Many books and other works of fiction are set in, or refer to, fictional British or Irish universities. [1] [2] This list includes identifiable fictional universities or other institutions appearing to offer degree-level qualifications, and which are located in Britain or Ireland or, in a few cases, are extra-terrestrial institutions with clear British or Irish connections. Individual Oxbridge colleges are not included as there are separate lists of these.
University name | Creator | Comments |
---|---|---|
University of Bantshire | Anonymous | Parody website and Twitter feed commenting on UK Higher Education, described as "the Banksy of the education social media world". [3] [4] [5] |
Borchester University | various | Name used to disguise a university which was the subject of Angela Thody's 2012 study of emeritus professors. [6] [7] [8] The University is also used as an example in a variety of teaching materials for language learning. [9] [10] Borchester is the fictional county town of fictional Borsetshire, in the English Midlands, scene of the long-running BBC Radio series The Archers . |
The University of Bums on Seats | Cynicalbastards.com | "Formerly Peckham Polytechnic". A satirical invention reflecting the changing UK Higher Education system, online since at least 2001. [11] [12] |
Burston Central University | Chris Cooper (pseudonym) | Also the associated "University College of North Burston". Not to be confused with "The University of Burston" (established 1863) in the same town. Setting of The Unknown Tutor, published in December 2012 in the "Wading Through Treacle" blog and later republished. Burston is 4 hours' drive from Prestatyn but otherwise unlocated. [13] [14] |
University of Burston | Chris Cooper (pseudonym) | Established 1863 and not to be confused with Burston Central University in the same town. Featured in The Unknown Tutor, published in December 2012 in the "Wading Through Treacle" blog and later republished. [13] |
University of Carrbridge | Examiners in the Natural Sciences Tripos at the University of Cambridge | Carrbridge is a village in the Scottish Highlands. The university and its Porterhouse College featured in statistics questions in Cambridge Natural Sciences Tripos examination papers at least from 2008 to 2011. [15] |
Christminster University | Thomas Hardy | Jude's destination in Jude the Obscure , based on Oxford [16] |
Clyde University | Sea of Souls scriptwriter | Clyde's Department of Parapsychology is the Glasgow setting for this BBC TV series written by David Kane. Jordanhill College, Glasgow, was used to represent the university in exterior shots. [17] [18] |
Dartmouth University | Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong | The former university of main characters Mark and Jeremy in the Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show . |
University of Edgestow | C. S. Lewis | In the novel That Hideous Strength ; had four colleges: Bracton College, Northumberland College, Dukes College, St. Elizabeth's College. [19] Lewis described the fictional Edgestow as a small university town more beautiful than either Cambridge or Oxford. [20] |
Felpersham University | The Archers scriptwriters | University in the fictional cathedral city of Felpersham in Borsetshire, attended by several characters from the long-running BBC radio series The Archers . [21] [22] |
Fibchester University | National Union of Students | Subject of case studies in NUS training courses [23] [24] |
University of Gallifrey | Doctor Who scriptwriters | Located on fictional planet Gallifrey, source of the Thirteenth Doctor's doctorate; created by the BBC so undoubtedly a British institution. Merchandise available on eBay and Etsy indicates that it was established in 1963 and known as "Time Lord Academy". |
University of Gloucester | David Lodge | Setting of Thinks ... ( ISBN 0-436-44502-6) [25] Not to be confused with the real University of Gloucestershire. |
University of Hilldene | Ruth Rendell | Alma mater of Burden's daughter Pat in Inspector Wexford; filmed at Southampton [26] |
University of Inverdoon | Eric Linklater | The protagonist of Linklater's semi-autobiographical White Maa's Saga attends medical school at this Scottish university, either identified as University of Aberdeen or set in a town which is "a thinly veiled combination of Aberdeen and Inverness". [27] [28] |
King's University, also known as King's College Dublin | Eilís Dillon | Dublin based setting for novels including Death in the Quadrangle (Faber, 1956; republished 2009 ISBN 978-1601870445) [29] [30] |
Kirke University | Campus scriptwriters | Setting for the semi-improvised sitcom Campus [31] |
University College Limerick | David Lodge | Employer of a character in Small World ( ISBN 0-436-25663-0) [32] |
