About us

Today we’re one of the UK’s largest universities with a staff and student community approaching 38,000. Our employment-focused course portfolio with over 350 undergraduate programmes, nearly 200+ postgraduate courses and rich array of CPD courses means we offer you the skills and experience that industry needs.

We’ve always believed in helping people to seize every opportunity to flourish in education, at work and for life. Through the combination of academic excellence and real-world teaching, we inspire people to transform their lives by seizing opportunities and achieving things they never thought possible.

Our graduates achieve outstanding results and are highly employable. Over 69% of our students graduate with a First or 2:1 while 95.5% of our graduates enter employment or further study within six months of graduating (​Higher Education Statistics Agency 2018). Discover what our talented graduates are doing now.

Our community is made up of students from more than 100 countries around the world. And we are partnered with 123 institutions across the globe making us a truly international University.

We are ranked in the top 7% of universities worldwide (Center for World University Rankings 2023).

The University has refreshed its Strategic Plan to further recognise that sustaining and enhancing the wellbeing of people, places and the planet are amongst the most important challenges we face today.

We started life in Preston and have since grown the number of our UK campuses. As well as Preston, we are also based in Burnley (East Lancashire) and Westlakes (West Cumbria). We were honoured to establish the first British university in Cyprus in 2012 having been granted an academic license by the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture.

Our ambitious Campus Masterplan vision is to create an attractive and inviting, world-class campus compatible with our status as one of the UK’s largest universities. A core principle of our plan is to integrate our campus seamlessly with the rest of the city, benefitting current and future generations of students, staff, visitors and the wider community.

On the world stage, our research teams work collaboratively with major international organisations, from the United Nations and the World Health Organisation to the European Space Agency and NASA. Whether it’s helping to produce the world’s first photograph of a Black Hole, advising the Government on the potential fire risks to those living in high rise tower block, or supporting the wellbeing of those living with dementia, our researchers are delivering accessible and impactful research that is relevant to society.

Our University is Lancashire’s largest provider of graduate level qualifications and we have established links with global businesses, police constabularies, NHS trusts and more than 1,000 regional enterprises across a variety of sectors.

In 1828 the University of Central Lancashire was founded as the Institution for the Diffusion of Knowledge. Our motto ‘Ex solo ad solem’ means ‘from the earth to the sun’; and remains an important part of who we are today. We help people from all walks of life to achieve their potential.

Our Preston Campus has recently undergone a radical transformation as a result of our £200m masterplan project. Our vision is to create a world-class campus for the benefit of students, staff and the surrounding community.

Our brand-new Student Centre which opened in 2021, looks out over our new University Square. The University Square is an exciting hub of activity, a focal point for community events and an iconic gateway linking together the city and the University.

Our new £35m Engineering Innovation Centre (EIC), which opened in 2019, has become a hive of innovation, bringing together University researchers, industry experts, local businesses and students in a spirit of collaboration and discovery.

The new development of our innovative four-storey Veterinary School is now underway. Located on our Preston Campus, the 45,000 square feet Veterinary School will be the first of its kind in Lancashire and 11th in the UK.

Our values reflect who we are as a university and what we stand for. They define the things that are most important to us and nurture our sense of shared purpose. Supporting our values and initiatives are a number of networks, creating positive change throughout our university, for our students, colleagues and the wider communities.