The idea for a university in Coventry was mooted shortly after the conclusion of the Second World War but it was a bold and imaginative partnership of the City and the County which brought the University into being on a 170-hectare site jointly granted by the two authorities. Since then, the University has incorporated the former Coventry College of Education in 1979 and HRI Wellesbourne and Kirton in 2004 and has extended its land holdings by the purchase of adjoining farmland. The establishment of the University of Warwick was given approval by the government in 1961 and the University received its Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1965. It is situated on a large 533-hectare campus which straddles the boundary between the City of Coventry and the County of Warwickshire and includes land in Wellesbourne in Warwickshire as well as a building at the new University Hospital at the former Walsgrave Hospital site in Coventry.

The University initially admitted a small intake of graduate students in 1964 and took its first 450 undergraduates in October 1965. In October 2008, the student population (full time equivalents) was over 16,000 of which 32% were postgraduates. Today 24% of the student body comes from overseas and 142 nationalities are represented on the campus. The University has 30 academic departments and over 50 research centres and institutes, in four Faculties: Arts, Medicine, Science and Social Sciences (w/e from 1 October 2009). The first intake of medical students arrived in 2000 and graduated in 2004 thanks to an innovative 4-year accelerated postgraduate programme.

From its beginnings, the University has sought to be excellent in both teaching and research. It has secured its place as one of the UK's leading research universities, confirmed by the results of the government's Research Assessment Exercises of 1986, 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2001. In all of these, Warwick has been placed in the top half dozen or so for the quality of its research. The most recent RAE exercise (2001) placed Warwick fifth with over 90% of its staff working in departments rated 5 or 5*, the top two grades. The University is currently awaiting the outcome of the 2008 assessment.

Warwick has always taken the view that good research informs and strengthens the quality of education that it is able to offer its students. The original conception for the academic structure of the University was not to impose overall academic prescription but to make early appointments to the first professorships, selecting candidates with fresh and constructive ideas on how studies in their areas should be organised and developed. The planning of courses developed organically with a marked emphasis on inter-disciplinary co-operation. Business Studies and Engineering - both looking firmly towards the manufacturing heartlands of the West Midlands - were early developments. Warwick was a pioneer in seeking industrial-academic links, a key component of its strategy today just as it was in the original vision of the first Vice-Chancellor, Mr J B Butterworth (later Lord Butterworth) and the Chairman of the Promotion Committee for the University, Lord Rootes. Since the early 1990s, when there has been external assessment of the quality of teaching, Warwick has done consistently well. The results show that the University has scored a rating of over 21 points out of the maximum 24 (or the earlier equivalent of an "excellent" grade) on 22 occasions out of the 24 subjects assessed. These include 7 maximum scores of 24 and 5 "excellents".

While the University has become increasingly popular with students (there are now around nine applications for every available undergraduate place) and the average A level score on entry is AAB, Warwick has always encouraged and facilitated admission from anyone who has the potential to succeed at the University. Today, there are over 8,000 registrations on the extra-mural Open Studies programme each year. In 1986, Warwick launched what has been a highly successful part-time degrees programme. In 1991 the University initiated an innovative shared 2+2 degree programme with a group of local FE Colleges which was specifically aimed at individuals with few if any formal qualifications and who were often in situations of considerable social and economic disadvantage. Warwick has also been involved with Foundation Degrees since they were first piloted by the government in 2001.

Warwick's strategy is, and always has been, to be enterprising and outward-looking from its foundation. It seeks to match academic excellence with relevance, a policy which was not always popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s but which has become one of its hallmarks and led former Prime Minister Blair to say that "Warwick is a beacon among British Universities for its dynamism, quality and entrepreneurial zeal" and President Clinton to give his last major policy address on the campus in December 2000. When government decided to fund universities on a more differential basis in the 1980s which led to sharp downward changes in centrally-provided grants, the University seized the opportunity to look at ways in which it could augment public monies with income generated through its own activities. Many of these ventures are located in departments - thus exemplifying the point about combining academic excellence with enterprise - but they also include three thriving post-experience residential training centres - Arden House [1982], Radcliffe House [1986] and Scarman House [1991], retail outlets and an award-winning conference business. The money generated in these ways has been a significant factor in the development of the University both academically and physically.

