Our heritage and history

Architecture and Design at Birmingham City University was originally arranged by Birmingham Architectural Association towards the end of the 19th century. It originated in classes held at the College of Art in Margaret Street. In 1908 it became a department of the College, and recognition by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) of the Part 1 Examination was granted in 1923, followed by the Part 2 and Part 3 Examinations in 1930.

In 1970, the principal Colleges of Higher Education in Birmingham were amalgamated to form Birmingham Polytechnic. A facility structure grouped architecture with construction and surveying, planning, landscape and housing in the Faculty of the Built Environment. The vocational field of Interior Design was developed at Birmingham Polytechnic between 1971 and 1992.

University status was granted in 1992 when the Polytechnic became the University of Central England in Birmingham (UCE). In 2001 the School of Architecture and Landscape was formed within the Faculty. In June 2005 Birmingham School of Architecture moved to the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) at Gosta Green campus. In 2008 the School celebrated its Centenary year. Announcements were made about a move to a new £62 million building at Eastside.

The move to The Parkside Building at Eastside took place in September 2013. From September 2014, we became part of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media which embodies the strong creative and cultural offer of the University and builds on our distinctive strengths. In August 2015, we incorporated 3D Design into our structure.

Each year we continue to showcase the latest work from final-year students for courses in Architecture, Landscape, Product Design and Interiors with our graduate shows. Our students continue to collaborate and engage with the industry and gain awards and recognition for their work.

Founded in 1885, as the UK's first public art school, the School of Art in Margaret Street has achieved global recognition in developing students' visual art and design skills. Since its rapid growth in the eighteenth century, Birmingham has long celebrated its craft and manufacturing heritage and its cultural diversity. Famous for its designers, industrial pioneers, scientists and businessmen, such as John Baskerville, Matthew Boulton and James Watt, it was home to the Lunar Society, which fostered innovation and philanthropy. To cater for its industry, Birmingham welcomed people from all over Britain and Ireland, refugees from Europe and travellers from Africa and the West Indies.

The School of Art has its roots in the 1843 Birmingham Government School of Design, a national attempt to improve quality in design. The Margaret Street building opened in 1885 as the first Municipal School of Art, liaising closely with local industries. Designed by J. H. Chamberlain, it is in Ruskinian Venetian Gothic style, its many workshops testament to its Arts and Crafts principles.

Until 2013 the School of Art operated across two sites, the other being the Bournville campus. Today the BA (Hons) Art and Design course has relocated to Margaret Street. The Faculty embodies a strong creative and cultural offer and enables students to benefit from shared space and facilities, located primarily at our city centre campuses.

The origins of English at Birmingham City University can be traced back to the Department of English and Secretarial Studies in the Birmingham College of Commerce in the 1950s (in a building on the present Aston University site). In 1959, the department began offering the external University of London BA English degree on a part-time basis, with a full-time version following in 1964. One of the graduates during this period was the celebrated novelist Jim Crace, who has since served as a Visiting Professor.

During the 1960s the department became the Department of English and Foreign Languages, in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and this became one of the constituent faculties when the City of Birmingham Polytechnic was formed in 1971. The department began offering its own Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) English degree in 1973.

During the 1980s the department lost foreign languages to the Business School and became the Department of English and Communication Studies within the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences. In 1985 the English degree was revised and renamed BA English Language and Literature. At the time, this was one of the few single honours courses that allowed students to combine literary and linguistic study. In 1992, English and Communication Studies went their separate ways: Communication Studies to Art and Design, and English to the Faculty of Computing and Information Studies, which was eventually renamed the Faculty of Computing, Information and English (CIE).

During the 1990s, the English degree took in around 100 students every year and went through a number of reviews and developments. A distance learning MA in English Linguistics (originally English Language) began in 1992, and an MA in Literary Studies was introduced in 1998.

