The University of Northampton is one of the UK’s youngest universities, gaining full status in 2005. Efforts to help combat the rising cost of living for applicants and students include the provision of free breakfast cereal to all on-campus students — a kindness that is extended to those who attend its open days — and there is free transport from London, Milton Keynes and Birmingham to get to open days. Eligible UK students get a free laptop when they enrol, and they have a compulsory study trip as part of their course, with travel and accommodation paid for by the university.
What is the University of Northampton’s reputation?
The university was rated triple silver in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) — overall and for the underpinning aspects of student experience and student outcomes — despite its relatively low continuation rate, with only 88.5 per cent of new students still studying one year later and less than two thirds of students achieving a 2:1 or a first in their degree. The TEF assessment took into account the impact of the delayed move of some of its courses to the Waterside campus in 2019-20 and a major cyberattack it experienced in 2021.
Since then, however, Northampton has been subject to an investigation by the Office for Students, England’s higher education regulator, which identified seven areas of concern relating to its computing courses. The probe also concluded that Northampton’s semester teaching model — in which modules are taught and assessed within a 13-week term rather than over 26 weeks — gave students “little time to reflect on one topic before starting the next” and had a “negative impact on student outcomes”. In response a spokesman for Northampton said: “This report does not represent the considerable investment and comprehensive improvements that have been made in the years between this stale data being gathered and the report being published.”
Rates of student satisfaction with the undergraduate experience and teaching quality are inside the top 100 in our analysis of the 2024 National Student Survey. Even though the university increased the size of its submission to the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), it fell into the bottom ten in our research quality rating, against bigger gains at other universities. Northampton has gained three places (125th) in our academic league table but remains in the bottom ten.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
A degree in logistics and sustainable supply chain management was introduced in 2024 and one in physiotherapy launched in 2025. No courses are closing in 2024 or 2025.
What are the University of Northampton’s entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?
Courses typically ask for CCC up to BBB for entry. Contextual offers, made to applicants who meet widening participation criteria, applied to about 8 per cent of all offers made by Northampton for 2023 entry. Approximately 15 per cent of new starters arrived through clearing.
What are the graduate prospects?
Each year Northampton students typically undertake 7,000 placements with organisations in the UK and abroad. Some of the university’s longest-standing industry connections are within health and social care, education, and with Barclays. Students can access placement and research opportunities with Titans Basketball, Northampton Saints Rugby Club, Northamptonshire County Cricket and at the nearby Silverstone racetrack. Efforts to boost graduate employment include the Northampton Employment Promise, which guarantees an internship of at least three months or a postgraduate course to any graduates who have not found full-time work within a year of graduating with at least a 2:2 degree or Higher National Diploma.
A slightly improved performance in our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey puts Northampton 102nd, with 69.7 per cent of leavers in highly skilled jobs or postgraduate study within 15 months.
What is the University of Northampton’s campus like?
Northampton moved to its Waterside campus in 2018. A few minutes’ walk from the town centre, the 58-acre campus is located along the River Nene on a former brownfield site. At its centre is a four-storey Learning Hub where large lecture theatres have been replaced by classrooms for up to 40 people and smaller lecture spaces.
Everything you need to know about the University of Northampton’s student life and wellbeing support
The students’ union occupies a prominent spot on campus and the expanded Waterside Bar & Restaurant has gaming areas and social spaces. There are cycleways surrounded by open parkland, linking the campus to the town, home to a number of popular bars including the Platform, a students’ union venue housing a nightclub, bar and café.
The university’s sports dome is used for teaching as well as recreation, and there is a pavilion as well as outdoor games areas and an artificial pitch. Student sports clubs are free. The Active Campus initiative features a mile-long trim trail, table tennis tables, table football, and lawn games such as badminton or boules. Leisure facilities are shared with the local community.
Students can access counselling, mental health advice and drop-in support.
What do the students say?
“Northampton’s well-located modern campus with its great facilities helped make it the perfect choice for me. I was drawn by the New York study trip available on my course and landed an intern position at Red Bull Racing Formula One, working in marketing operations.”
Lakaya Tshabalala, marketing management graduate
What about student accommodation at the University of Northampton?
All new full-time students are guaranteed a room in halls, either on or close to the campus in the town centre (St John’s Halls) or at Scholars Green Student Village about four miles away — where recent upgrades have included revamped decor and the addition of pool and ping pong tables. A large proportion of students live at home and commute to university.
How diverse and inclusive is the University of Northampton?
Initiatives aimed at widening participation include campus visits for pupils from primary-school age to post-16, and there is tailored support for mature students, who represent more than a third of entrants. In our social inclusion index Northampton is ninth for its high proportion of students from non-selective state schools (97.4 per cent) and joint 55th overall in England and Wales.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Northampton
About seven in ten new entrants qualify for some form of financial assistance from the university. Awards include fully funded accommodation for students who have left care or who are estranged from their families, and £1,500 scholarships to undergraduates from the Northamptonshire area. There are £500 per year bursaries for students of environmental science; computing; or engineering and scholarships for students aged over 21. Students responsible for the care of a relative due to disability or chronic illness can apply for carer’s award, worth up to £2,000. The John Lowe Scholarship is open for applications from first-year undergraduates of degrees in accounting and finance; and financial planning and practice.
