The Past - About the University - Newcastle University

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History

The University can trace its origins to a School of Medicine and Surgery (later the College of Medicine), established in Newcastle in 1834, and to Armstrong College, which was founded in the city in 1871 for the teaching of physical sciences.

These two colleges formed one division of the federal University of Durham, the Durham Colleges forming the other division. The Newcastle Colleges merged to form King's College in 1937 and, in 1963, when the federal University was dissolved, King's College became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Sustained expansion since 1945 has resulted in the development of a modern University campus, around the original Armstrong College buildings, on a 45-acre site close to the centre of Newcastle. A vigorous building programme over the past 30 years has created, among other additions to the campus

• a new Medical School
• a new Dental School
• the Robinson Library (with a substantial extension completed in 1996)
• and a new sports hall

Explore the history of the city of Newcastle with our timeline.