De Montfort University (informally De Montfort) is a public research and teaching university situated in the medieval Old Town of Leicester, England, adjacent to the River Soar and the Leicester Castle Gardens. 40% of the University's research was deemed 'world leading' or 'internationally excellent' in the United Kingdom Research Assessment Exercise, highlighting particular strength in English literature, where it equalled the University of Cambridge. The University has the second highest number of National Teaching Fellows of all UK universities.
De Montfort is composed of two campuses; Leicester City and the outlying Charles Frears. The former, being within close proximity of the Leicester Castle complex, houses numerous listed buildings including the fifteenth century Magazine Gateway and the early fourteenth century Trinity House. The campus has seen several recent developments as part of a ten-year £200 million initiative by the University, such as the £35 million Hugh Aston Building; constructed to bring students from the Faculty of Business and Law closer to the centre of the University's infrastructure.
The University is organised into faculties, comprising Art and Design, Business and Law, Health and Life Sciences, Humanities, Technology and the Institute of Creative Technologies. Whilst teaching takes place primarily on the Leicester City campus, the School of Nursing and Midwifery is based on the Charles Frears campus. This is set to change, following the School's planned relocation to the city campus in 2011.