Almost half of Aston’s students are based at the highly rated business school building on the city-centre campus. Since it was founded in the Sixties, it has become renowned for its successful work placement scheme and the professional slant it gives to its courses. Now Aston is looking to the future with a series of bold developments. A Power Skills programme has been integrated into all undergraduate degrees, equipping students with knowledge and expertise in four vital fields: AI and digital, innovation and entrepreneurship, inclusive leadership, and environmental sustainability.
This autumn the Aston University Mathematics School opens, which aims to further Aston’s impressive record on social mobility while powering the Stem skills pipeline. All of which puts the university at the heart of the Birmingham Innovation Precinct — a strategic initiative to regenerate the city’s eastside.
What is Aston University’s reputation?
Originally a college of advanced technology, Aston has grown into a multifaculty institution with schools covering business, law, medicine, pharmacy, biosciences, engineering and technology, computer science and digital technologies, infrastructure and sustainable engineering, optometry, psychology and social sciences and humanities.
The university achieved the best possible results in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), with triple gold for student experience, student outcomes and overall grades. It was praised for “outstanding teaching, feedback and assessment practices that are highly effective, embedded and tailored to students’ needs”. Aston was also commended for “work-based learning and preparing students for the world of work”, and its “highly effective support for educational gains that are aligned with industry needs and social mobility”.
The university doubled the number of staff who took part in its submission to the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), and 79 per cent of the team's work was assessed to be world-leading or internationally excellent — earning Aston a spot in the top half of our research quality ranking. The university hosts research centres in bioenergy, photonic technologies, neuroscience and forensic linguistics, among others. Its new Digital Futures Institute is a hub for its work within big data, machine learning, AI and the Internet of Things.
In our analysis of the National Student Survey (NSS), Aston has fallen from 16th to 47= for student experience, and is 83= for teaching quality, down nine places from last year.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
New for 2025 are degrees in nursing studies (mental health), AI and robotics, and media and communication. From 2026 Aston will offer a BA in aerospace engineering and pharmacology (subject to approval).
Four courses have been withdrawn: chemistry, applied chemistry, transport management, and product design and management.
What are Aston University’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Aston’s medical school requires the highest entry grades: A*AA. The lowest requirement for other courses is CCD. Prospective students who qualify for a contextual offer (about a quarter of entrants) can expect a reduction of one or two grades.
Applications to study at Aston have soared during the past decade, from just over 16,000 in 2015 to more than 23,600 in 2024. The number of places available has also increased, though not at the same rate; it achieved a 16.8 per cent growth in student acceptances in 2024.
The pioneer of degree apprenticeships in the UK, Aston had 1,250 enrolments in 14 undergraduate programmes at the last count in 2024.
What are the graduate prospects?
A work placement in the UK or abroad is a compulsory element of most degrees. Students can experience work-based learning at employers that include the clothing retailer Asos, the pharmacy giant GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Rolls-Royce and a range of small and medium-sized enterprises. Aston remains in the top 25 in our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey for the proportion of its graduates who are in highly skilled jobs or further study within 15 months.
What is Aston University’s campus like?
The 60-acre campus is close to the centre of the buzzing city of Birmingham. The new Woodcock Street building will house the business and law faculties and have its own restaurant, exhibition and study spaces when it opens in 2025-26, while pockets of greenery provide places to relax among outdoor sculptures.
The UK’s second city, Birmingham is home to five universities and offers student-friendly nightlife by the bucketload, as well as rich cultural diversity.
When can I visit?
aston.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about Aston University’s student life and wellbeing support
The £10 million students’ union stages gigs and open-mic nights as well as student-led groups. Astonbury festival is an annual highlight on campus, showcasing music, art and culture.
The university also runs more than 20 sports clubs, and its Sir Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre includes a swimming pool with a sauna and steam room, and a sports hall with indoor courts. Women-only sessions are available at the gym. Three five-a-side all-weather pitches are also on site and the Outdoor Recreation Centre, six miles away, has pitches for football, cricket and hockey.
Counsellors are available to provide support and students can use the 24/7 Togetherall online service. There is also a multi-faith chaplaincy, disability services and residential support.
What do the students say?
"I’ve found a community, opportunities to grow, and confidence to chase my dreams. Aston provided incredible support every step of the way. The Learning Development Centre (LDC) helped me navigate academic pressures, while the students’ union supported me during feelings of homesickness. My course offers the ideal combination of practical experience and academic diversity."
Namitha Chacko, International Business and Management BSc
What about student accommodation at Aston University?
First-years who meet Aston’s criteria are guaranteed student accommodation in Aston Student Village.
How diverse and inclusive is Aston University?
One of the better-performing pre-1992 universities in our social inclusion index, Aston has an impressive record on social mobility — ranking 2nd in England for three successive years in the English Social Mobility Index according to analysis by the Higher Education Policy Institute, a think tank. Although it is held back by relatively low proportions of white working-class male, mature and disabled students, the university has the second-most ethnically diverse intake in England and Wales (84.5 per cent). With 53.8 per cent of students who are the first in their immediate family to go to university, Aston ranks 34=.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at Aston University
Nearly half (45 per cent) of entrants in 2025 benefited from some form of financial assistance. Awards include the £500 Aston Aspirational scholarships for students from households with incomes of less than £42,875. Placement scholarships of £1,250 help students within the same financial threshold to pay living expenses during an unpaid or international placement year.
The Aston Forward scholarship totals £5,000 across the duration of a degree and is awarded to successful applicants from low-income households who have “amazing ambitions”.
