Gloucestershire, University of, institution of higher education in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The university was formerly the Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, which was created in 1990 as an amalgamation of the College of St Paul and St Mary, whose origins date from 1847, and Gloucestershire College of Art and Technology. The college, which was granted the power to award degrees in 1992, and research degrees in 1998, achieved university status in 2001. Presently, just under 10,000 full- and part-time students receive tuition from 1,063 members of academic and support staff on three campuses in Cheltenham (Francis Close Hall, Park, and Pittville) and one in Gloucester (Oxstalls). The university is organized into six schools: art, media, and design; education; environment; health and social sciences; humanities; and sport and leisure. There is also the Gloucestershire Business School.