University of Leeds

The University of Leeds, England, is one of the largest universities in the United Kingdom and the most popular by applicants, with 52,444 applicants in 2003 for 7,228 places (UCAS).

Noted alumni

Famous graduates include:

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• Byford, Mark, deputy Director-General of the BBC (graduated LLB in Law, 1979)
• Cryer, Barry, writer and comedian (English)
• Dacre, Paul, editor of the Daily Mail (English, 1970)
• Dyson, Jeremy, screenwriter and member of The League of Gentlemen (Philosophy)
• Enkhbayar, Nambaryn, President of Mongolia (2005-)
• Fay, Dr Christopher, CBE (chairman of the advisory committee on business and the environment, chairman of Expro International and a director with BAA and Anglo American, and chairman and chief executive of Shell UK from 1993–1998, graduated from Leeds with BSc and Ph.D. in civil engineering).
• Jameson, Storm, writer (English, 1912; MA 1914)
• Jordan, Professor V. Craig, OBE (responsible for pioneering research into breast cancer and the development of the cancer drug Tamoxifen, BSc and Ph.D. in pharmacology in 1969 and 1972)
• McGowan, Alistair, actor, comedian and impressionist (English, 1986)
• Kershaw, Liz, radio presenter (Textile Management, 1978)
• Knopfler, Mark, guitarist and singer with Dire Straits (English, 1973)
• Porter, George, chemist and President of the Royal Society (Chemistry, 1941)
• Shipman, Harold, serial killer (Medicine, 1970)
• Short, Clare, former International Development Secretary (graduated BA in Political Science, 1969)
• Straw, Jack, United Kingdom Foreign Secretary (graduated LLB in Law, 1967)
• Wood, Mark, Chairman of ITN News (German, 1974)
• Soyinka, Wole, is a Nigerian writer (considered to be Africa's most distinguished playwright) and the first African winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.