The University of Reading

The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, and University of Oxford Extension College. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 1926 by royal charter from King George V and was the only university to receive such a charter between the two world wars. The university is usually categorized as a red brick university, reflecting its original foundation in the 19th century.

Reading has four major campuses. In the United Kingdom, the campuses on London Road and Whiteknights are based in the town of Reading itself, and Greenlands is based on the banks of the River Thames, Buckinghamshire. It also has a campus in Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia. The university has been arranged into 16 academic schools since 2016. The annual income of the institution for 2016–17 was £275.3 million of which £35.4 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £297.5 million.

Faculties

Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science

• Arts and Communication Design
• Film, Theatre and Television
• Typography and Graphic Communication
• Education
• Humanities
• Classics
• History
• Philosophy
• Law
• Literature and Languages
• English Language and Literature
• Modern Languages and European Studies
• Politics, Economics and International Relations
• Economics
• Politics and International Relations
• International Study and Language Institute

Faculty of Life Sciences

• Agriculture, Policy and Development
• Biological Sciences
• Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy
• Department of Chemistry
• Food and Nutritional Sciences
• The Reading School of Pharmacy
• Psychology and Clinical Language Science
• Clinical Language Sciences

Faculty of Science

• Construction Management and Engineering
• Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Science
• Geography and Environmental Science
• Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Meteorology
• Computer Science

English language requirements

• Arts and Humanities courses – IELTS 7.0; TOEFL 100
• Henley Business School, Social Sciences, Science and Life Sciences, and School of Law courses – IELTS 6.5; TOEFL 88

Accommodation

Student accommodation is provided in a number of halls of residence offering a mix of partially catered and self-catering accommodation, along with other self-catering accommodation. Following a major review the University is now proceeding with the integrated Halls and Catering Strategy, that will see several halls replaced as well as new ones created with social, catering & welfare facilities provided in hub areas. Most of the halls of residence lie close to the northern campus periphery and in residential areas close by.

Wantage Hall is thought to be the oldest purpose-built hall in England outside of 'Oxbridge' and is built in the style of an 'Oxbridge' college.

St. George's Hall and the Reading Student Village are leased back to the University from UPP. The cost of leasing back the Student Village to the University, according to the University accounts, was £1.3 million in 2002–03 and £1.5 million for 2003–04.

In 2011 the management of the mature and international halls, Hillside and Martindale, was taken over by the "Estates management team", as was Bulmershe Hall in 2012, the sale of which was finalized in 2014. In the same year the new Kendrick Halls were opened on the ground of halls which had not been in use for many years. These are not managed by the university.

Rankings

National rankings

• Complete (2021)                                          39
• Guardian (2021)                                           46
• Times / Sunday Times (2021)                    40

Global rankings

• ARWU (2020)                                                201–300
• CWTS Leiden (2020)                                     90
• QS (2021)                                                      205
• THE (2021)                                                     201–250

British Government assessment

• Teaching Excellence Framework              Silver