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University of Derby

Coordinates: 52°56′20″N 1°29′47″W / 52.938824°N 1.49648°W / 52.938824; -1.49648
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For the further education centre established in 2000, see Derby College.

University of Derby
Main University Building, Kedleston Road campus, 2020
Former names
Derby College, Derby College of Art and Technology, Derby Lonsdale College of Higher Education, Derbyshire College of Higher Education
MottoTemplate:Lang-la
Motto in English
Experience is the best teacher
TypePublic
Established1851 – Teacher Training College
1992 – gained university status
ChancellorWilliam Cavendish, Earl of Burlington
Vice-ChancellorProfessor Kathryn Mitchell[1]
Chairman of CouncilChris Hughes
Students19,685 HE (2022/23)[2]
Undergraduates15,320 (2022/23)[2]
Postgraduates4,365 (2022/23)[2]
Other students
4,650 FE[3]
Location
Derby
,
England, UK

52°56′20″N 1°29′47″W / 52.938824°N 1.49648°W / 52.938824; -1.49648
CampusUrban
ColoursBlue
AffiliationsACU
EMUA
EQUIS
ERASMUS
Florence Nightingale Foundation
Universities UK
University Alliance
Websitewww.derby.ac.uk

The University of Derby (formerly Derby College of Art and Technology or simply Derby College) is a public university in the city of Derby, England. It traces its history back to the establishment of the Derby Diocesan Institution for the Training of Schoolmistresses in 1851. It gained university status in 1992.

The university provides over 300 study programmes at undergraduate level. Undergraduate programmes as well as short courses, foundation degrees and postgraduate degrees cover most academic disciplines and sub-disciplines.

Currently the university is home to around 34,000 students in all areas of study.

History

Nineteenth century

Over the years, two dozen bodies have contributed to the university's formation. The first of these was founded in 1856 as the Derby Diocesan Institution for the Training of Schoolmistresses. Albeit under different names so to reflect maturing objectives, the institution flourished as an individual entity for some 120 years before merging with another developing educational artery to help form what was then known as the Derby Lonsdale College of Higher Education, 1977.

The other line of this confluence began in 1853 with the establishment of the Derby School of Art, which in 1870 became the Derby Central School of Art and the Derby Central School of Science. In 1885, the two schools were reformulated into the Derby School of Art and Technical Institution. Less than a decade later however, 1892, three more mergers took place and the institution became the Derby Municipal Technical College.

Early twentieth century

In 1928, the Technical College split into the Derby School of Art and the Derby Technical College. By 1955, the two had become the Derby and District College of Art (opened on 22 September 1966 by Paul Reilly, Director of the Council of Industrial Design), and the Derby and District College of Technology (opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on 15 May 1964), both situated on Kedleston Road, Allestree. The site was formerly Markeaton Golf Course and cost £2.5m, with a foundation stone placed on 5 July 1957 by Lord (Ernest) Hives, a former managing director of Rolls Royce. Opened by the Duke the day before, the 35-acre (14 ha) Bishop Lonsdale College in Mickleover was developed for teacher training courses.

At the opening ceremony, the duke said "qualities needed by teachers are the dedication of a saint, the patience of a watchmaker, the sympathy of parents and the leadership of a general". The Duke spent two days in Derby, staying the night nearby at Okeover Hall near Ashbourne as a guest of the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. Half of the places at Mickleover were reserved for C of E trainees and the other half for those with no link to Derby Diocese.

1970-1992: Mergers of higher education colleges in Derbyshire

The operational split between the two colleges at Kedleston Road was dissolved in 1972 with a mutual initiative for the creation of the Derby College of Art and Technology. Five years afterwards, and as previously noted, the described educational lineage married itself with Derby's diocesan tradition, which had become known institutionally as the Bishop Lonsdale College of Education at Mickleover. There were about 800 students at Mickleover and 1,200 at Kedleston Road.

After the 1977 union and subsequent formation of the Derby Lonsdale College of Higher Education, four other educational institutions would add their respective sector-related talents. In March 1981, the college held its first graduation ceremony with formal academic caps and gowns with only six degrees (out of 156 courses) being ratified by the CNAA. Previous to this, the college's degrees were awarded in a ceremony at the University of Nottingham.

