Coventry University is a public research university in Coventry, England. It was known as Lanchester Polytechnic until 1987, and then as Coventry Polytechnic until it was awarded university status in 1992.
With more than 29,000 students in 2017, Coventry is the larger of the two universities in the city – the other being the University of Warwick – and the fastest growing university in the UK. It has two principal campuses: one in the centre of Coventry where the majority of its operations are located, and one in central London which focuses on business and management courses. Coventry also governs their other higher education institutions CU Scarborough and CU London, both of which markets itself as being an “alternative to mainstream higher education”. Its four faculties, which are made up of schools and departments, run around 300 undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Across the university there are 11 research centres which specialise in different fields, from transport to peace studies.
Nationally, Coventry is ranked 13th by The Guardian University Guide 2020, 44th by The Times/Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and 53rd by The Complete University Guide 2020. In 2017, the university gained a Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (THE). Coventry is a member of the University Alliance mission group.