 The University of Plymouth enrolls 25 @,@ 895 total students as of 2014 / 15 ( 22nd largest in the UK out of 165 ) . It also employs 3 @,@ 000 staff with an annual income of around £ 160 million . It was founded in 1992 from Polytechnic South West ( formerly Plymouth Polytechnic ) following the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 . It has courses in maritime business , marine engineering , marine biology and Earth , ocean and environmental sciences , surf science , shipping and logistics . The university formed a joint venture with the fellow Devonian University of Exeter in 2000 , establishing the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry . The college is ranked 8th out of 30 universities in the UK in 2011 for medicine . Its dental school was established in 2006 , which also provides free dental care in an attempt to improve access to dental care in the South West . 
