University of Warwick Archive
Please note: the University of Warwick Archive cannot provide copies of degree certificates or transcripts of study. Applications for authorised copies or replacement copies of degrees can be made to the University's Awards and Ceremonies Team. Copies of transcripts of study can be obtained from the Examinations Section of the Academic Office.
What the University Archive contains
The University of Warwick Archive (UWA) contains the records of the University's central administration together with related material. These document the University's principal activities, functions and decisions. The University Archive includes:
Agenda, minutes and papers of governing committees
Communications and publicity materials (including student newspapers)
Photographs of the campus
Audio-visual archives relating to events at Warwick (such as the visit of President Clinton in 2000)
Records of the Coventry College of Education (which merged with the University in 1978).
How to find material in the University Archive
The catalogue of the University of Warwick Archive is available online and provides searchable descriptions of more than 14,000 documents relating to the history and administration of the university.
Other archive collections held at the Modern Records Centre may also include material relating to the university. These can be identified by searching the MRC's main archive catalogue.
In addition, some material from the University Archive has been digitised and is available through the Warwick Digital Collections site. These include undergraduate prospectuses, Student Union handbooks and a range of student newspapers.
Interviews with students and staff conducted in 2015 to mark Warwick’s 50th Anniversary can also be listened to online.
Access
Most material can be accessed by visiting our searchroom, although there are certain restrictions in place due to the confidential nature of some of the records. If you would like access to restricted material please contact us to discuss this.
We strongly recommend notifying us in advance of your intended visit. Please send any enquiries about the University of Warwick Archive to the Modern Records Centre. Use of the Centre is open to all and is free of charge. On your first visit to use the archives you will be required to complete a research application form and to prove your identity. Acceptable forms of proof include your university card, passport, driving licence or County Archive Research Network (CARN) ticket. You will then be given a copy of the research application form as your proof of registration.
We are happy to advise on potential sources in the archive but we can only do a limited amount of research on behalf of enquirers.
Further Reading
The Impact of a University on its Environment : The University of Warwick and its Community after Fifty Years by Michael Shattock (2015).
Warwick University Ltd : Industry, Management and the Universities by E. P. Thompson (Second Edition, 2014).
The Martin Family and the University of Warwick: The Contribution of Private Giving to a University's Success by Michael Shattock with Roberta Warman (Second Edition, November 2010)
Sociology at the University of Warwick : A History by Ian Procter (2007).
The Role of the Personnel Department at the University of Warwick by Paul Andrew Hurst (University of Warwick M.A. Dissertation, 1997).
Shattering the Glass Ceiling in Academia : A Case Study in the University of Warwick by Lesley Giles (University of Warwick M.A. Dissertation, 1992).
Making A University: A Celebration of Warwick’s first 25 years compiled by Michael Shattock (1991).
A University is Born : The Story of the Foundation of the University of Warwick by Henry Rees (1989).
The Warwick Way : A Case Study of Innovation and Entrepreneurship within a University Context by David Palfreyman (MBA Project Report, Aston University 1988).
Report by HM Inspectors on University of Warwick: Faculty of Educational Studies and Institute of Education : initial teacher training by the Department of Education and Science Inspectorate of Schools, 1987 (Visited 27-31 January 1987).
N.B. The histories / timelines of individual departments are included on their own webpages.