Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU) and before that as Leeds Polytechnic, is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The university's origins can be traced to 1824, with the foundation of the Leeds Mechanics Institute. Leeds Polytechnic was formed in 1970, and was part of the Leeds Local Education Authority until it became an independent Higher Education Corporation on 1 April 1989. In 1992, the institution gained university status. The current name was adopted in September 2014.
The annual income of the institution for 2016–17 was £221.4 million of which £3.4 million was from grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £217.1 million.
The university traces its roots to 1824 when the Leeds Mechanics Institute was founded. The institute later became the Leeds Institute of Science, Art and Literature and in 1927 was renamed Leeds College of Technology. In 1970, the college merged with Leeds College of Commerce (founded 1845), part of Leeds College of Art (f. 1846) and Yorkshire College of Education and Home Economics (f. 1874), forming Leeds Polytechnic. In 1976, James Graham College and the City of Leeds College of Education (f. 1907 as part of City of Leeds Training College) joined Leeds Polytechnic. In 1987, the Polytechnic became one of the founding members of the Northern Consortium.
After the Further and Higher Education Act came into effect in 1992, the Polytechnic became Leeds Metropolitan University, with the right to award its own degrees. In 1998, the university merged with Harrogate College, establishing the Harrogate campus until 2008 when the college left the university and merged with Hull College. In 2008 the university petitioned the Privy Council to be renamed "Leeds Carnegie University"; however, this was eventually dropped.In 2009 a partnership with the University of North Florida was established to begin a student and faculty exchange programme.The university also has an agreement with Bradford College by which it validates degrees for the college.
