Dear Alumni,
We have signed an agreement with St George’s, University of London, the outstanding and long-established medical and health school, to combine our institutions creating a merged university.
This development marks an important milestone for both City and St George’s, bringing together each of our strengths to form one world-class institution.
By combining City’s excellence in a breadth of disciplines including health, business, law, creativity, communications, science and technology, with the reputation of St George’s as a world-leading specialist health and medical university, the merger creates opportunities to generate significant change in healthcare and beyond.
The combined institution will (subject to the necessary regulatory approvals) be called City St George’s, University of London and will begin operating from 1 August 2024.
I will remain President of the university and I am greatly looking forward to leading City St George’s and to continuing working with you, our remarkable alumni.
The combination will see us become one of the largest higher education destinations for London students and one of the largest suppliers of the health workforce in the capital.
City St. George’s will assume a role as one of the major London centres for higher education and research, distinctively different from the other member institutions of the University of London. It reflects a shared vision that will enable us to develop together while ensuring the essence of what makes both institutions so special is maintained.
St George’s will bring medicine, pharmacology, biomedical science, allied and global health to complement City’s health offering which includes nursing, midwifery, speech and language therapy, psychology, and optometry. One of very few institutions offering this breadth of expertise, the combined institution will constitute a ‘health powerhouse’ for students, researchers, the NHS and partners.
The combination will deliver scale, reach, capability, and resilience. It will broaden our reach and deliver a multidisciplinary strength embracing areas such as policy, communication, business, management, biomedical engineering and computer science.
Many of the ‘standalone medical schools’ in London integrated into other University of London institutions in the 80’s and 90’s. For example, Barts and The London with Queen Mary, Royal Free and Middlesex with UCL and St Mary’s and Charing Cross & Westminster with Imperial College. These mergers were, it must be judged, overwhelmingly successful, in both research and educational terms. The resulting institutions have become biomedical powerhouses, and the global position of the institutions has grown immeasurably. Their current students and their alumni have benefited.
I am absolutely determined that the same will be true of City St George’s, albeit with our own character.
Nothing that we do can alter your experience and the legacy that you embody. You are, and will always remain, graduates of City. There is an emotional connection. We will ensure that we continue to recognise this and the outstanding tradition that our name reflects.
I hope however, that the combined institution, proudly bearing the St George’s name alongside ours, will make you prouder. You will have the opportunity to become part of a broader network of graduates, have access to more facilities and events. We will be able to extend the alumni support that you receive.
I look forward to reporting our next steps to you.
Anthony Finkelstein
President
City, University of London
City St George’s FAQs
City, University of London and St George’s, University of London have signed a Transfer Agreement, which agrees to work towards merging both universities to establish a new, multi-faculty, combined institution.
The merged institution will, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, be called City St George’s, University of London and will begin operating from 1 August 2024
The university will be led by City’s current President, Professor Sir Anthony Finkelstein.
Why are the universities merging?
This development marks an important milestone for both institutions, bringing together each of our strengths to form one world-class University.
The merger will bring significant advantages of scale, reach, capability and resilience. It will create a larger, multi-site, combined institution which brings together the strengths of each university. In the area of health, St George’s will bring medicine, pharmacology, biomedical science and allied and global health to complement City’s offering which includes nursing, midwifery, speech and language therapy, psychology, and optometry. One of very few institutions offering this breadth of expertise, the combined institution will constitute a ‘health powerhouse’ for both students and researchers.
By combining the reputation of St George’s as a world-leading specialist health university with City’s excellence in a breadth of disciplines including health, business, law, creativity, communications, science and technology, the merger will enable City St George’s to assume a role as one of the major London centres for higher education and research. It will open up an impressive range of exciting opportunities for both students and staff.
How has this come about?
Exploration of the idea of City and St George’s becoming a combined institution started in 2022 by City’s President, St George’s Vice-Chancellor and both university’s Councils, as an opportunity to increase the scale, impact and resilience of the two institutions. Since then, a great deal of work has been done to ensure the combination will be effective, sustainable and a positive step for both institutions.
Why do this now?
The merger will help us to be part of the solution for one of the great societal issues of today – training and developing the workers and leaders for the NHS and healthcare professions that are so desperately needed. It will position City St George’s as the place for rethinking healthcare for the twenty-first century and will undertake the research to underpin that.
How are City and St George’s suited to one another?
Our institutions have a strong alignment in our strategies and goals. We both have a deeply embedded commitment to education, research and professionalism through practice. Our institutions develop graduates who have the skills, experience and connections to go out and get great jobs.
In the health sphere, City has strengths in nursing, midwifery, optometry, speech and language therapy, counselling and psychology, while St George’s brings strengths in medicine, pharmacology, biomedical science and allied health.
The merger creates opportunities to create significant change in the world of healthcare by intersecting our combined health expertise with City’s multi-faculty contributions.
How will this benefit students?
As a combined university, we can broaden the opportunities and outcomes available for our students through the possibility of engagement between different disciplines.
There will be a bigger student community, access to greater resources and interdisciplinary opportunities, increased support and, over time, more streamlined processes. The merger will also bring significant advantages of scale, reach, capability and resilience, ensuring the future success of City St George’s.
Will City’s name and identity change?
Subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, the merged institution will be called City St George’s, University of London and will begin operating from 1 August 2024.
To incorporate both institutions, City’s visual identity will likely change, however, maintaining a sense of our current established identity will form part of this.
Why was this name selected?
The name was selected to best reflect the merger of two long-established universities and followed independent research into the name conducted by a specialist agency and which sought the views of key stakeholders across both institutions.
Who will be the head of the new institution?
The combined institution will be led by the current President of City, Professor Sir Anthony Finkelstein. The appointment process for this role was undertaken jointly by the Councils of both City and St George’s and led by an independent Chair.
Will the combined university be a member of the University of London?
City St George’s, University of London will be a member of the University of London.