Geoffrey Alderman studied history at Oxford, where he completed his BA and DPhil; amongst his teachers were Sir Martin Gilbert, the late AJP Taylor and the late Dr Cecil Roth.
From 1972 until 1994 he taught history and politics in the University of London, at which in 1989 he was promoted to a Personal Chair. From 1989 until 1994 he was Chairman of the Academic Council of the University of London and (1992-93) Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic Standards. In 1994 he accepted appointment as quality supremo at Middlesex University, where he became Pro Vice-Chancellor (Quality & Standards). In 1999 he crossed the Atlantic to become Vice-President of Touro College, New York, and in 2002 he re-crossed the Atlantic to become Senior Vice-President of American InterContinental University London (2002-6).
In June 2007 Geoffrey joined the University of Buckingham as Michael Gross Professor of Politics & Contemporary History.
In 2007-08 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of London's Institute of Historical Research; he is currently Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Theology & Education at York St John University, and Professor of Education at TUI University, Los Angeles, USA.
Professor Alderman is the author and co-author of some 12 books, including Modern British Jewry (2nd end, Oxford University Press, 1998). He is also an Associate Editor of the New Dictionary of National Biography, in charge of all post-1800 Jewish entries. He writes irregularly for the Guardian and regularly for the Jewish Chronicle. Amongst his numerous other publications are his birth announcement and a number of obituaries, including two (as yet unpublished) of himself. He appears frequently on radio and television as an authority on the Jewish world, the politics of the Middle East, and issues of quality and management in higher education.
In 2006 he was awarded the higher doctoral degree of Doctor of Letters by the University of Oxford in respect of his published work in the field of modern Anglo-Jewish history.