History, Affiliations and Rankings

Since Benedict Biscop established St Peter's Church and monastery in 674AD, Sunderland has been an important educational centre. The University of Sunderland's present beginnings may be traced back to the Sunderland Technical College, which first opened its doors at Green Terrace's Galen Building in 1901. Sunderland Polytechnic was granted university status in 1992, and the University of Sunderland was established. Dr Anne Wright, the Rector of Sunderland Polytechnic, was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University, making her one of the first female Vice-Chancellors in the United Kingdom. The university is rated four stars in its overall performance by the QS. The university got #201+ in the European Teaching Rankings 2019, released by the Times Higher Education.

Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses

The University's two campuses are located in Sunderland, one in London, and one in Hong Kong. Sunderland City Campus is located in the centre of the city, with great connections to the rest of the region and beyond. The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's is located on the banks of the River Wear, just a short walk from the beautiful North East coast. The primary administration and support services, library, lecture halls, and superb sports facilities at CitySpace are all located on Metropolis Campus, which is located in the heart of the modern city. It also houses the Northern Centre of Photography and the University's Arts and Design programmes. The main Sciences Department, which includes world-famous Pharmacy School, Living Labs, School of Nursing, and the newly-established School of Medicine, is also located on the Campus. The Sir Tom Cowie Campus houses the University's primary centre for Computing and Engineering, as well as Business, Law, Tourism, Education, and Social Sciences. The university in total offers around 208 undergraduate and 90 graduate degree programs. 

Accomplishments and Alumni 

Sunderland was selected the University of the Year for Social Inclusion in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021, and their ‘We Care’ initiative won the Widening Access Initiative (Retention and Progression) Award at the 2020 NEON awards. The Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSC) 2019 ranked them 16th (out of 131 universities) in the 'University of the Year' category, and 9th in the 'Student Support' category. The WUSC is the only national award that is decided by students. The university has a prestigious network of alumni across 160 nationalities. Some of the notable names are Alison Walker, Broadcaster, Richard Billingham, Photographer and Ross Pearson, Mixed martial artist.

Student Diversity and Visiting Companies

The university has a total of 24,796 students registered, with 17,527 doing undergraduate courses and 6,903 taking postgraduate taught courses. International students account for 38% of the student body. The university accepts students from 160 different countries. Chinese, Uzbek, Romanian, Malaysian, Nigerian, and Indian students make up the majority of international students. The Careers and Employability Service is committed to assisting students in achieving their professional objectives. Accenture, Sage, Amazon, DXC Technology, GSK, and EY are among the top employers of university graduates.