We forge positive change through all of our activities: from education to research, creative and professional practice and knowledge exchange. There is a synergy between our work, sparked by the innovative and enquiring spirit fostered since we welcomed our first university students in 1905.

With all our academic subjects taking a creative approach to address what it means to be human in the 21st century, we nurture skills with criticality to inspire transformative intellectual and personal development in our students.

Around 8,000 students are based on our single-site campus in the heart of south east London's New Cross community, studying undergraduate, postgraduate, and teacher training in the arts and humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, psychology, computing, and entrepreneurial business, law and management.
Our research shapes the future, changes lives and is at the forefront of creative practice with nearly four-fifths of our research rated internationally excellent or world-leading by the Research Excellence Framework 2021.

Our community has an impact on society, culture, the economy and environment in our home borough of Lewisham, in London, across the UK and around the world. Alumni include Booker Prize-winning writer Bernardine Evaristo, artist and filmmaker Sir Steve McQueen, artist Sir Antony Gormley, musician James Blake and the poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.