Together York

At York, our greatest achievements often come from a shared sense of purpose, belonging and togetherness. We celebrate the individual ideas and unique perspectives that each of us brings, but we also believe that the best ideas are imagined, challenged, revised and applied when people interact. We flourish when our people, and the ideas they carry, engage across borders. 

We know that our collaborative, supportive, values-driven environment is often what people remember us for. We believe that much of this comes from our people, our purpose and our place - and that together, York will help you find yours.

1. Our people

We are a community that values every individual. By embracing a wide range of backgrounds, viewpoints and expertise, we create a culture of openness and mutual respect. For us, diversity is not just a goal, it is at the heart of how we learn, research and grow together.

While you're living, studying or working at York, we provide you with opportunities to connect with others in-person or virtually, through collaboration, partnerships and friendships, and through events, societies, networks, volunteering and more.

Sometimes being a diverse community means being a place where a wide variety of conflicting opinions and ideas exist and are expressed.  We encourage you to be inquisitive - to talk, share and to listen respectfully.

2. Our purpose

We will not achieve all we set out to do unless we maintain a strong sense of shared purpose. This flows in part from our shared commitment to being a University for Public Good. But it also requires us to support all members of our community to achieve their full potential.

We put in place the structures that support everyone to flourish within and beyond the classroom, including effective coordination between academic teaching and advice, services focused on student experience, and a collaborative approach with our Students’ Union, our residential colleges and other facilities and services used by our students in York and online.

And just as fundamental is the experience for our staff. We focus on employment conditions that are fair and of high quality, and we value principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. Through this, we provide support and respect to our colleagues so that everyone can achieve – and in the process, tackle persistent problems like the gender pay gap with energy and impact. 

We believe in looking out for one another. Whether it is providing guidance or personal support, a friendly circle of like-minded peers, or a much loved home, we strive to ensure that every member of our community is heard and valued. By removing barriers and opening up opportunities, we foster a supportive environment where everyone has the chance to succeed.

3. Our place

When our University was established in 1963, our founders endowed our community with a strong social purpose, drawing on a rich tradition of social justice and combating inequality in a way that is distinctive to the City of York.

As we outline in our Vision for York, our research across the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences was always intended not just to open up new knowledge through reason, experiment and debate, but also to apply that knowledge for the ‘amelioration of human life and conditions’.  Our students were not just to be technically proficient in their fields, but also to be able to apply their learning for social benefit, both in the UK but also as ‘citizens of the world’. 

These values have stood the test of time and they continue to guide us today. We now summarise them in a simple phrase: the University of York exists for public good.

Our work at York clearly does, and should, bring economic benefit. But our ambition is that our expertise and its impacts help create the conditions needed for all parts of our society to flourish.

We thrive on collaboration. And we know we achieve so much more when we identify shared interests and build partnerships. We are an engaged and active member of networks across Yorkshire, the North of England, the UK, Europe and worldwide, connecting the innovations drawn from our research and the talents of our graduates to the social and economic development of the city and region. 

Our real passion is developing York’s approach to civic leadership across the globe, collaborating with others to build community well-being and inclusive economic development. We will pursue this view with undiminished resolve, as the opportunities and conditions for international collaboration change around the world in the coming years.