About Solent University
Solent is based in Southampton and has a population of around 11,000 staff and students. The University prides itself on creating opportunities: for its students, for its staff, for its partners.
Solent currently holds three Gold ratings in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) which is awarded by the Office for Students (OfS). This award recognises that Solent's student experience and student outcomes are typically outstanding. They are 1 of only 15 Higher Education institutions to be awarded this level.
Solent offers over 200 qualifications ranging from HND to PhD, in subjects as diverse as maritime education and training, fashion and design, business, media and television, music, IT and technology. Every year Solent is also joined by around 10,000 additional students on short professional courses.
Solent focuses on the practical side of higher education – providing students with the connections, experience and confidence to turn their newfound knowledge into a career with real, meaningful impact.
Solent has been a university since July 2005, but has a long and complex educational history. Incorporated as an independent higher education institution in 1989, the University's origins can be traced back to a private School of Art founded in 1855. Mergers between Southampton College of Art, the College of Technology and the College of Nautical Studies at Warsash laid the foundations for what is now Solent University.