A university for the world
- Established in 1451
- A world top 100 university
- Eight Nobel Laureates connected to the University
- Member of the prestigious Russell Group of leading UK research universities
- World top 30 for sustainability
The University of Glasgow has been changing the world since 1451, tackling the world’s challenges through creativity, innovation and partnership.
We have nurtured Nobel laureates and prime ministers, inventors and renowned thinkers, award-winning writers and human rights activists, as they’ve sought to push forward the boundaries of what’s possible.
Adam Smith laid the foundations of modern economics. John Macintyre opened the world’s first hospital x-ray department. James Watt gave power to the industrial revolution. Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered radio pulsars. Ian Donald showed us the first ultrasound image of a foetus.
Our past achievements inspire our current world changers, as they strive to make a positive impact on the world.
We are committed to tackling the most pressing global challenges facing humanity and the natural world, delivering against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
We were the first European university to declare it would divest from fossil fuels by 2024 and the first in Scotland to declare a climate emergency.
We believe that everyone should have fair access to education. We are proud of our long tradition of helping talented people to fulfil their ambitions, regardless of their background or circumstances.
Our University of Sanctuary status recognises the safe and welcoming environment we provide for refugees and asylum seekers.
As a globally connected University, we work in partnership with others across the world to advance global solutions to real-world problems. We are open to collaboration and the exchange of knowledge with other universities, government and business.
World-changing research
Glasgow is a place where enquiring minds can develop their ideas. A place where discoveries have been changing the world for 575 years.
Today, our researchers continue that legacy through curiosity, openness, collaboration and a willingness to challenge the status quo. By connecting deep expertise with interdisciplinary thinking, they translate ideas into impact in Glasgow and for the world. Purposeful collaboration across disciplines, sectors, institutions and borders enables us to tackle bigger challenges and address more complex research questions.
Spotlight on Research
'Spotlight on Research' focuses on our world-changing researchers and their fantastic work at the University of Glasgow. The series showcases how researchers at different stages in their career contribute to the University’s mission to transform lives through ideas and action.
Hessam Mehr - Chemistry, Information & Discovery
Tim Peacock - History, War Studies & Gaming
Lisa Bradley - Creative and Interdisciplinary Studies
Fedra Trujillano - Earth Observation
Wridhdhisom Karar - Quantum Computing
Marta Vignola - Water Treatment Technologies
Innovation
OUR DISCOVERIES, KNOWLEDGE AND PARTNERSHIPS ARE PROVIDING INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND CHANGING THE WORLD
Through our innovations we are growing economies, tackling inequalities and improving the health and wellbeing of citizens to create sustainable futures for our communities.
Our central role in the local ecosystem anchors glasgow as a place where innovation can flourish.
Our discoveries, knowledge and partnerships are providing innovative solutions and changing the world
Through collaborative science and deep industry engagement, we are accelerating innovations that reshape the future of chronic disease treatment.
Our collaboration with Eli Lilly & Company is advancing better treatment options and therapies for people living with a range of immune-related conditions, driving discoveries that improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
Our partnership with Roche via the Glasgow Biomarker Research Unit is expanding treatment options for the estimated 64 million people worldwide living with heart failure.
Our longstanding partnership with AstraZeneca enables joint research programmes across a range of scientific areas to enable cutting-edge drug discovery.
Together, these partnerships amplify our impact and accelerate progress toward better health outcomes globally. They also reflect Glasgow’s position as a partner of choice for patient-related medical research, therapeutics and drug discovery.
We are a key partner of the UK Quantum Technology Research Hub in Sensing, Imaging & Timing, a major cross-industry partnership working with over 100 industry companies across diverse sectors including energy, civil engineering and healthcare.
Our research-led innovations are enabling new company creation to deliver economic and social impact
Following a successful investment round of £1.6m, University spin-out TileBio will launch an AI ‘language of cancer’ diagnostic technology. The team has developed a pioneering platform that allows AI systems to learn the language of diseased tissues directly from millions of unlabelled medical pathology images to increase the speed and accuracy of lifesaving diagnosis.
Pioneering University deep-tech spin-out Chemify opened the first Chemifarm in Maryhill, Glasgow, in June 2025. This new centre marks a significant milestone in the University’s strategy to translate groundbreaking research into large-scale commercial entities that create jobs and economic impact within the city and beyond. Chemify has since raised over $50m, allowing the company to expand its blueprint globally and build a network of digital chemistry hubs delivering on-demand molecule design and manufacturing to pharmaceutical, biotech and materials-science partners.
The University’s thriving community of student-founded businesses includes QuantaTrace, a startup which specialises in highly secure quantum tags and optical scanners to verify physical products throughout the supply chain.
Our place-based economic development activity is changing Glasgow for the better
The Glasgow Riverside Innovation District (GRID) is a place where innovation meets opportunity. Strategically positioned along the River Clyde and incorporating a unique combination of world-class education, talent and exceptional infrastructure overseen by the University and its fellow founding partners Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow City Council, GRID is the ideal environment for investors, startups and research-driven businesses to grow.
Alongside the cutting-edge facilities of new developments such as the Health Innovation Hub and our Church Street Innovation Zone, GRID offers the sector leading GRID Civic Grant Fund, ensuring funding opportunities are directly aligned with our community’s priorities to unlock meaningful local impact.
