Employment at universities

The university employment figures provide the headcount number of academic and non-academic staff by institution. Many universities have multiple sites, typically including a main campus and one or more satellite sites or partnerships which may be based in a different part of the country or abroad. These figures include universities which have their main or satellite campus in Lancashire. These figures do not separate university employees working in Lancashire from those working elsewhere.

The latest figures are for 2023/24.

Key figures

• The four universities that have campuses in Lancashire employed a total of 5,565 academic staff and 4,305 non-academic staff.
• A total of 755 employees were atypical academic staff on one-off, short-term or complex contracts.
• Lancaster University employed the largest total number of staff (4,585), followed by the University of Central Lancashire (3,315).

Employment at university sites

The main campus of Lancaster University is to the south of Lancaster City, where the majority of employees are based. The institution also has several regional teaching partnerships across Lancashire, in Manchester and Barrow-in-Furness, as well as international locations in China, Germany, Ghana, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The vast majority of employees of University of Central Lancashire work at the main campus in Preston. The institution also has an important presence at satellite campuses in Burnley and outside the county in Cumbria.

Edge Hill has its main campus in Ormskirk, where most employees are based. There are also outreach centres and college partnerships across the North West, including Liverpool and Manchester.

The University of Cumbria has multiple campuses in the North West, with one of these located in Lancaster. The institution also has a campus in London.

Employees at universities with their main or satellite campus in Lancashire

Institution	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
	Academic	Non-academic	Atypical	Academic	Non-academic	Atypical	Academic	Non-academic	Atypical
Edge Hill University [2]	945	-	550	970	-	590	1,025	-	580
University of Central Lancashire	1,710	1,565	25	1,780	1,625	20	1,710	1,605	0
University of Cumbria [2]	520	525	-	575	555	-	510	610	-
University of Lancaster	2,240	1,920	195	2,250	1,980	190	2,320	2,090	175

Source: Higher education staff data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency
[1] Atypical employees cover non-permanent staff employed on one-off/short-term contracts, and those with complex working relationships.
[2] From 2019/20, it is not mandatory for HE providers in England and Northern Ireland to return information about non-academic staff. Where providers have opted out of submitting non-academic data, these figures are suppressed.

Page updated 8 October 2025