Coventry University is a public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be traced back to the founding of the Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lanchester Polytechnic from 1970 until 1987, and then as Coventry Polytechnic until the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 afforded it university status that year and the name was changed to Coventry University.

With more than 29,000 students in 2017, Coventry is the larger of the two universities in the city – the other being the University of Warwick – and the fastest growing university in the UK. It has two principal campuses: one in the centre of Coventry where the majority of its operations are located, and one in Central London which focuses on business and management courses. Coventry also governs their other higher education institutions CU Coventry, CU Scarborough and CU London, all of which market themselves as an "alternative to mainstream higher education". Its four faculties, which are made up of schools and departments, run around 300 undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Across the university there are 11 research centres which specialise in different fields, from transport to peace studies.

Nationally, Coventry is ranked 13th by The Guardian University Guide 2020, 44th by The Times/Sunday Times University Guide 2020 and 53rd by The Complete University Guide 2020. In 2017, the university gained a Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (THE). Coventry is a member of the University Alliance mission group.

Coventry currently occupies a purpose-built 33-acre (130,000 m2) campus in Coventry City Centre adjacent to Coventry Cathedral and the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. It occupies a mix of new purpose-built buildings, converted structures, and those inherited from its predecessor institutions.

The centrepiece of the campus is The Hub, an award-winning building which opened in August 2011. The Hub is the home of the Coventry University Students’ Union, student support services, a bar/nightclub, a food hall and food outlets which are catered by Sodexo In September 2012, a new £55 million engineering building was opened, with facilities such as a full-scale Harrier jump jet, a wind tunnel and flight simulators. The Hub was awarded a BREEAM 'excellent' rating and between them The Hub and the engineering building feature sustainable initiatives such as grey-water harvesting, a biomass boiler and a green roof.The opening of the buildings marks the first stage of a £160 million redevelopment plan of the campus phased over 15 years.

Coventry's £20 million library opened in 2000 and is on the outskirts of the campus. It was officially opened by Princess Anne in September 2001 and contains over 2,000 print periodicals, 350,000 monographs, and more than 6,000 video tapes, audio tapes and films. The library has a distinctive turreted exterior and has won awards for its interior design which features a light distribution system to make the most of natural light throughout the building.

Coventry offers more than 130 undergraduate degrees and 100 postgraduate degrees over its four faculties, as well as qualifications such as foundation degrees and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs). It has introduced the teaching of disaster management at undergraduate level (the first such course in the UK) as well as parapsychology and health journalism at the postgraduate level.

The university's student body in 2018/19 consisted of 34,985 students: 29,005 undergraduates and 5,980 postgraduates Part-time students in 2013–14 made up 15% of undergraduates and 39% of postgraduates. The drop-out rate for first year undergraduates is 8.9% and the undergraduate intake from state schools is 97%. The university employs over 1,800 academic staff and is the fourth largest employer in Coventry.

Tuition fees for undergraduate students at the university are variable and range from £7,500 to £9,000 depending on the degree programme, following the United Kingdom government's decision in 2010 to raise the maximum limit universities can charge UK and EU students. The university cited the variable fee structure in explaining the rise in applications received for 2012 compared to the previous year, despite an overall national fall.

Nationally, Coventry is ranked 13th by The Guardian University league tables 2019, 44th by The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2019 and 53rd by The Complete University Guide 2020. Internationally, Coventry is ranked within the top 531–540 universities in the world by the 2020 QS World University Rankings.