Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Caledonian University

Motto	For the Common Weal
Type	Public university
Established	1993 (1875)
Endowment	£0.85 m(2015)
Chancellor	Muhammad Yunus
Principal	Pamela Gillies
Administrative staff	1,600
Students	16,930 (2014/15)
Undergraduates	14,095 (2014/15)
Postgraduates	2,840 (2014/15)
Location	Glasgow, Scotland
Affiliations	EUA, University Alliance, ACU, Universities UK, Universities Scotland, Florence Network, Talloires Network
Website	www.gcu.ac.uk

Glasgow Caledonian University (informally GCU or Caledonian) is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and Glasgow Polytechnic (founded in 1971). As of 2015 it is one of Scotland's largest universities with nearly 20,000 students. It is regularly ranked among the UK's top 10 modern universities.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was installed Chancellor of the University in 2012, as the first non-British international figure to hold the office of University Chancellor in Scottish history.Pamela Gillies is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, appointed in 2006.

Independent research carried out in 2015 revealed that the University contributes over £480m to Scotland’s economy each year with the quantifiable lifetime premium of a one-year class of graduates estimated at around £400m, bringing the University's total annual economic impact to around £880m in Scotland alone.

The University traces its origin from The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded 1875) and the Glasgow Polytechnic (founded 1971). The Queen’s College, which specialised in providing training in domestic science, received the Royal accolade of being named after Queen Elizabeth II in its centenary celebrations in 1975. Queen Elizabeth II was, herself, Patron of the College since 1944. Glasgow Polytechnic, which was one of the largest central institutions in Scotland, offered externally validated degrees and diplomas in engineering, science, and the humanities: the first of which was a BA in Optics, followed by degrees in Social Sciences (1973) and Nursing (1977).

On 1 April 1993, the two institutions amalgamated to form Glasgow Caledonian University. The new university took its name from Caledonia, the poetic Latin name for present-day Scotland.