University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Its institutional origins trace back to 1870 with the establishment of the Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and Art. Over the subsequent decades, the institution underwent a series of organisational transformations, becoming Portsmouth Polytechnic in 1969 before gaining university status in 1992. Comprising five faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate programs, the university was the 25th-largest higher education institution by student enrolments in the United Kingdom. The university employed approximately 3,500 staff in 2020.
Portsmouth is one of five universities in the South East of England to have been awarded the highest rating of Gold in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework. In the Times Higher Education REF ranking, the university was ranked third in research power for modern post-1992 universities.
In the 2021 edition of the Research Excellence Framework, 77 per cent of research submitted by the university was ranked as world-leading or internationally excellent, with impacts across society, health, culture and the environment, placing it in the top 3 modern universities for their research power.
Ceremonially, the university is headed by a Chancellor, currently Karen Blackett, a British Barbadian businesswoman known for her work in the advertising industry.
== History ==
=== 19th century ===
The University of Portsmouth traces its roots back to 1 June 1870 (or 1869 according to some sources) when it was first established as the Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and Art. During the late 19th century, the school occupied several buildings in Old Portsmouth and Southsea. The main premises, located at the Crown Sale Rooms in Pembroke Street, was attended by both male and female students. Due to its coastal location, the school provided technical instruction to engineers and skilled workers, who often graduated …