In 1984, the University of Warwick Science Park was opened on a site adjacent to the University, a joint venture between the University and the local authorities of Coventry City, Warwickshire and West Midlands Enterprise. This has developed to become one of the UK's most successful Science Parks with satellites in Coventry and Warwick and managed space in Solihull. More recently the University has invested in and successfully won government support for a series of initiatives to develop a culture in which academic inventions can be exploited either through licensing or in spin-off companies, with Warwick Ventures being founded in 1999. In 2005, the University launched Warwick Podcasts; recorded broadcasts on a variety of research topics designed to be downloaded from the Internet. Warwick iCast followed in 2006; an online video service focusing on the promotion of research, science and business activity.

The University has sought through its activities to play a significant role in the economic and social life of its region. It has considerable linkages with local business and enterprise through the Warwick Manufacturing Group and Business School, works closely with local schools and FE Colleges and has helped attract significant new investment to the Coventry area. In 2006, Warwick became involved with the Birmingham Science City initiative, which aims to pull together world class science and technology within the city and its region. The first developments for the initiative included a Hydrogen Energy project between Warwick and Birmingham University, and the Science TV project which created a science communications medium combining the effectiveness of TV with the interactivity of a website. Further developments in recent months include the start of two projects to establish a Centre for Advanced Materials (CAM) which aims to advance the frontiers of fundamental and applied research in advanced materials, and bring together cutting edge and internationally leading research groups in the two universities across a variety of materials topics. In July 2005 the University played host to the International Children’s Games, providing accommodation, entertainment and sports facilities to over 1300 competitors from 50 cities around the world. The International Gateway for Gifted Youth (IGGY) was launched in 2007 - targeted at the top 5% of 11-19 year olds from around the world - and held its first highly successful face-to-face programme the 'IGGY Summer U' at Warwick in the summer of 2008, with the first overseas programme 'IGGY Winter U' being held in Singapore in December 2008. In 2004 the University opened new offices in the heart of Birmingham and London, strengthening its regional and national profile. Its Arts Centre, the first phase of which was built in 1974, attracts 280,000 visitors every year to over 2,000 events and has a significant national and international reputation. It was originally funded by the considerable generosity of The Martin Trust (Helen Martin was a local woman who became the University's first significant benefactor). The Trust which continued after her death continues to support the Arts Centre and has contributed significantly to other capital and educational projects over the years at Warwick to a value of £19m at today's prices.

The University's first buildings, at Gibbet Hill, were completed in 1965; by 1970 the Library, Science and Arts Buildings and Rootes Residences had been built on central campus. During the 1970s, further academic and residential accommodation was built on campus, including the Social Sciences building in 1977, the Senate House (now Coventry House) and the Arts Centre (1974) and the Students' Union Building (1975). In 1979, the former Coventry College of Education merged with the University to form what is now the Institute of Education on the Westwood site. The 1980s saw the further expansion of the Arts Centre, and construction of the Jack Martin student residences. In 1989, in partnership with Rover and Rolls Royce plc, the University extended the new Advanced Technology Centre to provide extensive new research facilities. During the 1990s, and particularly under the Vice-Chancellorship of Sir Brian Follett, the built campus continued to develop. Between 1993 and 2003 over £180m of new buildings were erected including Arthur Vick, Claycroft, Lakeside and Heronbank residences, the International Manufacturing Centre (1994 and recently extended), the Ramphal Building (1996), and the Medical School Building and associated Biomedical Research facilities (2001). Other notable developments have been a joint Students' Union and Retail building (1998), Sports Pavilion (1998), the first two phases of a new building for the Warwick Business School (1999 and 2001) and a new building for Computer Science (2000). A new Mathematics and Statistics building was opened in 2004 and a major investment in developing the Sports Centre has provided high-class sports facilities, amongst the best of any British university. A £4.5 million performance partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company - the CAPITAL Centre - opened in April 2007 at Millburn House on the Science Park. Theatre Studies and History of Art also moved to Millburn House in 2008, with Film and Television Studies due to join them in 2009. In 2007, the University’s Venice Programme celebrated its 40th anniversary. The Programme is a unique initiative by a British university, giving undergraduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to spend a full university term in Venice studying the city's art, history and culture. Coventry House is now home to the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement which aims to support the NHS with high-impact solutions to some of its biggest challenges. Warwick’s Institute of Advanced Studies launched in April 2007 and is developing a strong programme of activity. The Warwick Digital Laboratory was opened by Prime Minister Gordon Brown in July 2008, and programmes of redevelopment in the Arts Centre's Butterworth Hall and the Students' Union began over the summer. 

