Facts and figures

The University of Plymouth in numbers

Teaching excellence

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Top 5 UK Young University in the 2022 Times Higher Education Young University Rankings
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Top 25 for teaching quality in the 2020 National Student Survey
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The first university to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark
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Over 4,500 University of Plymouth students per year benefit from placements and work-based learning
?28 National Teaching Fellowships in HE since 2000

Research rich

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Ranked 4th globally for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal number 14: life below water (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022)
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Top UK university for Marine and Ocean Engineering (Shanghai Ranking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2019)
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More than three quarters of our research ranked either World-Leading or Internationally Excellent in 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF)
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A three-time winner of the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, most recently in 2019 for marine microplastics pollution research
AEuropean Commission HR Excellence in Research Award

Sustainable university

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Ranked 15th in the world for our efforts in support of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal number 13: climate action (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022)
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Top 40 of 553 institutions, we are recognised for our efforts to reduce food waste while raising awareness of the food challenges facing local and global communities (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2022)
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Six Green Gown Awards since 2011, including three in 2014
'One of just six institutions internationally to receive a Global Showcase award from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
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Drake’s Place £1.4 million restoration project of the gardens and reservoir completed in 2014 with accredited Green Flag status since 2015
'The House and Marine Station building projects are BREEAM Excellent (an environmental assessment method rating system for buildings)
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59% of waste recycled in 2020–21
(We have over 290 bicycle parking spaces on campus
@Our Students' Union has NUS Green Impact ‘Excellence Outstanding’ status
'Achieved ISO 14001 accreditation for all our operations on the Plymouth campus since 2009
254% reduction in CO2e emissions since 1990
'We are a zero landfill University
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Top ten greenest universities in the country (People and Planet University League 2021)
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Our campus cafes received a Three Star rating (the highest possible) from the Sustainable Restaurant Association in the Food Made Good report 2022

University of Plymouth: the facts and stats

AOver 18,500 students
AOver 2,500 staff
*£239.4m annual turnover
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£24m contracting with local businesses
,Founded in 1862 as the School of Navigation
<150 partnerships with institutions from 26 countries for collaborations in teaching and research
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7,500 studying for a Plymouth degree at partner institutions in the UK and around the world
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£155m invested in the campus over the past decade, including the Marine Station, The House and The Wellbeing Centre
(We are the key partner in the South West Peninsula City Deal – potential to create 10,000 jobs
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We oversee a £100m network of business support facilities, including incubation, innovation and science park infrastructure
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An alumni community with over 182,000 graduates pursuing their careers globally
@58% of academic staff are PhD qualified
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The first and only post-1992 university to launch its own medical and dental school
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Students’ Union voted the Best Student Venue in the Plymouth Best Bar None Awards 2019
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In the top 20 of the most friendly vegan universities in the UK (source: PETA UK)
_The Peninsula Dental School was the first in the UK to achieve RCS Surgical Education Centre accreditation

Latest awards and accreditations

More related news

Awards in detail

Queen's Anniversary Prize

In 2019 we were awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in recognition of our ground-breaking research and policy impact on microplastics pollution in the oceans.

It recognised nearly two decades of world-leading enquiry by Plymouth researchers, led by Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, which has resulted in repeated scientific breakthroughs and influenced national and international legislation.

It is the third time that the University has been honoured with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize, which celebrate excellence, innovation and public benefit. The last occasion was in 2012 when the University was recognised for the breadth and excellence of its marine and maritime research, teaching and training. The University also won the award for widening access to education in rural communities in 1994.

Social Enterprise Mark

The University of Plymouth became the first university in the world to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark, in recognition of our long-standing support for the sector. The University held this accreditation from 2011 to 2018. The award demonstrated our social value to the wider world and community, and was a testament to the commitment, energy and vision that we pride ourselves on.

Stonewall Diversity Champions

In September 2013 we were proud to join the acclaimed Stonewall Diversity Champions programme, Britain's good practice employers’ forum on sexual orientation. This partnership means that as a university we receive one-to-one advice from Stonewall’s workplace team, and benefit from an extensive network of over a hundred high-profile employers.