City, University of London and St George's, University of London agree to merge

Published Thursday, 22^nd February, 2024 in University news

City, University of London and St George’s University of London have signed an agreement that formalises plans to combine our two institutions, bringing together each of our strengths to form one world-class University.

The merged institution will, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, be called City St George’s, University of London and will begin operation from Thursday 1 August 2024 – although full integration will take several years to complete.

City’s President, Anthony Finkelstein, will become President of the combined university and has said for students:

I am greatly looking forward to leading City St George’s and to working with you, our remarkable and talented students to make the most of this fantastic opportunity.

You will, of course, have questions about what this might mean practically for you. Your programme, the academic support you receive and the campus on which you study will not change.

Things will change for the better. There will be a bigger student community, access to greater resources and interdisciplinary opportunities, increased support and, over time, more streamlined processes.

A set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been made below. These will be updated as there is more clarity on the merger. If you have any questions which currently aren’t covered, you can submit these using a dedicated Qualtrics form.

FAQs

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 are the universities merging?

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 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.

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 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. This name was selected to best reflect the merger of two long-established universities and followed independent research conducted by a specialist agency which sought the views of key stakeholders across both institutions.

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.

Will the new name be on my degree certificate?

For students currently enrolled at City, who will not have graduated before 1^st August, we are going through a process to allow you to choose whether you graduate with a City, University of London degree certificate, or with a degree certificate with the name of City St George’s. This will be the same for those students joining for the 2024/25 academic year.

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.

As each institution has their own Students’ Unions, will these also merge?

City Student’s Union are also working to form a singular Students’ Union with St George’s Students’ Union. As this would include changing their articles of association, this must be put to members as a proposal and then referendum. You can find more information on the proposed changes and referendum on the City Students’ Union website.

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.

What will change for City students now?

Your programme, the academic support you receive and the campus on which you study will not change.

In future, there will be a bigger student community, access to greater resources and interdisciplinary opportunities, increased support and, over time, more streamlined processes.