Today, we are looking back at the University of Cumbria, specifically in its founding year of 2007.

Over its history, several institutions eventually merged to form the University of Cumbria. These include Charlotte Mason College of Education in Ambleside (established in 1892), St. Martin’s College in Lancaster (1964), Cumbria Institute of the Arts (1822), and the Cumbrian campuses of the University of Central Lancashire. 

The inclusion of St. Martin's College enabled the university to offer teacher training programs which had been a notable feature of that college, as they applied for independent degree-awarding powers in March 2005, and were successful in July 2006 after nine months of scrutiny by the Quality Assurance Agency.

Additionally, the institution maintained strong arts programs with the merger of Cumbria Institute of the Arts, whose roots lay in the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts established in 1822.

The university wasn't officially formed until August 2007 when the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities, and Skills, John Denham, uplifted the approval letter for the University of Cumbria to use the title "University".

Authority to award research degrees was subsequently granted by the Privy Council in 2019.

The move made the University of Cumbria the only official university in Cumbria.

Since its establishment as a university, the University of Cumbria has made significant strides.

Apart from its main campuses in Lancaster, Carlisle, and Ambleside, it also runs numerous smaller specialist centers in other parts of Cumbria, including Furness College in Barrow-in-Furness, Newton Rigg College in Penrith and several others in Workington, Whitehaven, and London.

Today, the University of Cumbria offers a wide variety of undergraduate, postgraduate, and PHD programs, and it partakes in research in areas such as the arts, healthcare, and education.