Durham University is based in the city of Durham, with its administrative centre at the Palatine Centre on Stockton Road. Its library describes it as founded in 1832, the third oldest university in England, and established by the cathedral and bishop of Durham. A Royal Charter was granted on 1 June 1837. The university is an educational charitable and chartered corporation, exempt from registration with the Charity Commission, and the Office for Students is its principal regulator.
Durham is a collegiate university with 17 colleges and 26 departments or schools. Its About page gives a 2023/24 student population of 21,588 and more than 4,300 staff. The senior leadership team includes executive deans for Arts and Humanities, Science, Social Sciences and Business, and is led by Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor and Warden.