Motto | Forward |
---|---|
Type | Public |
Established | 1895 (granted University Status by Royal Charter in 1966) |
Endowment | £2.95 m |
Chancellor | Sir John Sunderland |
Vice-Chancellor | Alec Cameron |
Students | 15,000+ (2016/17) |
Undergraduates | 10,050 (2015/16) |
Postgraduates | 2,445 (2015/16) |
Location |
Birmingham, UK Coordinates: 52°29′10″N 1°53′22″W / 52.4860°N 1.8895°W |
Campus | 60 acres (240,000 m2), urban |
Colours |
Black and Red |
Affiliations |
ACU CDIO Initiative EUA Universities UK AACSB M5 Universities |
Website | www |
QS (2018, national) |
44 | |
---|---|---|
QS (2018, world) |
358 | |
THE (2016/17, national) |
49 | |
THE (2016/17, world) |
351-400 | |
Complete (2018, national) |
49 | |
The Guardian (2018, national) |
51 | |
Times/Sunday Times (2017, national) |
33 |
Black and Red
Aston University is a public research university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK’s first College of Advanced Technology in 1956. Aston University received its royal charter from Queen Elizabeth II on 22 April 1966.
In 2016, Aston was ranked in the top 33 universities in the UK by all three major league tables, and also received recognition Times Higher Education for the second best teaching quality in the UK. Aston was ranked by QS as the 42nd best university in the world under 50 years old in 2015.
Aston pioneered the integrated placement year concept over 50 years ago, with more than 70% of Aston students taking a placement year, the highest percentage in the UK.
The origins of Aston University are a School of Metallurgy formed in the Birmingham and Midland Institute in 1875. The Birmingham Municipal Technical School separated from the Institute in 1895, teaching chemistry, physics, metallurgy and electrical engineering. In 1911, commercial classes were introduced and grew into an independent School of Commerce by 1916. The school changed its name in 1927 to the Birmingham Central Technical College, to reflect its changing approach to teaching technology.
In 1951, the Technical College was renamed the College of Technology, Birmingham and work began on the Main Building at Gosta Green. In 1956, it became the first elite designated College of Advanced Technology and underwent a major expansion. It moved into buildings that were constructed between 1949 and 1955 to a design by Ashley & Newman. Princess Margaret laid one of the first foundation stones at the base of the new building in 1951. The building is one of Europe’s largest, freestanding brick buildings. In 1955, the College of Advanced Technology was opened by Her Majesty The Queen. The college expanded again to a design by the City Architect of Birmingham Alwyn Sheppard Fidler between 1957 and 1965.