University of Reading

University of Reading
Former name
University College, Reading
TypePublic
Established1892 – University College, Reading
1926 – university status
Endowment£111.4 million (2024)
Budget£339.2 million (2023/24)
ChancellorPaul Lindley
Vice-ChancellorRobert Van de Noort
Academic staff
1,645 (2023/24)
Administrative staff
2,250 (2023/24)
Students20,245 (2023/24)
16,740 FTE (2023/24)
Undergraduates13,460 (2023/24)
Postgraduates6,785 (2023/24)
Location, ,
51°26′31″N 0°56′44″W / 51.44194°N 0.94556°W / 51.44194; -0.94556
ColoursBlack, white and purple
Affiliations
Websitereading.ac.uk

The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, Reading in 1902. The institution became a university with the power to grant its own degrees in 1926 by royal charter from King George V, and was the only university to receive such a charter between the two world wars. The university is usually categorised as a red brick university, reflecting its original foundation in the 19th century.

Reading has four major campuses. In the United Kingdom, the campuses on London Road and Whiteknights are based in the town of Reading itself, and Greenlands is based on the banks of the River Thames in Buckinghamshire. It also has a campus in Iskandar Puteri, Malaysia. The university has been arranged into 16 academic schools since 2016. The annual income of the institution for 2023–24 was £339.2 million of which £33.7 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £257.2 million.