The beginnings of the foundation of The Manchester Metropolitan University can be traced back to the formation of the Mechanic's Institute in 1824, the Manchester School of Design in 1838, the School of Commerce in 1889, the School of Education in 1878 and the School of Domestic Science in 1880.  Over the years the configuration of these schools of learning changed but the trend was always towards providing world class educational opportunities in Manchester. 

In the 1970s Manchester Polytechnic was the laters re-incarnation but by 1992 the Poly became a university and MMU has approximately 34,000 students and employs around 4,400 staff, including almost 1,500 full time teaching staff, 700 part time teaching staff, and 2,200 support staff.  They claim to be the seventh most popular UK university in terms of applications.

The University occupies 5 sites in Manchester and 2 in Cheshire.  It is organized into eight faculties: 

-  Art and Design
-  Health, Psychology and Social Care
-  Hollings Faculty
-  Humanities, Law and Social Science
-  Institute of Education
-  MMU Business School - below


-  MMU Cheshire
-  Science and Engineering

A thoughtful John Dalton sitting outside of the Faculty of Technology on Chester Street.  Mr. Dalton was moved here from Piccadilly in 1966.

The former Righton's Drapery Store was once the MMU Students' Union but is now the administrative offices of the Department of History of Art and Design.

Manchester School of Art on Cavendish Street in All Saints where once Adolph Valette taught and L. S. Lowry studied.