In 2007, the University’s new Strategy was launched. Incorporating a number of ideas generated by the University community itself, the Strategy lays out a number of ambitious goals, in the five areas of research, teaching and learning, internationalisation, UK stakeholders and income generation. To date, progress has been made against a number of strategic objectives, including the establishment of a Warwick Prize for Writing, an International Gateway for Gifted Youth (IGGY), the announcement that a second Warwick Commission would be taken forward, an increase in the value of research awards, and the development of collaborations and partnerships with overseas universities including Boston University, UCLA and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

In November 2005, the University made public its vision for future campus development and outlined proposals for how it would like to develop its campus. The University then carried out a period of consultation prior to submitting its applications to the two local authorities. In 2008, the University's plans were given approval in principle by the two local authorities, with the Government Office of the West Midlands deciding not to intervene in these decisions, and planning permission is hoped to be received by the end of the year.

The University's first Chancellor was Lord Radcliffe, who continued in office until his death in April 1977. He was succeeded by Lord Scarman, who retired from office in 1989. Warwick's third Chancellor was Sir Shridath Ramphal, who presided over the University from 1989 - 2002, and the University's fourth Chancellor, Sir Nicholas Scheele, was appointed in March 2002. Richard Lambert will be formally installed as the University's fifth Chancellor in December 2008.

The University's founding Vice-Chancellor was Jack Butterworth (later Lord Butterworth), who guided the University through its formative years and provided much of the vision for the University's future growth and success. His achievement was to establish Warwick firmly on the national stage, to set a basic strategy and culture for the University and to oversee the building of a university on what was a greenfield site. He was succeeded in September 1985 by Dr Clark Brundin. As Vice-Chancellor from 1985 until 1992, Dr. Brundin presided over a period of expansion and success: student numbers doubled, postgraduates increased by over 250% and Warwick established itself firmly in the top tier of UK research universities. Dr Brundin was succeeded in 1993 by Professor Sir Brian Follett, formerly Biological Secretary and Vice-President of the Royal Society, and Agricultural and Food Research Council Research Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol. In 1994, Sir Brian launched the Warwick Research Fellowships, a £10m scheme, entirely financed by the University, which brought to Warwick a cohort of some of the brightest young researchers in the UK and abroad. His successful academic leadership resulted in the excellent results for the University in the Research Assessment Exercises of 1996 and 2001, the successes in external teaching assessments and the considerable popularity of the University as a place to work and study. Sir Brian also presided over an ambitious building programme that resulted in over £100m of new capital projects during his leadership. Sir Brian retired in 2001 and was succeeded by Professor David VandeLinde, formerly Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and latterly Vice-Chancellor at the University of Bath. His period as Vice-Chancellor was marked by an emphasis on building links and partnerships with the local community, an enhanced international strategy and the welcoming of HRI Wellesbourne and Kirton to the University as Warwick HRI. Professor VandeLinde was succeeded by Professor Nigel Thrift in 2006, formerly Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Head of the Division of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Oxford.