The
University of Cumbria is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
established on 1 August 2007, with roots extending back to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts established in 1822 and Charlotte Mason teacher training College in 1890s.
The University of Cumbria was formed by the merger of
St Martin's CollegeSt Martin's College was a British Higher Education College with campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside and Carlisle, as well as sites in Whitehaven, Barrow and London. It provided undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, humanities, business studies, teacher training, health and social care...
, Ambleside, the
Cumbria Institute of the ArtsCumbria Institute of the Arts was a further and higher education institution in the City of Carlisle, in Northern England. Founded as the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in 1822, it proceeded as the Carlisle College of Art, from 1950, and switched to Cumbria Institute of the Arts from...
(CIA) and the
CumbriaCumbria is a shire county in the North West of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
n campuses of the
University of Central LancashireThe University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England, UK.The university has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge which was founded in 1828. In 1992 it was granted University status by the Privy Council...
. These institutions formerly ran degree programmes accredited by
Lancaster UniversityLancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Lancaster is the 7th highest ranking research institution in the United Kingdom according to the last Research Assessment Exercise. The University has an annual income of £149...
and the University of Central Lancashire.
The
University of Cumbria is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
established on 1 August 2007, with roots extending back to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts established in 1822 and Charlotte Mason teacher training College in 1890s.
Formation
The University of Cumbria was formed by the merger of
St Martin's CollegeSt Martin's College was a British Higher Education College with campuses in Lancaster, Ambleside and Carlisle, as well as sites in Whitehaven, Barrow and London. It provided undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the arts, humanities, business studies, teacher training, health and social care...
, Ambleside, the
Cumbria Institute of the ArtsCumbria Institute of the Arts was a further and higher education institution in the City of Carlisle, in Northern England. Founded as the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in 1822, it proceeded as the Carlisle College of Art, from 1950, and switched to Cumbria Institute of the Arts from...
(CIA) and the
CumbriaCumbria is a shire county in the North West of England. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...
n campuses of the
University of Central LancashireThe University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England, UK.The university has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge which was founded in 1828. In 1992 it was granted University status by the Privy Council...
. These institutions formerly ran degree programmes accredited by
Lancaster UniversityLancaster University, officially The University of Lancaster, is a British university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. Lancaster is the 7th highest ranking research institution in the United Kingdom according to the last Research Assessment Exercise. The University has an annual income of £149...
and the University of Central Lancashire. In order to facilitate the change, St Martin's College applied for independent degree-awarding powers in March 2005 and was successful in July 2006 after nine months of scrutiny by the Quality Assurance Agency. In January 2007 official university status was granted by the
Privy CouncilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation on how to exercise their executive authority, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government...
.
Structure and location
The University is based upon the findings of a report by Sir Martin Harris. This plan envisaged a university based upon a 'distributed learning network'. This network is based upon the idea that teaching will take place both at the University's main campuses, and at colleges of
further educationFurther education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
around the
countyA county is a land area of local government within a country. A county may have cities and towns within its area. Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count .Counts are called earls in post-Celtic Britain, Ireland and France—the term is from Old...
. This will solve problems of access for remote areas that did not previously have direct access to
higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
.
The headquarters of the University is in
CarlisleThe City of Carlisle , is a local government district of Cumbria, England, with the status of a city and non-metropolitan district. It is named after its largest settlement, Carlisle, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Brampton and Longtown, as well as outlying villages...
. Its other major campuses are at
PenrithPenrith is a market town in the county of Cumbria, England. It is in the Eden Valley, just north of the River Eamont, and lies less than outside the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. Other local rivers bounding the town are the River Lowther and the River Petteril...
(formerly University of Central Lancashire in Cumbria),
AmblesideAmbleside is a town in Cumbria, in North West England.Historically within the county of Westmorland, it is situated at the head of Windermere, England's largest lake...
,
LancasterLancaster is the county town of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying...
(formerly St Martin's College). The University also has sites in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
As well as its work in the areas of the arts, health and
teacher trainingTeacher education refers to the policies and procedures designed to equip prospective teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community....
, the university has a faculty of
Business, Social Science and Sport which, as well as the subjects in its title, incorporates a full range of courses including
lawThe Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and which originated in England. It was established as a liberal arts degree, which requires that the student undertake a certain amount of study of the classics...
,
computingComputing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, and
policeA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
studies and a faculty of Science and Natural Resources with courses in Forestry, Land Management, Forensic Science and Environment. The University also provides Further Education provision at its Penrith and Carlisle campuses.
NCTJ
University of Cumbria is notable for being one of only a handful of chosen universities in the country to be accredited by the NCTJ - The
National Council for the Training of JournalistsThe National Council for the Training of Journalists was founded in 1951 as an organisation to oversee the training of journalists for the newspaper industry in the United Kingdom.-Purpose:...
.