Durham University is distinctive - a residential collegiate university with long traditions and modern values. They seek the highest distinction in research and scholarship and are committed to excellence in all aspects of education and transmission of knowledge. Their research and scholarship affect every continent. They are proud to be an international scholarly community which reflects the ambitions of cultures from around the world. They promote individual participation, providing a rounded education in which students, staff and alumni gain both the academic and the personal skills required to flourish.
Values
As a result, they value their:
Human scale and global reach
They are a supportive community of staff and students which makes a difference to people world-wide and cherishes their locations.
Freedom of thought and debate
They cherish new ideas and push the frontiers of knowledge in an exciting intellectual environment.
Tradition and modernity
They reflect almost two centuries of learning and scholarship in colleges and departments, while their creativity and transformative research shape today’s international agendas.
Collegiality and diversity
They provide opportunities for their staff and students to excel and make a difference in whatever sphere of life they choose. They work together to achieve their vision respecting each other and the diversity individuals bring.
Ethics and responsibility
They promote the highest standards of individual behaviour and personal accountability, and value social responsibility as a University and in their external partnerships.
History
After the Dark Ages in Europe, the 7th Century saw a flowering of thought and culture in the North East of England. Bede - poet, scientist, historian and the greatest European scholar of the 7th century - is buried in Durham, as is St Cuthbert, who established 'English' Christianity from its Celtic and Roman roots. The Lindisfarne Gospels, 'one of the great landmarks of human cultural achievement', were produced nearby and resided in Durham with the body of St Cuthbert until the 16th century when they were removed to London - our 'Gospel Book' is returning to Durham in 2013. The 'Cuthbert Community' became one of the richest in Europe, with lands extending from the Tyne to the Tees and beyond. This scholarly, monastic community was a precursor of the modern University tradition which spread across Europe and around the world. Durham's 11th century Norman Cathedral was built between 1096 and 1130 and is one of the world's truly great buildings. Durham Castle, now part of the University, dates from 1072 and was the seat of the all-powerful Prince-Bishops who wielded secular and religious power over much of the North of England, with their own armies, system of taxation and coinage - until the end of the Prince-Bishopric in 1832 Durham was effectively a state within a state.
Durham became one of England's leading centres of medieval scholarship, along with Oxford and Cambridge. Indeed, three Colleges - now part of Oxford University - were founded from Durham (University College and Balliol College, and in 1286 Durham College was run from Durham to train scholars for Durham for 300 years until it became incorporated into the University of Oxford as Trinity College). Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell's attempts to formally establish a University for the North in Durham were subsumed by politics and North-South rivalries, and it was not until 1832, as the Prince-Bishopric declined lost his powers, was Durham finally endowed with the Castle and lands and granted degree awarding powers by the king as England's third University. Durham University is the inheritor of a continuous line of learning and scholarship dating from Bede and Cuthbert to the present day.
Durham has always been a modern, forward-looking University. With a medieval World Heritage Site at their heart, their new buildings continue the tradition of important and innovative architecture. Durham was one of the first universities to admit women on an equal footing to men (1890), to establish medical training (1834) and the first to award Civil and Mining Engineering degrees to meet regional and national needs during the industrial revolution (1838). Durham led in the development of science and established one of the earliest observatories in England. Durham University was based in two cities for over 100 years, its medical school at King's College and other Colleges in Newcastle becoming the new and independent University of Newcastle in 1963. Durham was also the first University to establish overseas campuses a century before the concept was reinvented: in Barbados in 1875 and Sierra Leone in 1876. In 1992 the University established a significant presence at their Queen's Campus in the heart of Tees Valley, reinitiating medical teaching and breaking disciplinary boundaries to enhance public health and social well being.