Lowlands University | Andrew Davies | Setting for A Very Peculiar Practice [33] Possibly based on Warwick. [1] |
Manchester Medlock University | Fresh Meat scriptwriters | Setting of TV comedy series Fresh Meat [34] The Medlock is a river in Greater Manchester. |
University of Maximegalon | Douglas Adams | Although not known to be located in Britain or Ireland, this establishment comes from the decidedly English imagination of Douglas Adams as part of the BBC Radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and can thus be considered to be a British institution. [35] |
University of North Norfolk | Elly Griffiths | The title character of Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series heads the department of forensic archaeology at this university near King's Lynn, Norfolk (which is not in North Norfolk local authority district). [36] [37] |
University of North Yorkshire | Susan Parry | Near Harrogate. Features in the novel Grand Depart (2013, Viridian Publishing, ISBN 978-0956789143) and other books by the same author, as the employer of central character Dr Millie Sanderson. [38] |
University of Norwich | Michael Frayn | In the 1986 film Clockwise , written by Frayn and directed by Christopher Morahan, headmaster Brian Stimpson (Cleese) sets off to deliver a speech at this fictional university [39] (not to be confused with the University of East Anglia established 1963 in Norwich, or Norwich University of the Arts which gained university status in 2013). Scenes depicting the university were filmed at King Edward's School, Birmingham and the University of Birmingham. [40] |
Poltowan University | Nicola K. Smith | Set in a fictional town somewhere west of Falmouth, Cornwall, this university is the setting for Smith's 2019 novel A Degree of Uncertainty (Compass, ISBN 978-1912009411) featuring tensions between students and residents. [41] |
Poppleton University | Laurie Taylor | Nether Poppleton and Upper Poppleton are real villages just outside York. Also used by HESA as an example in official documentation [42] [43] |
Rummidge University | David Lodge | Setting of the Campus Trilogy: Changing Places , Small World and Nice Work "A thinly-veiled portrait of Birmingham". [44] |
St Luke's University, Bristol | Doctor Who scriptwriters | Fictional university where the Twelfth Doctor taught and Bill Potts worked, first appearing in series 10, episode one The Pilot . Filming used the buildings of Cardiff University. [45] |
St Rule's University | Margaret Oliphant | Setting of Oliphant's 1896 short story "The Library Window", based on University of St Andrews. [46] |
St Sebastian's University | Anonymous | Setting of A Campus Conspiracy ( ISBN 9780954758677), published anonymously in 2006 but attributed to Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok. [47] [48] |
Scumbag College | The Young Ones scriptwriters | College attended (or not) by the four flat-sharing students in 1980s BBC TV series The Young Ones, written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer. A highlight was the four's appearance as the college's team on University Challenge confronting Footlights College, Oxbridge. [49] [50] |
Skerryvore University | James Bridie | A Scottish university, the setting of Bridie's 1939 play What Say They?, which was adapted into the 1952 comedy film You're Only Young Twice . [51] [52] Skerryvore is an island off the west of Scotland, 12 miles (19 km) beyond Tiree. |
University of Tayside | Traces scriptwriters | Located in Dundee, Scotland, and hosts the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science and Anatomy (SIFA), the setting for the series Traces , made by Alibi and shown on BBC One. Filming locations include University of Bolton. [53] Also branded as "Tayside University". [54] |
Unseen University | Terry Pratchett | Set in Discworld, but with characteristics of a very English institution. [55] |
Watermouth University | Malcolm Bradbury | Setting of The History Man ; "bears more than a passing resemblance to the University of East Anglia" [56] |
Wetherton University | Reginald Hill | The local university is mentioned in some episodes of Dalziel and Pascoe , the BBC TV series set in fictional Wetherton, Yorkshire. [57] [58] |
Wetwang University | Yorkshire Post columnist? | Wetwang is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire [59] |
Wrottesley Polytechnic | Howard Jacobson | Sefton Goldberg, the central character of Jacobson's 1980 novel Coming From Behind, is an unhappy lecturer at this English polytechnic "somewhere in the debased and deteriorating Midlands". [60] [61] Inspired by Jacobson's experiences as a lecturer at Wolverhampton Polytechnic. [62] |
Note that the red brick university in which Kingsley Amis sets Lucky Jim is unnamed.
