Exploring the Diverse Campus Facilities at the University of Sunderland

The University of Sunderland, a public research university with campuses in Sunderland, London, and Hong Kong, offers a wide array of facilities to support its students' academic, personal, and professional development. From cutting-edge technology and specialized learning spaces to vibrant social hubs and comprehensive support services, the university is committed to providing a dynamic and enriching environment for its diverse student body.

A Historical Overview

Sunderland has been an important center for education since 674 AD, when Benedict Biscop built St Peter's Church and monastery. St Peter's Church was the site of the greatest scriptorium north of the Alps. The oldest existing Latin version of the Bible - the Codex Amiatinus - was written at St Peter's Church. The university's modern roots can be traced back to 1901, when Sunderland Technical College was established as a municipal training college. It gained university status in 1992. Sunderland Polytechnic was established on 26 January 1969, incorporating the Technical College, the School of Art (which was also established in 1901) and the Sunderland Teacher Training College (established in 1908).

Sunderland Campus Locations

The University of Sunderland has two campuses in Sunderland: City Campus and the Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's. As its name suggests, City Campus is located right in the heart of the city centre and houses our main support services and sports facilities. The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's benefits from a stunning riverside location and is within easy reach of both the city centre and our glorious beaches. In September 2002, the campus was renamed ‘The Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St. Peter's’, after the local businessman who was one of the university's primary supporters.

Academic and Research Facilities

The University of Sunderland is committed to providing world-class teaching and state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructures, providing a dynamic learning experience for students.

Libraries

The university has two modern and well-equipped libraries: the Murray Library and St Peter's Library. Opening hours vary depending on the time of year but both libraries offer 24 hours online live chat support. Resources include books, journals, and ebooks. Extensive online support includes a library catalog and an online journal search to find print and electronic journal articles.

Specialized Centers and Buildings

St Peter's Campus includes the following: North Shore (formerly Campus and Manor Quay), Wearbank House, Reg Vardy Centre, St Peter's Library, David Goldman Informatics Centre, Prospect Building (including Sir Tom Cowie Lecture Theatre), David Puttnam Media Centre, North Sands Business Centre and National Glass Centre (which houses the Glass and Ceramics department and the Institute for International Research in Glass). The David Puttnam Media Centre houses television and radio production facilities for the School of Arts, Design and Media, student led community radio station (Spark Sunderland), and Made in Tyne & Wear, and opened in 2003. Scotia Quay and Panns Bank are based across the River Wear from St Peter's Campus, across the road from The Bonded Warehouse. The North East England Mining Archive and Resource Centre (NEEMARC) is a major archive for mining related data and includes health and safety information, legal records, technical reports and trade union records.

Innovation Space

The space provides Shared VR environments for students studying a range of vocational subjects, including health and social care, construction, engineering and game design. The cylinder is comprised of six Epson WUXGA 5,500-lumen laser projectors with accompanying UST lenses, plus two Epson WUXGA 7,000-lumen laser projectors also with accompanying UST lenses, to achieve a flawless finish and the full floor projection the college required. Alongside this is a state-of-the-art surround sound system, with the walls of the cylinder sound-proofed to reduce noise transfer between classrooms. In terms of software, the college opted for our Enterprise package, giving its staff and students access to the likes of Igloo Web, Igloo Home and Igloo Cast. Since its installation, the Innovation Space has been used for existing and new classes, including the recently launched T Level qualifications. Because of the fully immersive 360° experience, the college can replicate the real-world and beyond. Students can experience high-risk scenarios in a risk-free way. The students have also been busy creating their own content with several 360° cameras that the college has invested in. And as well as 360° content, the college has been able to make use of traditional curriculum resources in the cylinder. Students can display presentations on the walls of the Igloo and bring in other sources like photos and videos to support these slides, tiled around the vast Igloo canvas.

Student Life and Support

The University of Sunderland provides a wide range of services and facilities dedicated to enriching student life and offering comprehensive support.

CitySpace

CitySpace is the university's iconic facility for sports and social activity, based at Sunderland's City Campus. It has a vast array of services available to students and it is also open to the public. Looking to refresh the fitness experience they were delivering to students, and create a more personalised journey, the Fitness Suite underwent a complete refit at the end of 2017. Technogym worked with CitySpace to create a facility that really does reflect the latest fitness trends and supported them in bringing innovation to the gym floor. The Fitness Suite now features a dedicated area to the industry-leading Skill Line, a dynamic range of products designed with performance athletes in mind. Skill Line focuses on speed, power, agility and stamina training.

Sports and Recreation

The University of Sunderland is home to numerous sports clubs, like Sunderland FC and facilities, including Olympic standard swimming pools, a dry ski centre, and one of the largest climbing walls in Britain.

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Students' Union

The University of Sunderland Students' Union is an independent education charity, led by three sabbatical officers who run the Union and are elected into the roles by their peers for a period of one year. The sabbatical officer positions are made up of: President: Education, President: Wellbeing and President: Activities. The Students' Union is responsible for offering support and advice to students, leading campaigns and being the voice of the student body. The Students' Union's mission is to make all its members' University experience valuable for life. There are over 50 clubs and societies in 2018/19.

Media Outlets

Launched in September 2011, SportsByte is a journalism, news, and multimedia publication dedicated to covering a wide range of sports at all levels of competition across the City of Sunderland, the North East, and Globally. With a press team of over 150 student and community reporters, SportsByte is the largest sports-dedicated news and media publication in the North East of England, and is among the biggest in the UK. Spark Sunderland is a student-led community radio station. The station was awarded a full Community Radio licence in 2008 from Ofcom. The station launched in October 2009 and broadcasts 24/7 from its base, The David Puttnam Media Centre, located at the St. Peter's University campus. It has a long heritage, through student programming on Wear FM and then temporary licences under the Utopia FM name between 1997 and 2008. Spark has been successful in regional, national and international radio awards. The station itself has now won 3 awards as Best Student Radio Station in the New York Radio Awards where students have also gained awards for Radio Drama, Radio Documentary and Entertainment.

Other Support Services

The chaplaincy provides a friendly, informal, confidential, and independent listening ear, as well as resources for religious, spiritual, and ethical exploration. The chaplaincy can connect students to local churches, mosques, gurdwaras, and temples. The university's childcare service is open to students, staff, and the general public. The service aims to provide high-quality education and care and has been recognized by Ofsted.

Accommodation

The University of Sunderland - London has five residence halls, and all first-year students are given a room in the University of Sunderland - London student accommodation. Over 2,000 rooms are available, with en-suite and shared room options as well as sizes varying from medium to extra large. Rooms are set up in apartments with a communal kitchen. Self-catering is available in all halls, which have professionally fitted kitchens and on-site laundry services.

Recognition and Rankings

The university was recognised by The Guardian as England's best new university in 2001. In 2005 it was named by The Times Higher Education Supplement as the top university in England for providing the best student experience. The University of Sunderland entered 13 "units of assessment" (subject areas) into the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014). In 10 of these, some of the research was classified as "world leading" (4). All 13 areas had research graded "internationally excellent" (3). Overall, 6% of research was classified as "world leading" and 26% as "internationally excellent", with the university having an overall GPA of 2.12.

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Challenges and Changes

It was announced on 18 September 2024 that St Mary's Childcare Centre based at City Campus will close permanently on 23 July 2025 as part of cost-saving measures. The Childcare Centre was running at a substantial loss being subsidised by the University in 2023/24 by £250,000. In January 2023 it was announced that the National Glass Centre building would be closed (and probably demolished) within 3 years. As a consequence, the University announced on 22 March 2024 that its glass and ceramics academic programme will close in summer 2026.

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