratories, a library, sports pitches, strength and conditioning laboratories, as well as a sports hall. The site also hosts the Greenwich Learning and Simulation Centre (GLASC) which replicates NHS wards, a critical care unit, a simulated pediatric and birthing centre and operating theatre. GLASC enables student trainees and experienced health professionals to gain hands-on experience and learn new clinical skills by engaging in multi-professional simulation activities. The student village complex at Avery Hill provides student self-catering accommodation, a general shop and a launderette. The Dome, in the centre of the complex, houses a food outlet and gym. Rugby, football, indoor pitches, netball and tennis courts, are also on Avery Hill campus. The facility, which was built by Wimpey Construction under a PFI contract, was completed in 1996.

Medway

The Medway Campus is located on a former Royal Navy shorebase (called HMS ''Pembroke'') opened in 1903 at Chatham Maritime, Kent. The Faculty of Engineering and Science is based here, as is the Natural Resources Institute, a centre for research, consultancy and education in natural and human resources. It is also the home of Medway School of Pharmacy, a joint school operated by the Universities of Greenwich and Kent. The Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences also offers a number of its courses at Medway, including Midwifery and Paramedic Sciences. Facilities include laboratories, workshops, a computer-aided design studio and a training dispensary. The Drill Hall Library has computers, study areas and teaching rooms. Social facilities include a sports hall, bar, gym and outdoor tennis courts. The university is a member of Universities at Medway, a partnership of educational establishments at Chatham Maritime that is developing the area as a major higher education centre in the Medway region.

Research

Greenwich research seeks to influence and enhance health, education, science, engineering, computing and

social policy Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...

, and attracts international agencies, government departments and global corporations from over 50 countries. Areas of research and consultancy include landscape architecture, employment relations, fire safety, natural resources, tourism and hospitality, social network analysis, education, training, educational leadership and public services.

Reputation and rankings

In 2019, the university was ranked 14th in UK, and third in London by People & Planet Green League Table. The university has gained many national awards, including four Queen's Anniversary Prizes, nine Times Higher Education Awards and two Guardian University Awards. In 2019, the university's Natural Resources Institute was awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for its research in pest management and control to combat human and animal diseases in the UK and internationally; in 2015 it won a prize for work on the cassava crop in Africa. In 2023, the university was classified as Gold in Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) of Higher Education. The university was ranked 94 out of 121 UK institutions according to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' University Guide 2022 league table. For 2023, the University of Greenwich was ranked 60 according to Times Higher education (THE). Moreover, University of Greenwich ranked first in London for Events, Tourism and Hospitality by the Guardian’s 2023 university rankings. Subjects taught at Greenwich have seen rises in the ''Guardian'' university league tables for 2022: Chemistry was at 10, up 10 places since 2021. Forensic Science (9), Criminology (10), Mechanical Engineering (12), and Education (48) also moved up significantly. In

Center for World University Rankings College and university rankings order higher education institutions based on various criteria, with factors differing depending on the specific ranking system. These rankings can be conducted at the national or international level, assessing inst ...

World University Rankings 2020–21 – University of Greenwich was ranked 76 in the UK. In 2022, University of Greenwich was ranked in the 750-800 range globally by

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

. In the ''

Times Higher Education ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The THES''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

'' (THE) Impact Rankings 2020, which assessed universities' impact on society and the planet Greenwich performed well in several categories: * Responsible Consumption and Production (24th) * Life on Land (66th) * Reduced Inequalities (68th) * Climate Action (75th) * Partnership for the Goals (77th)

Student life

Greenwich Campus is near 74-hectare Greenwich Park, home to the

Royal Observatory, Greenwich The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in Gre ...

. The Stockwell Street Building opened in 2014 and is now home to the campus library, film and TV studios, and editing suites. In 2015, it was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for architecture. The Dreadnought Building is a central hub for the Greenwich Campus and hosts the Greenwich Students Union and Student Services. Some parts of the other buildings in the Greenwich Campus are Queen Anne Court, King William Court, Queen Mary Court, Stephen Lawrence Building and Stockwell Street Library. The Student Village at Avery Hill Campus provides accommodation for around 1,000 students. On-site facilities include a café, canteen, shop, launderette, bicycle parking, and a gym. Medway Campus has 350 rooms across five halls of residence dedicated to student accommodation.

