The University of Southampton (the title of Southampton), one of the top 100 universities in the world and one of the top universities in the UK, is a member of Russell University Group, the Worldwide Universities Network, the South Union of Science and Engineering, the International University Climate Alliance, RENKEI, the World Alliance of Port City Universities, the European University Association and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Founded in 1862, the main campus is located in Southampton.

In May 2013, the University of Southampton, along with Oxford University, Cambridge University, Imperial College of Technology, and University College London, jointly initiated and established the South Alliance for Science and Engineering. It is the strongest alliance among research universities in the UK and one of the world's leading scientific and engineering research centers. The school is also the founding partner of SETsquared, the world's number one university business incubator rated by UBI Global.