Dundee is the UK’s only Unesco city of design and its ever forward-thinking Abertay University, which launched the world’s first computer games degrees in 1997 and an ethical hacking course in 2006, has now opened Scotland's only dedicated virtual production film studio.
Centrally located in Dundee, a city known for its just-big-enough charms, Abertay also makes an asset of its small size. It has about 4,000 students who report high rates of satisfaction to go with the city’s community feel, sitting in 37= place in the wider student satisfaction measure. For teaching quality, it takes 27th in the rankings.
Inclusive as well as tech savvy, Abertay is an innovator in widening access to higher education, ranking second overall in our Scottish social inclusion league table.
What is Abertay University’s reputation?
Its roots stretch back to 1888, when the Dundee Institute of Technology was founded, and the university maintains its original focus on employability. Courses fall within two academic faculties: Social and Applied Sciences, and Design, Informatics and Business.
Already at the heart of the Dundee video games cluster and the host of the national Centre for Excellence in Computer Games Education, Abertay has a competitive games lab and Cintiq (digital arts) lab. All games students become members of UK Interactive Entertainment, the games business trade body.
Abertay made a relatively small submission to the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) across eight subject areas. The strongest performances were in art and design, which covers digital games; engineering, which includes work in cybersecurity, computing and environmental engineering; food science; and psychology.
A broader international focus has led to an expansion into transnational education: students in Denmark, Malaysia, Singapore, Egypt and Romania are among those in more than 20 countries who can study for an Abertay degree.
Abertay also introduced Scotland’s first accelerated degrees, taking three years to complete rather than the usual four.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
There are two new degrees available from 2025: environmental management and sustainability, and engineering management.
What are Abertay University’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Applicants can expect offers ranging from BBC to CCC at A-level, or AABB to BBBC in Scottish Highers. Abertay attracted about 5,000 applications in 2024 and more than 1,000 new students enrolled – 12 per cent of them through clearing and more than a third through contextual offers.
What are the graduate prospects?
Most courses have a work placement built in and Abertay continues to build on its vocational ethos. The Dare Academy video game design competition features industry mentors and the chance for students to exhibit at the national trade expo EGX. It regularly leads to the formation of start-ups.
Abertay is a founding partner of V&A Dundee and there is an annual student internship with the museum. In addition, a scheme backed by Santander provides 15 work placements for students during the summer. But in our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey, which tracks the number of students in highly skilled jobs or further study within 15 months of graduation, Abertay has fallen 29 places to rank 98.
What is Abertay University’s campus like?
At the city-centre campus a £1.2 million library revamp will provide new social spaces for students and improved facilities for Abertay students’ association. The Annie Lamont building, opened in 2022, provides a base for the cyberQuarter research and development centre, where a national malware analysis centre is planned.
Among resources at the enlarged School of Applied Sciences is a liquid chromatography mass spectrometer, used to analyse molecules in the fields of food, health, sport and forensic sciences.
An interpersonal skills lab with sound-proofed consultation rooms is available for students of mental health nursing and counselling, as well as research students linked to the university’s Tayside Centre for Counselling.
When can I visit?
abertay.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about Abertay University’s student life and wellbeing support
Scotland’s fourth-largest city has undergone a decade of regeneration resulting in a vibrant and affordable environment. On campus there is an exercise studio and gym, and students can join a range of societies and try all sorts of activities. The School of Design and Informatics hosts a gallery space, and a monthly speaker series called Abstract 45 covers all things creative and cultural.
The counselling and mental health service is free and confidential for all students, offering self-help resources, one-to-one therapy and seminars. A pilot wellbeing clinic run by trained and paid student interns under academic supervision launched in 2025, providing real-world work experience for students.
What do the students say?
“Abertay offers a small, friendly and welcoming community right in the middle of Dundee — a brilliant city with a high population of students. There’s a heap of great social and sports activities and so much to do. Students feel welcome.”
Dounia Allaiouti, student president
What about student accommodation at Abertay University?
About 600 study rooms are available from £129 a week. Places are prioritised for entrants from outside the Dundee area postcode, students with disabilities and those who have left care.
How diverse and inclusive is Abertay University?
Abertay has a proud record for social inclusion. It was the first university in Scotland to bring in access thresholds, using a contextual admissions policy that allows applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds to be offered places at lower grades. It is also possible to join a degree programme through qualifications from a further education college.
Abertay’s part-time access programme runs evening classes for those without formal qualifications who have been away from study for at least three years.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at Abertay University
Financial support includes a bursary of £1,750 a year for students from England, Northern Ireland or Wales, and an award of up to £12,000 for international undergraduates.
Subject-specific scholarships are available for games/computing/cyber courses, and there is the Baillie Gifford Scholarship for Women, for subjects including forensic science and ethical hacking. Foundation bursaries worth £2,500 a year are offered to students from low-income households.
