History
York St John is a
prestigious university with roots going back to the 1840’s. York
Diocesan Training School, for teacher education, opened in May 1841
with one pupil on the register, 16 year old Edward Preston
Cordukes. (The current Students’ Union building is named in his
honour). 1846 saw the foundation of the Female Training School
which moved to Ripon in 1862. The college in York was described as
St John’s College from the late 1890s.
By 1904 St John’s was the largest Diocesan College in the
country with 112 students (today we have almost 6,000 students
studying with us).
After rapid development of its subject base and student numbers
both institutions merged to become the College of Ripon & York
St John in 1974. The University has also had a long and productive
relationship with the University of Leeds dating back to 1920. The
University continues to validate research degrees.
In 1999 the College’s Board of Governors decided to relocate all
taught courses to the York campus - and by the end of 2001 all
students and staff had transferred across to York and a new name
was chosen, York St John.
In September 2005 York St John was granted Taught Degree
Awarding Powers. Following this, York St John received approval
from the Privy Council of the United Kingdom to become a University
and adopted the full title of York St John University on the 1
October 2006, followed by the installation of its first Chancellor
Archbishop Sentamu in March 2007.
Today the University is based on an award winning campus in the
centre of York with almost 6,000 students studying on a wide range
of subjects. It has a wide network of regional, national and
international partnerships with a highly recognised reputation for
its teaching and learning.