University of Manchester (UoM)

The University of Manchester (UoM) is a public research university in the city of Manchester, England, formed in 2004 by the merger of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (established in 1956 as Manchester College of Science and Technology and renamed in 1966) which had its origins in the Mechanics' Institute established in 1824 and the Victoria University of Manchester founded by charter in 1904 after the dissolution of the federal Victoria University (which had members in Leeds and Liverpool), but originating in Owens College, founded in Manchester in 1851. The University of Manchester is regarded as a red brick university, and was a product of the civic university movement of the late-19th century. It was a constituent part of the federal Victoria University between 1880, when it received its royal charter, and 1903–1904, when it was dissolved.

The main campus is south of Manchester city centre on Oxford Road. In 2014/15, the university had 38,590 students and 10,400 staff, making it the second largest university in the UK (out of 165 including the Open University), and the largest single-site university. The university had an income of more than £1 billion in 2014–15, of which £262.4 million was from research grants and contracts. It has the third largest endowment of any university in England, after the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. It is a member of the worldwide Universities Research Association, the Russell Group of British research universities and the N8 Group.

The University of Manchester is ranked 29th in the world by QS World University Rankings 2016. The university owns and operates major cultural assets such as the Manchester Museum, Whitworth Art Gallery, John Rylands Library and Jodrell Bank Observatory and its Grade I listed Lovell Telescope.

The University of Manchester has 25 Nobel laureates among its past and present students and staff, the fourth-highest number of any single university in the United Kingdom. Four Nobel laureates are currently among its staff – more than any other British university.