Lancaster University's excellence in research, teaching, career support, community engagement and sustainability actions are driven by its four academic faculties, many specialised research institutes, and a variety of professional and support services provided both within faculties and centrally across the entire University. Explore our faculties, divisions and departments below.
Faculties and departments
Arts and Social Sciences
- Educational Research
- English Literature and Creative Writing
- Global Affairs (including Languages and Cultures)
- History
- Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) (Architecture, Art, Design, Film, Theatre)
- Law School (Criminology, Law)
- Linguistics and English Language
- Politics, Philosophy and Religion
- Sociology
Management School
- Accounting and Finance
- Economics
- Entrepreneurship and Strategy
- Executive Education (MBA, Leadership and Management Programmes)
- Management Science (Business Analytics)
- Marketing
- Organisation, Work and Technology (Human Resources, International Management)
Science and Technology
- Chemistry
- Computing and Communications
- Engineering
- Lancaster Environment Centre (Biological Sciences, Environmental Science, Geography)
- Mathematical Sciences (MORSE)
- Natural Sciences
- Physics
- Psychology
Professional Services divisions
Specialist expertise and services that support the delivery of Lancaster University’s strategic aims are provided by a range of divisions.
Professional Services divisions accordion accordion
Our University engages with a diverse audience encompassing alumni, press and media professionals, research and business communities and prospective students from all corners of the globe. The External Relations division is responsible for communication with all these audiences. Our Alumni team help our global community of 170,000 alumni in 190 countries keep in touch, develop their careers, continue learning and take advantage of our unique alumni benefits. The Communications team keep our audiences aware of what’s going on at the University from internal news to global coverage of our cutting-edge research. The Marketing and Admissions teams attract both domestic and international students to our campuses in the UK and around the world, helping them select the most suitable course and pathway for their needs.
Facilities maintain and develops our buildings and 578-acre parkland site. The Bailrigg site includes our sports centre and fields, conference facilities, cafés, catering, graphic design studio, student accommodation and pre-school. Our extensive grounds and woodland areas are sustainably managed and kept looking beautiful by our dedicated grounds team. The Estates team also ensures our campus is safe and secure for students and staff.
Maintaining the financial administration of the University is fundamental to ensuring we can deliver our strategic aims and support staff, students and our external stakeholders. The Finance team assist budget holders and managers and oversee all procurement processes.
Our Information Systems Services team are responsible for the extensive range of hardware, software and Wi-Fi systems used throughout the University. In classrooms and meeting rooms, cutting-edge learning labs, student residences and hybrid working capabilities, the team are there to support staff and students and ensure data is kept secure. They also offer a wide variety of digital skills training and support to enable employee development.
Open 24 hours and seven days a week during term time, the library provides access for all to use our extensive print and digital collections, including specialist databases, special collections and archives and study spaces. Community members are welcomed to join the library to borrow from our print collections. The expert Library team ensure the inclusive, modern facilities are an ideal place for learning and enjoyment of our collections.
One of Lancaster University’s greatest assets is our people. Over 4,000 people work at the University in a wide range of roles, from entry level employees to senior professors and managers. The People and Organisational Effectiveness team look after everything related to our people including pay, benefits, career progression, staff training and development, wellbeing, recruitment, health and safety and much more.
The Research and Enterprise Services division builds relationships between research, industry and the community. There are many departments within this division that deliver specialist advice and support to help academics develop, share and apply their knowledge in a range of situations. By working with industry partners the Research and Enterprise Services team play a vital role in delivering the University’s goal of making a positive economic, cultural, societal and environmental change in our local and global community.
Managing, planning and ensuring the future success of Lancaster University is the realm of the Strategic Planning and Governance division. This team ensure the University governance systems are well managed and compliant and deals with legal advice and issues to support all faculties and central services. As a forward-thinking institution, this division also supports decision-making on strategic projects and partnerships to foster expansion of Lancaster’s reputation and global influence.
Being at University is a big change in a student’s life, whether they are from Newcastle or New Delhi. Our Student and Education Services division has specialist teams to support all students with everything from wellbeing and mental health support to careers and financial advice and academic help.
Colleges
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. There are nine colleges and every student and permanent staff member belongs to a college. Each college has a team of people working to run college services and events creating a sense of belonging with fellow college members. Students have a ready support system for any of their needs through the college system.
Our collegesInstitutes and centres
- Centre for Ageing Research
- Centre for Child and Family Justice Research
- Confucius Institute
- Centre for Consumption Insights
- Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science (CASS)
- Creative Cultures and Context Research Centre
- Data Science Institute
- Defying Dementia
- Digital Humanities Centre
- Centre for Disability Research (CeDR)
- Energy Lancaster
- Centre for Excellence in Environmental Data Science
- Centre for Family Business
- Centre for Financial Econometrics, Asset Markets and Macroeconomic Policy
- Centre for Global Eco-Innovation
- Gulf One Lab for Computational and Economic Research
- Centre for Health Futures
- Health Innovation Campus
- Centre for Interrogating Practices
- Centre for Higher Education Research and Evaluation (CHERE)
- ImaginationLancaster
- International Observatory on End-of-Life Care (IOELC)
- Lancaster Intelligent, Robotic and Autonomous Systems Centre
- Literacy Research Centre
- Centre for Marketing Analytics and Forecasting
- Materials Science
- Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe)
- Centre for Organisational Health and Wellbeing (COHWB)
- Centre for Practice Theory
- Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business
- Centre for Productivity and Efficiency
- Quantum Technology Centre
- Regional Heritage Centre
- Richardson Institute for Peace Studies
- The Ruskin - Library, Museum and Research Centre
- Centre for Scholarship and Innovation in Management Education
- Security Lancaster
- Centre for Alternative to Social and Economic Inequalities
- Institute for Social Futures
- Centre for Social Justice and Wellbeing in Education
- Spectrum Centre for Mental Health Research
- Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning
- Centre for Technological Futures
- Centre for Transport and Logistics
- Centre for War and Diplomacy
- Work Foundation