The Matlock College of Education, a traditional Church of England teacher training college formed in 1946 at Rockside Hall (now a country hotel), combined with Lonsdale in 1983 to create the Derbyshire College of Higher Education, when the Matlock College was having financial difficulties when funding for teacher training was scaled down when school numbers had dropped. In 1985, this college at Matlock was scaled down significantly and closed in 1986. In 1991 the Southern Derbyshire School of Occupational Therapy united with the college. The Southern Derbyshire School of Radiography did the same in 1992.

1992-1997: Achievement of university status

In 1992 the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 allowed the Derbyshire College of Higher Education to become the only school of higher education in the country to be upgraded directly to a university.[4] On 31 October 1992, the T block (science subjects, which lies to the north of the North Tower) was opened by Princess Alice.

In January 1994, Britannia Mill[5] (a renovated mill) opened, at a cost of £10M. On 4 March 1994, the B block (business and management subjects, which lies north of the East Tower) was opened by the Conservative MP, Tim Boswell.

Later in autumn 1994, the Atrium was built. In November 1997, the Learning Centre (now renamed ‘University Library’) was officially opened, having been built on a former car park. The University of Derby was fully invested.

1998-present: New campuses and further mergers

In 1998, the university merged with High Peak College of Further Education in Buxton, which is in the North West of the County of Derbyshire. High Peak College was at that time based at premises in Harpur Hill, but moved to the Devonshire Dome in the centre of Buxton in 2005.[6]

In August 2012, the university merged with Leek College in Leek, Staffordshire. In 2013 the university merged all of its further education education provision into Buxton & Leek College. The college operates at the university's campuses in Buxton, Leek and Kedleston Road in Derby.

In October 2016, the university opened a new campus in Chesterfield in the North-East of the County of Derbyshire. This campus, officially entitled 'St. Helena's Campus', is situated in the buildings of what was originally St Helena's Grammar School, which were converted by the university.

In 2021, the university withdrew its Higher Education provision from the Buxton campus leaving just Buxton and Leek college operating in Buxton.

Campuses and facilities

The university has a range of resources and facilities available to all students and staff, including: lecture theatres; Students Union facilities; a bus service operating at and between the campuses; Chaplaincy and facilities for faith, meditation and prayer; indoor and outdoor sports facilities; cafes restaurants and food outlets; wellbeing centres and support; Careers and Employability services and centres; and a University Library service with five Libraries[7]

Derby

The Devonshire Dome in Buxton
Inside the Devonshire Dome

The university's main campus is in the city of Derby. The Kedleston Road site in Allestree, in the north-west of Derby is the largest and main campus and serves as the university's headquarters. It is situated close to the A38 and opposite Markeaton Park. A contemporary-styled building for Arts, Design and Media, as well as a STEM building, on Markeaton Street in Derby was formally opened in early November 2007 by Richard Branson.[8] Courses are also run at the Britannia Mill site in Derby.[9]

In addition, the university also owns Derby Theatre in Derby city centre where courses in Theatre Arts are delivered. Derby Law School and the Department of Law, Criminology and Social Sciences operate at the One Friar Gate Square building in the centre of Derby[10]

The Derby Campus also has a variety of specialist facilities, including computing laboratories, two computer games development suites, a general practice surgery, conference facilities, multi-functional lecture theatres, art and culture venues, concert venues, recording studios, sport centre and fitness suites, outdoor pitches, student union bars and facilities, and a multi-faith centre.

Buxton

This campus is located in the Grade II* listed 18th century former stable block, the Devonshire Dome. In 1854, the 6th Duke of Devonshire donated the land, part of his stables and some of the funds for conversion to a hospital and gardens for charity patients seeking treatment at the baths in Buxton. His architect, Henry Currey, directed the work. The ironwork dome (1881, once the world's largest, with a diameter of 44.2 metres (145 ft)), a clocktower (1882) and a surgical ward (1897) were built as expansions to the hospital, which was run by the NHS after 1948. The University of Derby purchased the then-derelict hospital from the NHS in 2001, and moved operations here from the Harpur Hill campus in 2005.[11] The Devonshire Dome building dominates the local landscape, and has a dome which is over 145 ft (44 m) in diameter, bigger than that of St Paul's Cathedral in London. It was formally opened as a University Campus by Prince Charles in February 2006.[12]

The university formally withdrew its Higher Education provision from the Buxton campus from 2021 and moved all courses to the Derby Campus with culinary arts, spa management and outdoor leadership courses terminated. 2021 also saw the permanent closure of its student accommodation, High Peak Halls, in Buxton due to the aforementioned move. The Buxton campus therefore now only operates as a college and not a university campus.

