University of Southampton, one of the top 15 research universities in the UK, boasts nearly 25,000 students. The school has six campuses and has more than 20 academic schools awarding degrees in such fields of study as engineering, law, mathematics, and medicine.
The school was chartered in 1952 but traces its roots to 1862. The university has long been engaged in fiber-optic research and established the Optoelectronics Research Center in 1989. It is also engaged in ocean and earth science research through its Southampton Oceanography Centre. In addition, it is one of the most entrepreneurial universities in the UK and in the past decade has spun off more than a dozen companies, including SPI Lasers.