Address: Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AH, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Agriculture, Meteorology, Business (Henley)
Reading College was formed in 1892, when an Oxford University extension unit merged with the town’s Schools of Science and Art. Three decades later, in 1926, the college received its Royal Charter and became the University of Reading, with the power to award its own degrees.
Its main campus, Whiteknights, was bought in 1947 and occupies a former estate of about 130 hectares in Reading. The Greenlands campus on the Thames near Henley-upon-Thames became part of the university after the merger with Henley Management College in 2008, and it is the base for Henley Business School. A campus in Malaysia, at Iskandar Puteri, was the university’s first overseas site.
The university teaches across the sciences, humanities, social sciences, business and the arts, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in meteorology and climate as well as a degree in climate science. Henley Business School belongs to the university and gives it a dedicated management and business arm. Applicants should consult the university’s course pages for current entry requirements, fees and the accommodation options on Whiteknights.
Domains taught:
Agriculture, AI and Machine Learning, Data Analytics, Ecology and Sustainability, Food Science, Life Sciences
Diplomas*:
Bachelor, Doctor, Master, MBA
Status:
Public
Partnerships:
Strong links with food and farming industries (Centre for Agri-Food Economics and Trade), meteorological organisations (Met Office nearby), and business (Henley Business School is triple-accredited).
Research:
World-leading research in climate science (Walker Institute), agriculture, archaeology (Silchester Roman Town), and business. Research in AI and data science applied to these fields.
Famous Alumnis:
Jamie Cullum, Laura Tobin, Penny Mordaunt, Frauke Ludowig
International recognition**:
Number of staff***:
4100
Current students***:
20500
Foreign students***:
25%
Cumulative former students***:
155000
Pros
Renowned for specific research areas, beautiful parkland campus, Henley Business School is highly rated, strong in environmental sciences.
Cons
Campus is outside Reading town centre, research performance varies across departments.
Best For
Students interested in agriculture, climate science, archaeology, or business (Henley), at a research-focused campus university with a strong reputation in these fields.
University of Exeter, a public university in Devon, is known in the pool for environmental science and business alongside the humanities.
Newcastle University covers agriculture together with medicine and engineering, close to Reading's land-based sciences.
Lancaster University pairs business and environmental science with physics, a comparable blend to Reading's science and management strengths.
University of Nottingham teaches pharmacy, engineering and agriculture, a science-led profile close to that of Reading.
Aberystwyth University offers agriculture, international politics and earth and environmental sciences, a small public university with a similar rural-science profile.
Most Similar Schools Abroad
Universität Hohenheim (Germany), in Stuttgart, specialises in agricultural sciences and bioeconomy with food science and biotechnology.
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (Germany) combines agricultural and environmental sciences with chemistry and materials science.
Colorado State University (United States), at Fort Collins, is a public university with agricultural sciences, veterinary medicine and environmental science.
Michigan State University (United States) is a public university known for agriculture and supply chain management, which echoes Reading's land-science and business pairing.
Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy) links food science and technology with engineering and pharmaceutical sciences in a public university.
*our own picks (our criteria: a mix between domains, diploma delivered, reputation and size), but obviously too many criteria for an apple-to-apple ranking.
FAQ
How did the University of Reading begin?
It began in 1892 as Reading College, formed when an Oxford University extension unit merged with the town's Schools of Science and Art. The college gained university status in 1926.
When did Reading receive its Royal Charter?
The Royal Charter was granted in 1926, creating the University of Reading as a degree-awarding body.
Where are the university's campuses?
The main campus is Whiteknights in Reading, a former estate of about 130 hectares bought in 1947. Greenlands, near Henley-upon-Thames, serves Henley Business School, and there is a campus in Malaysia.
What is Henley Business School?
It is the university's business school, formed after the 2008 merger with Henley Management College. It operates from Greenlands on the Thames and from Whiteknights.
Can students study meteorology at Reading?
Yes, the university offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in meteorology and climate and an undergraduate degree in climate science. Details of entry requirements are on the course pages.
When was the Whiteknights site acquired?
The university bought it in 1947, and it has been the main campus since.
Does Reading have a campus outside the United Kingdom?
Yes, it opened a campus in Malaysia, at Iskandar Puteri, which was its first overseas campus. Students interested in it should check programme availability there.
*: without any judgment of the quality, readers are strongly encouraged to check the official status of the exact diploma envisioned as many universities have a mix of recognized diplomas, not recognized, “co-delivered,” “equivalent to”, “some pathways” (…), can change over time, and can be named differently from one country to another.
**: international reputation: is based on some criteria that do not mean much in some domains or specialties (number of researchers, of scientific publications, on budget ….). Our approximate 1-4 scale:
known locally
known locally and internationally
is listed in some of the world university’s classifications
is listed among the 20 firsts in some of world university’s classifications
***: estimated numbers, based on online sources and/or feedbacks. The numbers can vary greatly depending on school organisation (ex.: school is part of a group, it employs internal staff or external consultants or has public staff without employing them …). Refer to all the links provided to have accurate and updated numbers.
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