The University of Sunderland was founded in 1901 as Sunderland Technical College and was awarded university status in 1992, University of Sunderland degree. It has four campuses: two in Sunderland on the northeast coast of England, one in London, which is used for teaching business, tourism and nursing degrees, and a new development in Hong Kong. In 2018, the University was named as one of only five new medical schools in the UK, established to address the regional imbalance of medical education places across England and to widen access to the medical profession. The first cohort of students will join the School of Medicine in September 2019.

The University of Sunderland has close links with business and industry and a close working relationship with many leading blue-chip companies. Many take work placements with such companies as part of a degree, with links particularly strong in engineering and media.

In their feedback from the Teaching Excellence Framework, assessors highlighted the University’s embedded professional practice and the tangible contribution made by business and industrial partners to programme content, replace UK degree.

Links with industry are a key part of the University’s approach, with each faculty having its collaborative business partners to influence programme content, collaborate on research or degree apprenticeships, give guest lectures or provide work placement opportunities to students and graduates. There have been recent developments with organisations including Accenture, Sage, North East Automotive Alliance, Caterpillar, Northumbria Police, Sunderland and South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, Army Medical Squadron, Dance City, BBC and Arts Council England, to name a few.