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterrestrial being called the Doctor, part of a humanoid species called Time Lords. The Doctor travels in the universe and in time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS, which externally appears as a British police box. While travelling, the Doctor works to save lives and liberate oppressed peoples by combating foes. The Doctor often travels with companions.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2), with an estimated population of nearly 67.6 million people in 2022.
The University of Warwick is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of a government initiative to expand higher education. The Warwick Business School was established in 1967, the Warwick Law School in 1968, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) in 1980, and Warwick Medical School in 2000. Warwick incorporated Coventry College of Education in 1979 and Horticulture Research International in 2004.
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidney Webb, Beatrice Webb, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw, LSE joined the University of London in 1900 and established its first degree courses under the auspices of the university in 1901. LSE began awarding its degrees in its own name in 2008, prior to which it awarded degrees of the University of London. It became a university in its own right within the University of London in 2022.
North Carolina State University is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university forms one of the corners of the Research Triangle together with Duke University in Durham and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
The University of Waterloo is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on 404 hectares of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates three satellite campuses and four affiliated university colleges. The university offers academic programs administered by six faculties and thirteen faculty-based schools. Waterloo operates the largest post-secondary co-operative education program in the world, with over 20,000 undergraduate students enrolled in the university's co-op program. Waterloo is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.
The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institution was previously known as Battersea College of Technology and was located in Battersea Park, London. Its roots however, go back to Battersea Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1891 to provide further and higher education in London, including its poorer inhabitants.
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of Melbourne's central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria.
The Army Air Corps (AAC) is the aviation arm of the British Army, first formed in 1942 during the Second World War by grouping the various airborne units of the British Army. Today, there are eight regiments of the AAC, as well as two independent flights and two independent squadrons deployed in support of British Army operations around the world. Regiments and flights are located in the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Canada. Some AAC squadrons provide the air assault elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade, through Joint Helicopter Command.
Plymouth Marjon University, commonly referred to as Marjon, is the trading name of the University of St Mark and St John, a university based primarily on a single campus on the northern edge of Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom. Formerly named University College Plymouth St Mark & St John, the institution was awarded full university status in 2013.
Shrewsbury Sixth Form College is a post-secondary co-educational sixth-form college located in Shrewsbury, the county town of Shropshire, England. The college currently has an enrolment of approximately 1,650 students, generally ranging between the ages of 16 and 19. The curriculum consists of AS, A levels and a small range of BTECs. GCSE English Language and Maths can only be taken alongside an A level programme as resits. The college was ranked as the 17th-best sixth-form college in 2012, has the best A-Level performance of any state-funded institution in Shropshire, and has been awarded 'Beacon Status'. The college's Welsh Bridge campus includes buildings of Grade II-listed status originally built in 1910 to house the Priory Grammar School for Boys.
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Its influence, wealth, and rankings have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo is a British author and academic. Her novel Girl, Woman, Other jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's The Testaments, making her the first Black woman to win the Booker. Evaristo is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University London and President of the Royal Society of Literature, the second woman and the first black person to hold the role since it was founded in 1820.
Fan fiction or fanfiction is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settings, or other intellectual properties from the original creator(s) as a basis for their writing. Fan fiction ranges from a couple of sentences to an entire novel, and fans can retain the creator's characters and settings, add their own, or both. It is a form of fan labor. Fan fiction can be based on any fictional subject. Common bases for fan fiction include novels, movies, comics, television shows, musical groups, cartoons, anime, manga, and video games.
Jediism is a philosophy, and, in some cases, a tongue-in-cheek joke religion, mainly based on the depiction of the Jedi characters in Star Wars media. Jediism attracted public attention in 2001 when a number of people recorded their religion as "Jedi" on national censuses.
The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948.
The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Mines were established in 1838, 1855, 1863, and 1888 respectively. These institutions later formed the University of Exeter after receiving its royal charter in 1955. In post-nominals, the University of Exeter is abbreviated as Exon., and is the suffix given to honorary and academic degrees from the university.
Harper Adams University, founded in 1901 as Harper Adams College, is a public university located close to the village of Edgmond, near Newport, in Shropshire, England. Established in 1901, the college is a specialist provider of higher education for the agricultural and rural sector. It gained university college status in 1998, and university status in 2012 when the requirements were relaxed.
The site makes clear that Burston Central University is entirely fictional, and that any character's resemblance to real persons, living or dead, ...
... a quiet young student at the University of Maximegalon...