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Connecting globally
OVER OUR FIVE CENTURIES OF HISTORY, WE HAVE CEMENTED STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH A DIVERSE RANGE OF GLOBAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND WE KNOW FIRST-HAND THE POWER OF COLLABORATION
The University of Glasgow has long been a catalyst for remarkable journeys of discovery and collaboration. For more than five centuries, we have inspired people who have gone on to shape leading educational institutions across the world, and we continue to nurture these relationships today.
Our international outlook is central to who we are. We are recognised as a globally significant institution – reflected in our standing in world rankings, the diversity of our students, colleagues and alumni, and the global reach of our research and education.
Through key partnerships with world-leading universities, industry and governments, our people work together to address major societal challenges, including those outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Our transnational education partnerships with the Singapore Institute of Technology, Nankai University and the University of Electronic Science & Technology of China further extend our global footprint and showcase our commitment to innovative models of education.
Our students are more internationally mobile than ever, and we continue to enrich the experience of every Glasgow student by embedding a global perspective throughout their studies.
We are proud to be founding members of Universitas 21 and The Guild of European Research Intensive Universities, networks that provide platforms for innovative collaboration and enable us to influence policy across the sector.
We are also one of a select group of UK institutions participating in a European University Alliance through the European Commission’s flagship European Universities Initiative. Through CIVIS, we work with partners across Europe and Africa to advance education, research and societal engagement.
The most impactful institutions are those that are truly global, and we are proud to count ourselves among them. Together with our partners worldwide, we are shaping a better future.
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World-changing campus
WE HAVE DELIVERED ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPANSIONS OF A UK UNIVERSITY CITY CAMPUS FOR OVER A CENTURY
Over the last decade, the University of Glasgow has invested in its estate to expand its world-class campus and facilities. An area covering 14 acres of land next to our magnificent Gilmorehill campus has been redeveloped to build a mix of modern research, teaching and public spaces.
Our new buildings will mean the University remains a centre for world-changing research, as well as a vibrant community hub and centre for public engagement.
The development will transform our teaching, learning and research spaces. It will allow us to bring together the best minds of today and tomorrow within world-class interdisciplinary research spaces that offer flexibility and stimulate collaboration, and modern study spaces that will combine study and social learning space with technology-enabled teaching.
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An excellent student experience
WE DEVELOP AND SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS SO THAT THEY FULFIL THEIR POTENTIAL AND CONTRIBUTE IN THE FULLEST WAY TO CULTURE, SOCIETY AND THE LOCAL AND GLOBAL ECONOMY THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES
We create an inclusive environment where students develop meaningful relationships with one another and with staff and, through those encounters, create new knowledge, challenge received wisdom, build inter-cultural and leadership capabilities, and develop disciplinary excellence and an appetite for lifelong learning and enquiry.
Rapid and seismic impacts on societies and economies around the world, combined with the fast pace of change resulting from the effect of technology, require flexible and adaptable graduates who can integrate knowledge across disciplines to bring creative solutions to complex world problems.
- Our learning and teaching is shaped by the values, creativity, ambition and commitment of students and staff, needed to support them to thrive in a rapidly shifting, internationally competitive higher education sector.
- We promote, encourage and enable more pervasive engagement with student-centred active learning approaches.
- We transform curricula and assessment in ways that address the societal challenges that we face globally, reflect our values of inclusivity and integrity, draw on best practice in teaching and assessment, and embed work-related, professionally recognised learning
opportunities for students. - We work in partnership with students to support their development as flexible and adaptable graduates who can work effectively with others to bring disciplinary skills and knowledge together to form creative solutions to complex world problems.
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Our city, our partner
THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW WAS FOUNDED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CITY AND ITS PEOPLE
We work with companies and organisations throughout the city to co-design solutions to create real, lasting impact and opportunity in Glasgow and beyond.
Our staff and students are engaged in strong, enduring research and community partnerships to improve health, boost the economy, build a better future and celebrate the achievements of those living in Glasgow.
The University is a key player in the city’s ambitious plans for the regeneration of the River Clyde and in the development of a Glasgow Riverside Innovation District, which is helping to transform some of the most deprived areas in Scotland.
Our researchers are helping the city move towards climate resilience while tackling health, social and economic inequalities by working in partnership with Glasgow City Council.
Volunteering is a vital part of the University of Glasgow’s culture. We have built partnerships with more than 50 social enterprises, charities, community projects and public bodies across Glasgow and beyond.
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Sustainability in action
AT GLASGOW, WE’RE TAKING SUSTAINABILITY SERIOUSLY, AND WE’VE BEEN RECOGNISED FOR OUR EFFORTS
We are highly ranked for our contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And in the world top 20 for both the QS Sustainability Rankings and the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. By aligning our activities closely with the SDGs, we can help tackle the most pressing global challenges facing humanity and the natural world.
- Our Carbon Management Plan sets out actions we will take to reach our emissions target
- Our economic contribution to the UK economy has been valued at around £4.4bn
- Our S-Labs programme launched reduces laboratory activity impact on the environment
- Our Catering & Events are Fairtrade, Sustainable Restaurant Association, Vegetarian Society, Vegan Society and Red Tractor accredited. We have phased out single-use plastics from our catering operations
- We are a proud Accredited Living Wage employer
- We have been a member of the Athena SWAN Charter since 2011
- We are a Disability Confident employer and offer a guaranteed interview for applicants
- We have achieved a 50:50 gender balance on our University Senior Management Group.
