Coventry University has a long tradition as a provider of education. Our roots go as far back as Coventry College of Design in 1843. It was in 1970 that Coventry College of Art amalgamated with Lanchester College of Technology and Rugby College of Engineering Technology.

The resulting institution was called Lanchester Polytechnic: 'Lanchester' after the Midlands automotive industry pioneer, Dr Frederick Lanchester, and 'Polytechnic' meaning 'skilled in many sciences and arts'.

In 1987 the name changed to Coventry Polytechnic and in 1992 the University was set up under UK Government legislation, as laid out in the University’s Instrument and Articles of Government.

Through Coventry’s worldwide network of collaborators in academia and industry, the 50,000 learners studying its degrees in different countries enjoy access to global opportunities which ensure their employment prospects are enhanced. The university is recognised internationally for its expertise in health, peacebuilding and agroecology, and for the world-leading calibre of its engineering and design graduates – particularly in the automotive field.

As an ambitious and innovative university, our research makes a tangible difference to the way we live. Coventry University is already known for delivering research that makes a significant contribution to a number of global challenges, but it has bigger ambitions – including growing its research staff to 2,000 by 2021 and focusing on fields where its experts can be dominant.



Our Awards and Accreditations

Our teaching, staff, facilities and student experience have received a variety of awards and accolades in recent years, and our future is looking bright too.

We’re proud of our achievements and how the University’s global reputation is flourishing. In this section you’ll see just how committed we are to continuing that journey of delivering quality teaching and learning, outstanding student satisfaction, and our objective of making our students into global ready graduates.

•#15 University in the United Kingdom (UK) - The Guardian University Guide 2020)
•Awarded Gold for outstanding Teaching and Learning -Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2017)
•University of the Year for Student Experience -The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019



Teaching & Learning

We aim to deliver a teaching and learning experience that encourages, inspires and develops our students into graduates who are globally employable.

Our students benefit from state-of-the-art equipment and facilities in all academic disciplines, including hospital wards, design and engineering laboratories, performing arts studios and computing centres.

•We’re ranked 12th in the 'Teaching Quality' category published in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018
•87% overall positive student satisfaction at Coventry University (National Student Survey2017)
•88% of students are satisfied with the teaching on their course (NSS 2017)
•92% of our research was rated as 'world-leading', 'internationally excellent' or 'recognised internationally' (REF 2014 - assessed every seven years)

We've also been awarded an overall QS Stars rating of 5 stars and have scored top marks in the following areas:

•5 stars for teaching (including 100% for teaching satisfaction)
•5 stars for employability (including 100% graduate employment rate)
•5 stars for facilities
•5 stars for internationalisation
•5 stars for inclusiveness



Global Ready

We offer a wide range of international study and work experiences, providing our students with the opportunity to combine educational activity and industry placements with social and cultural pursuits. The transformational impact these international experiences often have on our students can enhance their personal and professional development and help them to become highly employable, 'global ready' graduates.