Employer heading
- Address
-
University of Leeds
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS2 9JT - Telephone number
- (0) 113 243 1751
- Website
- http://www.leeds.ac.uk
From local roots to a highly regarded international institution, our history spans over 100 years.
The University of Leeds was founded in 1904, but its origins go back to the nineteenth century with the founding of the Leeds School of Medicine in 1831 and then the Yorkshire College of Science in 1874.
In 1831 a group of young men established the Leeds School of Medicine which meant that medical students no longer had to go to Scotland, London or overseas to study.
The Yorkshire College of Science was founded around 40 years later largely as a result of concerns by the wool and textile industries that the rapid development of new technologies in Europe posed a threat to the local cloth trade.
Access for all
For the sons of local families, it was one of the first colleges for students of all faiths and backgrounds. The College supported the values of the recently established University College, London and Owens College in Manchester. These had been set up to challenge the exclusivity of Oxford and Cambridge universities, which were predominantly for the Anglican aristocracy and gentry.
By contrast, this new generation of learning institutions welcomed all religions, including Dissenters, Catholics, Jews and agnostics. In addition, they placed particular emphasis on meeting the technological demands of the fast-changing Victorian era. From the outset, the College, particularly, put its full weight behind scientific studies.
After a few years, classics, modern literature and history were added to the science subjects being offered and the Yorkshire College of Science became simply the Yorkshire College.
In 1884, the College combined with the School of Medicine and three years later the two Leeds-based institutions joined forces with Owens College Manchester, and University College Liverpool, to become the federal Victoria University.
web site Sep 2012
University of Leeds presently has no vacancies listed in our database.