is held formally by the Chancellor and led at the executive level by the Vice-Chancellor, currently Prof Mark E. Smith. The key bodies in the university governance structure are the Council and Senate.
The Council is the governing body of the university. It is ultimately responsible for the overall planning and management of the university. The council is also responsible for ensuring that the funding made available to the university by the Higher Education Funding Council for England is used as prescribed. The council is composed of members from 5 different classes, namely (1) officers; (2) eight lay members appointed by the council; (3) four members appointed by the Senate; (4) one member of the non-teaching staff; (5) the President of the Students' Union.
The Senate is the university's primary academic authority, with responsibilities which include the direction and regulation of education and examinations, the award of degrees, and the promotion of research. The Senate has approximately 65 members, including the Vice-Presidents, the Deans and representatives from the academic staff in each faculty and those administrative groups most closely associated with educational activities, and representatives of the Students' Union. The Senate is chaired by the Vice-Chancellor.
=== Faculties ===
The university comprises five faculties, each with a number of academic units. This current faculty structure came into effect in 2018, taking over from a previous structure consisting of eight faculties. The current faculty structure is:
=== Affiliations ===
Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in Britain.
== Academic profile ==
=== Courses and subjects ===
Southampton awards a wide range of academic degrees spanning academic degrees for bachelor's in a variety of degrees and master's degrees as well as junior doctorates and higher doctorates. The postnominals awarded are the degree abbreviations used commonly among British universities. The university is part of the …
