Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds Polytechnic) is a university located in Leeds, West Yorkshire with campuses in the city centre and inHeadingley. It gained university status in 1992; before this date it was the LeedsPolytechnic. The number of students is listed by the HESA 2008/09 data as the 15th largest in Britain. The current name was adopted in 2014.
The university's origins can be traced to 1824, with the foundation of the LeedsMechanics Institute. Leeds Polytechnic was formed in 1970 and was a part of the Leeds Local Education Authority until it became an independent higher Education Corporation on 1 April 1989. In 1992 the institution was granted university status.
Leeds Metropolitan University has more than 28,000 students and 3,000 staff. It offers a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate, full-time and part-time courses, as well as flexible and weekend courses. The university's City campus boasts the Rose Bowl and Broadcasting Place – judged the best tall building in the world by a council of global architects. The historic Headingley campus sits among woodland just a few miles outside of the city.
The four faculties – arts, environment and technology; business and law; Carnegie; and health and social sciences – offer a range of disciplines, from physiotherapy to computer forensics and sport, to human-resource management.
With employability at the heart of its curriculum, Leeds Met uses its relationship with employers to ensure course content is relevant to the workplace.