Students' Union

Greenwich Students' Union is the university's students' union. In October 2019, the GSU Student Assembly voted to ask the university to declare a climate emergency and for the university and union

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

strategies to consult with students in creating them. This call to action aimed to speed up the university's efforts at becoming carbon neutral. At the Medway campus in Kent there is a partnership between the University of Greenwich Students' Union, Canterbury Christ Church and

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

Union on the Medway campus. Greenwich Students' Union has been leading the partnership since July 2021 and manages The Hub space, previously The Student Hub when it was looked after by GK Unions – the Greenwich & Kent Students' Unions Together (once the Universities at Medway Students Association, UMSA). Greenwich Students' Union has a mascot called The Cutty Shark and a presence at Avery Hill, Greenwich and Medway campus.

Notable alumni

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo 2019

Prominent alumni of the university and its predecessor organisations include Nobel Laureate Charles Kao, who was awarded the

Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize in Physics () is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the ...

in 2009 for his work on transmission of light in fibre optics, and Abiy Ahmed, who won the 2019

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. In June 2021, representatives from multiple countries called for the award of the

to Abiy to be re-considered because of the war crimes committed in Tigray. Two British government ministers, Richard Marsh and Gareth Thomas, are also graduates. A more extensive list is given below. * Catherine Agbaje, television personality * Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Nobel Peace prize winner * Jamie 'JME' Adenuga, MC * Bola Agbaje, playwright * Helen Bailey, writer * Natasha Bedingfield, pop singer (did not graduate) * John Behr, theologian * Malorie Blackman, children's author * Demitu Hambisa Bonsa, Ethiopian government minister * John Boyega, actor, best known for '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' * Sheila Bromberg, musician * Liam Brown, author * Campbell Christie, chairman of Falkirk F.C. * Terry Christian, radio and television presenter * Mark Daly, Irish

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

* Siobhan Dowd, writer ('' A Swift Pure Cry'') * Sarah Eberle, garden designer * Jenni Fagan, author * Leo Fortune-West, professional footballer * Sarah Gillespie, singer-songwriter * Pippa Guard, actress * Andrey Guryev (born 1982), Russian entrepreneur * Gareth Hale, comedian * Patrick Harrington, politician in the National Front (1979–1989) and currently Third Way (UK) think tank; general secretary of Solidarity – The Union for British Workers * Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, cricketer * Roy Hodgson, England and Premier League football manager * Dermot Hudson, left-wing political activist * Brian Jacks,

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

bronze medallist in Judo * Mark Jackson, musician (

VNV Nation VNV Nation, also known as Victory Not Vengeance, are a British-Irish electronic music group formed in London and led by Ronan Harris in the roles of singer, songwriter and producer, with live members being keyboardists Mike Wimer and David Ger ...

) * Charles K. Kao, Nobel Prize winning scientist * Graham Kendrick, Christian worship leader * Sammy Lee, IVF specialist * Pablo Daniel Magee, writer, journalist and playwright * Richard Marsh, Baron Marsh, politician * Rui Moreira, Portuguese politician and businessman; mayor of

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

* Chinenye Ochuba, former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria * Sarah Ockwell-Smith, childcare author * Joy Onumajuru, model and philanthropist * Norman Pace, comedian * Ann Packer,

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

gold medallist *

Lara Pulver Lara Pulver (born 1 September 1980) is an English actress, best known for playing Erin Watts in the BBC spy drama '' Spooks'' and Irene Adler on BBC's TV adaptation '' Sherlock''. She won the 2016 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actr ...

, Olivier Award-nominated dancer and actress * Richard Pybus, cricket coach * George Rose, businessman * Dave Rowntree, musician ( Blur) * Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

* Peter Skinner, MEP * Aramazd Stepanian, playwright * William G. Stewart, TV presenter ('' Fifteen to One'') * Nina Stibbe, author * Adelle Stripe, author * Gareth Thomas, politician * Ewen Whitaker, lunar astronomer (alumnus of Woolwich Polytechnic) * Ian McAllister, Distinguished Professor, Australian National University * Joel Willans, author and copywriter of works in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Coat of arms

References

External links

* {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1992 1992 establishments in England

Buildings and structures in Eltham

Universities UK