Our History

The University of Suffolk was originally established as University Campus Suffolk (UCS) in 2007, and transformed the provision of higher education in Suffolk and beyond. Subsequently, on the 1 August 2016, the first independent University of Suffolk was officially launched.

The story actually stems back to the Tudor period, when Cardinal Wolsey established Cardinal College (now Christ Church College), for which he planned a number of feeder colleges; the main one of which was to be in Ipswich. Some 500 years later, Suffolk now has its own university and the legacy of Cardinal Wolsey is firmly rooted within the history of education in Ipswich.

We recognise the significant role that the student body has played in this transformation and are sure our students and graduates have lots of memories of how our Ipswich Campus and each of our partner colleges have developed and changed. The gallery below gives a small snapshot of how much our Ipswich Campus has changed.