About Keele University
We're Keele and we're different. Founded 75 years ago to meet the demands of a new kind of society, economy and world, our principles resonate now more than ever.
We are a campus university with over 13,500 students, nestled in 600 acres of Staffordshire countryside and just an hour from Manchester and Birmingham. It's a big campus but a small and cosmopolitan community, with space to think and plenty to do.
Keele University was born from a pioneering vision, one of a different kind of university. Established in 1949 by Lord Lindsay - the former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University - in a country still recovering from the Second World War, the University’s founding aim was to produce graduates who not only had the technical and specialist knowledge to move society forward, but who understood the social and political landscape that drove this need.
Fast-forward 75 years and this original ethos remains at the core of the University’s mission, and our global network of over 100,000 alumni in 120 countries is creating positive impact across the world in a range of diverse careers.
This is Keele
Our research
Our research seeks to improve lives and address the most pressing challenges across our region, country, and world.
Our academics are actively studying matters of global importance: from food security, climate change and smart energy, to neglected tropical diseases, global health and sustainable futures.
It’s no wonder that 80% of our research is deemed world-leading or internationally excellent in the Research Excellence Framework (2021).
Studying at Keele
We were awarded the highest rating of Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2023, maintaining the Gold that we achieved in 2017 – making Keele one of only 15 broad-based universities in England to have been awarded Gold in both exercises, demonstrating our consistent teaching excellence.
Ofsted awarded our skills bootcamps “Outstanding” in 2023, with an overall judgment of “Good” for our apprenticeship and skills provision.
Across Medicine and Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities and Social Sciences, we offer a wide range of study options from foundation to postgraduate research, as well as apprenticeships, short courses, and online programmes.
Employability is built into all our taught provision, as is the opportunity to study abroad, and the majority of our undergraduate courses also include the option to study our exciting Global Challenge Pathways.
As well as developing academic expertise, we believe in educating the whole person, building skills for life, as well as for work. As a university defined by our commitment to equity of opportunity and widening participation, we focus on ensuring all our students, regardless of background or circumstance, thrive and succeed.
Sustainability at Keele
At the core of our mission is the vision for a more sustainable world, driven by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Sustainability is embedded in everything we do at Keele, and this drive has led to us leading innovative trials in smart energy and green technology. From hosting the first UK trial of hydrogen blending in a gas network, testing new smart energy technologies, to producing our own renewable energy on campus, we're proud to be leading the sector on sustainability.
Our efforts are recognised around the globe, a status which was cemented when we won the Global Sustainability Institution of the Year award at the Green Gown Awards in 2021.
Supporting our local community and beyond
Our impact is felt not only around the world, but closer to home as well - our academics and students benefit from close links with regional businesses, industry, and our local NHS trusts.
Over 5,000 Keele-trained nurses are currently working on the NHS frontline, with many who study with us choosing to stay local when they qualify. More than 200 of our healthcare professors, lecturers and teaching staff also work clinically in the NHS, putting their expertise into practice day in, day out.
Outside of healthcare, our support for local businesses and SMEs is also unparalleled, with over 2,000 interactions between local businesses and Keele-led innovation programmes since 2017, contributing £345m per year to the local economy, and with over 50 businesses based on our campus Science and Innovation Park.
Keele in Town
Bringing our University to the heart of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Facts and figures
No.1 in the UK Britain's best university, as ranked by students Student Crowd University Awards, 2022
95% graduate employability HESA Graduate Outcomes, 2019/20
Winner Global Sustainability Institution of the Year International Green Gown Awards, 2021
Top 10 in England for overall Student Satisfaction NSS 2021 (broad-based public universities)
Top 10 Students' Union National Student Survey, 2019
600+ acres One of Britain's biggest campuses