The campus was home to the Centre for Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism and was a delivery site of the College of Life and Natural Science and Buxton & Leek College.

Facilities at the Buxton Campus included a spa run by students studying degrees in Spa and Wellness Management,[13][14] a fine dining restaurant run by students studying degrees in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management,[15] hair and beauty salon, Dome floor events space, outdoor leadership centre, and motor vehicle engineering facilities.

Chesterfield

The Chesterfield Campus, officially entitled 'St. Helena's Campus', is situated in the buildings of what was originally St Helena's Grammar School, off Sheffield Road, near Chesterfield town centre. The buildings were extensively renovated by the university between 2014 and 2016, after being acquired by the University of Derby in 2014.

The new campus opened in October 2016 [16][17][18] to be a delivery site for the College of Health and Social Care, including their nationally recognised Adult Nursing degrees and Mentoring in Practice courses, replacing existing premises in the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce building. These courses are accredited by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. These courses continue the university's training work in collaboration with Chesterfield Royal Hospital, and the campus features a mock ward and 'clinical skills suite' with simulated patients to provide real-world experience for undergraduates.[19]

Leek

The Leek campus is a delivery site for Buxton & Leek College.[20] The campus mainly runs Further and Adult Education courses, but also runs some degree programmes validated by the University of Derby.

International partnerships

The university does not have any campuses abroad but instead partners with institutions around the world, which deliver and award University of Derby degrees.

Current international collaborations include Botswana Accountancy College, Swiss Education Group, Mediterranean College, Raffles Design Institute, Help Academy and the Royal Malaysian Police.

Organisation and governance

Chancellors

The current Chancellor of the University of Derby is William Cavendish, Earl of Burlington, who was installed in a ceremony at the Buxton Campus on 15 March 2018.[21] The Earl works professionally as a photographer under the name Bill Cavendish.[22] He is the son and heir of the previous Chancellor, Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire.

Previous Chancellors of the university:

Structure

Markeaton Street, Inner Lawn Detail
Britannia Mill, Mackworth Road
  • College of Arts, Humanities and Education
    • School of Arts
    • Department of Humanities
  • College of Engineering and Technology
    • Department of Electronics, Computing and Mathematics
    • Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Built Environment
  • College of Business, Law and Social Sciences
    • Derby Business School
    • Derby Management School
    • Derby Law School
    • Department of Criminology and Social Sciences
  • College of Health and Social Care
    • School of Allied Health and Social Care
    • School of Nursing and Professional Practice
  • College of Life and Natural Sciences
    • School of Human Sciences
    • School of Environmental Sciences

Derby Law School

Notable research holdings include the private papers of Sir Gerald Fitzmaurice.[23] The school provides considerable support for pro bono legal work in the community.[24]

Centre for Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism

The Centre for Contemporary Hospitality and Tourism offers the only honours course in international spa management within the United Kingdom and has recently opened their newly refurbished spa facilities at the Devonshire campus to support the curriculum.[25]

Academic profile

Rankings
National rankings
Complete (2025)[26]97
Guardian (2025)[27]59
Times / Sunday Times (2025)[28]94
Global rankings
QS (2025)[29]1001–1200
THE (2025)[30]601–800

Student life

The Atrium, Kedleston Road

The Atrium, built in 1994, is a large concourse at the Kedleston Road site. The atrium is used regularly for university, student union and private events. Previously, the atrium has been the main venue of students' union balls.

