The University of Leeds received its Royal Charter in 1904, with origins in the Leeds School of Medicine (1831) and the Yorkshire College of Science (1874). It is a member of the Russell Group and says more than 37,000 students study there. Professor Shearer West is Vice-Chancellor and President.
Agriculture is taught through the Faculty of Biological Sciences, which runs the MSc Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production. The University of Leeds Research Farm, between Leeds and York, covers about 317 hectares across four farmsteads and operates commercially with arable and livestock enterprises. The university says the farm hosts the £3 million Terrestrial Observatory, the Smart Agri-Systems programme, the National Pig Centre (part of the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock), one of 10 regional centres of NIAB, and EntoExplore, a containerised insect farm developed by Entocycle.
The Global Food and Environment Institute brings together researchers working on sustainable food systems, including transitions to net zero and sustainable agriculture using the research farm.