Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843,[3] it was designated as a polytechnic in 1971 and gained university status in 1992.

[6] Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities.

BIAD reached its full maturity in the 1890s, as the Birmingham Municipal School of Art at Margaret Street, under the leadership of Edward R. Taylor.

Its Grade I listed building located on Margaret Street remains the home of the university's Department of Fine Art and is still commonly referred to by its original title.

[10][11] In the 1960s, changes were made to the higher education system creating an expansion of polytechnics as a more vocationally orientated alternative to the typical university.

Students who graduated in mid-1992 were given certificates bearing the name University of Central England, even if the entirety of their study had taken place at the polytechnic.

[27] The new institution would use the established Aston University name, and all UCE staff members' jobs and employment conditions would be kept intact, although Vice-Chancellor Knight would not be part of its management team.

[28] Michael Sterling, vice-chancellor of University of Birmingham, welcomed the initiative and said it was time for some creative thinking about higher education in the city.

"Clearly, with three very distinct universities in one city, it's sensible to take a hard look at the big picture and how we can best work together, whether separately, in combination, or even as one institution," he said.

His intervention provoked a furious reaction from Peter Knight, vice-chancellor of UCE, who made it clear his approach was only to Aston University.

[30] In August 2005, the University of Central England rebranded itself as UCE Birmingham for marketing and promotional purposes, though the original name remained for official use.

This decision was reversed in March 2007, following the arrival of a new Vice-Chancellor, and the fuller title University of Central England in Birmingham was resurrected for all purposes.

Since 2011, the university has moved more of its operations to the centre of Birmingham, with teaching at the longstanding Perry Barr site gradually wound down.

[41] The university also announced plans to revive the former Belmont Works site nearby as STEAMhouse — a place for small and medium-sized businesses to collaborate with students and academics.

The university focused on building cutting-edge facilities for students and updating internal systems used for human resources and finance.

Previously, a dedicated sports centre was located behind The Coppice, a student accommodation block next to the former City North Campus, and included tennis courts, bowls, football and rugby pitches, running track and a social club.

[47] Lawyers at Wragge & Co have advised Birmingham City University on the outsourcing of work for the sports centre to international service company Serco.

[50] After the former Birmingham Polytechnic was granted University status it installed the city's Lord Mayor as its Chancellor each year.

The school is based in purpose-built facilities within the City Centre campus at Millennium Point which include 11 studios.

The Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences (known as HELS) began in 1995 by a merger of Birmingham and Solihull College of Nursing and Midwifery, West Midlands School of Radiography and the University of Central England.

[62] It is formed of four schools: The Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, (known as CEBE) based entirely in Millennium Point until 2023 and later incorporating STEAMhouse as the new home going forward,[63] is a national centre of excellence for learning, innovation and technology transfer.

After a delay of about six months, the affair came to an end when the DPP informed Knight that no action would be taken as "there was insufficient evidence to support a successful prosecution on this occasion".

[77] With regard to post-production, the university also has Avid Mentor status,[78] and is the Midlands' accredited training centre for Apple's Final Cut editing software.

[79] For health and social care, Birmingham City University was awarded national recognition as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.

[81] In the Smithers-Robinson League Table, for initial teacher training, Birmingham City University and three other institutions are consistently ranked top ten.

[80] Roughly half of the university's full-time students are from the West Midlands, and a large percentage of these are from ethnic minorities.

[83] There are almost six applications per place and a typical entry tariff of 112 UCAS points for honours degree programmes; other courses' requirements vary.

The student union of Birmingham Polytechnic was condemned in November 1974 when its council passed a resolution supporting IRA terrorism.

Current and former staff of the university and its former entities include novelists Jim Crace[88] and Stephen Booth,[89] nurse-author Bethann Siviter, journalist Paul Bradshaw, Nigerian researcher and pollster Bell Ihua, scientist Kevin Warwick,[90] environmentalist Chris Baines, politicians Khalid Mahmood (MP for Perry Barr) and Lynne Jones (former MP for Selly Oak), former Member of the European Parliament David Hallam, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn and former Chief Inspector of Probation for England and Wales Paul McDowell.

Graduates in the performing arts include musicians Roy Priest (formerly of Sweet Jesus) and Nick Duffy, singer-songwriter Stephen Duffy, actors Jimi Mistry, Catherine Tyldesley and Tom Lister, comedian Frank Skinner,[97] singer and The X Factor contestant Rhydian Roberts,[98] and bass guitarist John Taylor, founder of Duran Duran.