The Union of Students also provides social space and catering facilities for students within its 'Union Quarter'. The Union Quarter includes licensed bar and live entertainment venue, The academy.[31]

Students' Union

The Union of Students is the students union at the University of Derby and is based within the Students' Union Quarter at the Kedleston Road site.[32] The Union of Students completed a rebrand for the start of 2017 - 2018 academic year and was previously known as UDSU - University of Derby Students' Union. Its main bar and entertainments venue, the academy, was opened in April 2006.[33] The venue has a capacity of 570[33]

The Union of Students previously owned and operated a number of student venues in Derby including Lonsdale bar, The Riverside, union1 and Union2. Prior to the opening of the Academy Bar, the Students' Union operated a bar called The Union Arms [34] at the Kedleston Road Campus, whilst the Richardson Hall (location of the new academy bar) was used for concerts and events.

Residences

The residences for Derby students are based in the "student quarter" between the Kedleston Road, Markeaton Street and Britannia Mill sites and the centre of Derby.[35] They are:

  • Agard Court on Agard Street
  • Nunnery Court on Nuns Street
  • Princess Alice Court on Bridge Street
  • Cathedral Court on Cathedral Road
  • St Christopher's Court on Ashbourne Road
  • Peak Court, with entrances on Lodge Lane and Bridge Street
  • Flamsteed Court on Kedleston Old Road
  • Darley Bank on Brook Street

Sir Peter Hilton Court was closed to residents in 2021.

Buxton students formerly had one hall of residence, High Peak Halls which closed in 2021.

It formerly owned halls of residence on Lonsdale Place, and Peet Street. The latter was controversially sold to G4S, becoming an asylum seeker reception centre.[36]

Notable alumni

See also: Category:Alumni of the University of Derby

Notable academics

See also

References

  1. ^ Ashworth, Pat (13 November 2015). "Kathryn Mitchell - the University of Derby's new Vice-Chancellor". Derbyshire Life and Countryside. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Where do HE students study?". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Table 0a – All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2009/10" (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet). Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ Britannia Mill[permanent dead link‍], Derby.ac.uk, 2008
  6. ^ Devonshire Campus Archived 18 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Derby.ac.uk, 2008
  7. ^ username. "Library opening hours - University of Derby". www.derby.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  8. ^ "News archive - News article archive - University of Derby". www.derby.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  9. ^ username. "Britannia Mill - University of Derby". www.derby.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  10. ^ "One Friar Gate Square". www.derby.ac.uk. University of Derby. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  11. ^ University of Derby (Buxton) pamphlet, available at the university.
  12. ^ "10 Magical Moments – a decade at the Devonshire Dome - Devonshire Dome". www.devonshiredome.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  13. ^ "Body Archives - Devonshire Dome". www.devonshiredome.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  14. ^ "2017 Spa Awards | World Luxury Spa Awards". www.luxuryspaawards.com. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  15. ^ "The Restaurant at the Devonshire Dome - Buxton - 01298 330620". www.devonshiredome.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  16. ^ Chesterfield Campus, Derby.ac.uk, 2016
  17. ^ St Helena's Campus - University of Derby, chesterfield.co.uk, 2016
  18. ^ New £6.9 million University campus brings history and future together in Chesterfield University of Derby 21 October 2016
  19. ^ "Chesterfield Campus - Our Campuses - University of Derby". www.derby.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  20. ^ "Leek Campus | Our Facilities | Buxton & Leek College". Buxton & Leek College. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Our Chancellor". www.derby.ac.uk. University of Derby. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  22. ^ "William Burlington Photography". Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  23. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 August 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. ^ "Complete University Guide 2025". The Complete University Guide. 14 May 2024.
  27. ^ "Guardian University Guide 2025". The Guardian. 7 September 2024.
  28. ^ "Good University Guide 2025". The Times. 20 September 2024.
  29. ^ "QS World University Rankings 2025". Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. 4 June 2024.
  30. ^ "THE World University Rankings 2025". Times Higher Education. 9 October 2024.
  31. ^ http://www.udsu.co.uk/pageassets/leadership/trustees/officerreports/December-report.pdf[permanent dead link‍]
  32. ^ "UDSU Online: Your Union". University of Derby Students' Union. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  33. ^ a b "New Student Venue The Best - Bar None!". University of Derby. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  34. ^ "Media". University of Derby Students Union. Archived from the original on 23 June 2000. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  35. ^ "Our halls". derby.ac.uk.
  36. ^ "New Derby asylum seeker centre set to open within weeks". Derbyshirelive. Derby Telegraph. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
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