Overview of University of Strathclyde

The University of Strathclyde was founded in 1796 as Anderson's Institution, in the midst of the first Industrial Revolution. Its founder, John Anderson, who was a contemporary of James Watt and Adam Smith, left instructions that an institution be established for 'the Good of Mankind and the Improvement of Science - a place of useful learning'. Through merger, the Anderson Institute became the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College in 1886. It was confirmed as a centre for educational training in 1912 and renamed the Royal Technical College and by 1956 it had become the Royal College of Science and Technology.

The University of Strathclyde, created by Royal Charter in 1964 from a merger between the Royal College of Science and Technology and the Scottish College of Commerce, was further enhanced in April 1993 when Jordanhill College of Education (established in 1921), one of the largest and most highly respected institutions of its kind in the UK, became the University's Faculty of Education.

The main campus is the John Anderson Campus in the centre of Glasgow, where the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Engineering, Science and the Strathclyde Business School are located, whilst the Jordanhill Campus, which occupies 27 ha (67 acres) in the west end of the city, is home to the Faculty of Education.

The University of Strathclyde is Scotland's third largest university, with around 21,300 students (2009) and is regarded as the one of the best universities in the UK for making links with industry.