The University of Southampton (abbreviated as Soton) is a public university located in Southampton, United Kingdom. Southampton is a research intensive university and a founding member of the Russell Group of elite British universities.
The origins of the university are dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 following a legacy to the Corporation of Southampton by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed into the Hartley University College, with degrees awarded by the University of London. On 29 April 1952, the institution was granted a Royal Charter to give the University of Southampton full university status. It is a member of the European University Association, the Association of Commonwealth Universities and is an accredited institution of the Worldwide Universities Network.
Besides being recognised as one of the leading research universities in the UK, Southampton has also achieved consistently high scores for its teaching and learning activities. It additionally has one of the highest proportions of income derived from research activities in Britain.
Southampton currently has over 17,000 undergraduate and 7,000 postgraduate students, making it the largest university by higher education students in the South East region. The University has six campuses - four in Southampton, one in Winchester,[ and one international branch in Malaysia. A further campus - the Maritime Centre of Excellence - is being developed close to the Highfield Campus. The main campus is located in the Highfield area of Southampton. Three other campuses are located throughout the city - Avenue Campus, National Oceanography Centre and Southampton General Hospital, with an additional campus - the School of Art - based in nearby Winchester.
The University has over 5000 places at University owned halls of residence, spread over two main complexes and several other smaller halls located within a couple of miles from the University. The University's Students' Union, University of Southampton Students' Union, provides support, representation and social activities for the students ranging from involvement in the Union's four media coutlets to any of the 200 affiliated societies and 80 sports.
