University of Portsmouth named the UK's most affordable city for students in the Natwest Student Living Index 2016. On Friday 4 May 2018, the University of Portsmouth was revealed as the main shirt sponsor of Portsmouth F.C. for the 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. The history of the university dates to 1908, when the Park building opened as a Municipal college and public library. The focus was on chemistry and engineering. The roots of the University can be traced back even further to the Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and the Arts. Shortly after in the year of 1911 a Student Union
University of the People school had no accreditation and did not charge any fees or tuition. In September 2009, Yale Law School's Information Society Project (ISP) entered into a research partnership with University of the People, for the study of education over digital networks and social software platforms. In 2011, the university formed a partnership with the New York University at Abu Dhabi. In February 2012, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the University of the People a grant of $613,282 for the purposes of helping the university earn national accreditation. In 2013, the International Student Identity Card (ISIC) Association and MasterCard Worldwide