University of Bradford

ABOUT UNIVERSITY

The University of Bradford, a public research university in Bradford, West Yorkshire, traces its roots to the Mechanics Institute established in 1832. It gained university status in 1966, becoming the 40th university in Britain. The institution has a diverse student body, with 11,665 undergraduates and 7,923 postgraduates, including 22% international students from over 110 countries.Notably, in 1973, it became the first British university to establish a Department of Peace Studies, which remains the largest global center for peace and conflict research. The university evolved through various stages, from Bradford Technical College in 1882 to the Bradford Institute of Technology in 1957. The Richmond Building, the largest on campus, was constructed in the 1960s, alongside the Horton and Chesham Buildings. Prime Minister Harold Wilson served as the first chancellor.During the 1970s, the university became an international hub for Yugoslav studies, establishing a Research Unit in 1965. Exiled South African academic AnnMarie Wolpe also contributed to the department. Over the following decades, the university expanded with new facilities, including the Library, Computer Centre, and School of Health Studies. The Department of Physics closed in the 1980s, while Mathematics was phased out in 1997 but later reintegrated into the School of Computing.