In 2004 English joined the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, which was initially renamed Law, Humanities and Social Sciences (LHSS), and then a year later Law, Humanities, Development and Society (LHDS) when it moved into Dawson Building. With the faculty reorganisation in the renamed Birmingham City University in 2007, English found itself in the Faculty of Performance, Media and English (PME) and back in Baker Building. Since Summer 2015 English has been based in the Curzon Building in Birmingham City Centre, joining the other constituent departments in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media. 

Our research has grown exponentially in recent years. We have made a strong return to every Research Assessment Exercise (RAE and REF) since 1996 and we currently boast scholars and writers of international renown in all its constituent fields, whether literature, linguistics, drama or creative writing. There have been major funded research projects from the Arts and Heritage Resource Council (AHRC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Leverhulme Trust, and the work of members features regularly in world-leading journals and publishing houses.

In 2012 we launched our Institute of Creative and Critical Writing. After many years of forging strong links with local creative organisations, the Institute provides the perfect base upon which to expand this activity. It brings together writers, academics and students to share ideas and experience. Our alumni have found great jobs: as journalists, lawyers, teachers, business analysts, marketers, lecturers, even comedians (perhaps our most famous ex-student is Frank Skinner). We are proud of them all; proud of our past; proud of our present and expect to go developing long into the future.

We have a rich and respected art and design heritage that can be traced back to 1843 when an art provision was founded in the city with the mission to serve industry and culture in and around Birmingham.

The city and its industrialists wanted to add value to their products and enrich people by investing in art and design education. In the early part of the Millennium we became part of the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD).

We have since become a globally significant centre for fashion, textiles and design.

Opening in the city centre in 2005 as an Adobe training centre, our Film and Animation courses are part of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media at Birmingham City University. In early 2010, we merged with the Digbeth-based production house Screen Media Lab. Screen Media Lab was a digital agency set up in the early 2000's to produce websites, apps and video solutions to clients.

In 2011, our web design, development and video services were integrated into the University's IT department, shifting focus to running accredited Adobe and Apple short courses and growing suite of postgraduate training courses, such as Gamer Camp, Future Media and Film Distribution and Marketing. In 2014, based on the huge success of the practice-based postgraduate courses in video game development, digital marketing and film business, we launched a suite of two year degree programmes.

These courses were also very successful and subsequent growth led to moving into new expanded facilities in January 2018.

On November 4, 1889, the Birmingham Jewellery and Silversmiths Association (now the British Jewellers Association) held an historical meeting attended by representatives from the principal jewellery and silverware manufacturing companies.

The purpose was to discuss setting up an exclusive school for the jewellery making industry. The Association achieved its objective and a new school opened in the factory building at 84 Vittoria Street, which it still occupies, on September 18, 1890.

In 1951 all jewellery and silversmithing teaching at the College of Art in Margaret Street was moved to Vittoria Street and a single School was created. Significant developments include a major exhibition Finely Taught, Finely Wrought, celebrating the School’s centenary, which was held at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, with a preface to the catalogue written by HRH Prince Charles.

In 1995, an extensive building and refurbishment programme was completed, creating the largest teaching institution for the specialisation in Europe. Another major aspect of the School – the Jewellery Industry Innovation Centre – opened in 1997.

From September 2014, the School became part of the Faculty of Art, Design and Media. This Faculty embodies the strong creative and cultural offering of the University and we play a highly significant role in that. Jewellery courses are located primarily on our City Campus and so retain our magnificent Vittoria Street base, with students benefitting from shared space and facilities. We are constantly evolving, developing and keeping ahead of current techniques and industry developments in jewellery making and design.

We celebrated our 125 anniversary in 2015, along with a visit from Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex and opened our Gemmology Department in the Assay Office early 2016. HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the School of Jewellery in November, gaining first hand insight into the quality of creative talent produced by its staff, students and graduates. We continue to hold exciting exhibitions and events to showcase the successes of our students and alumni, so watch this space.