Hartpury University’s first chancellor, the actor Martin Clunes, has said he’s “excited to share in [the students’] numerous success stories”. The Bafta-winning actor runs a 130-acre farm, presents animal documentaries and is involved with horse charities — so he’s at home at a university where the first degree programme was equine science in 1994. Students can bring their own horse to campus, which features indoor and outdoor arenas for horse trial and dressage events. Today, the curriculum has expanded to include a broad selection of land-based and sports courses, encompassing animal, equine, and veterinary nursing. Founded in 1948 as an agricultural institute, Hartpury became a university in 2018. In only its fifth appearance in our league table, it has climbed 15 places. It has earned our Specialist University of the Year 2026 award.
What is Hartpury University’s reputation?
The university’s Agri-Tech Centre is part of a ten-year vision to turn its commercial Home Farm into a pioneer in increasing productivity and profitability through advances in robotics and other emerging technologies. Hartpury’s Tech Box Park brings business into the mix by offering workspaces for local agribusinesses.
The university’s first submission to the national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) focused on sport and exercise science, with an emphasis on equestrian sport and the use of water treadmills.
Hartpury received triple gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), an accolade shared by only 15 per cent of higher education institutions. It champions face-to-face teaching, limiting online learning to no more than two hours a week, an approach that places it 13th for satisfaction with teaching quality in our analysis of the latest National Student Survey. However, for the wider student experience, it ranks lower at 72=.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
New courses from September 2025 include a degree in sports performance. In September 2026, Hartpury will introduce top-up programmes in animal (or canine) behaviour, training and performance; as well as veterinary physiotherapy.
What are Hartpury University’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Undergraduate offers range from ABB (128 Ucas tariff points) to DDD (72). Contextual offers are eight or 16 points lower (equivalent to up to two grades) for eligible students. The university received almost 3,500 applications for 2024 entry and accepted 850 new students.
What are the graduate prospects?
Partnerships with more than 3,000 employers in agriculture, animal, equine, sport, and veterinary nursing provide students with opportunities for field trips, career events, work placements and live briefs. On-site businesses include equine and canine therapy centres and the commercial Home Farm, which supplies Müller from its dairy operation. The Hartpury Sports Business Hub allows students and staff to work on real-world research. Despite these efforts, Hartpury ranks towards the bottom of our graduate prospects table (124th), based on the proportion of students who find high-skilled jobs or return to study within 15 months of finishing their degree.
What is Hartpury University’s campus like?
Hartpury occupies five sites spanning 360 hectares. The main Home Farm covers 72 hectares and has dairy and beef calf rearing units. With a 140-cow robotic milking herd, plus a 100-cow herd milked in a rapid exit parlour, the opportunities for hands-on experience are endless. The campus stables allow students to bring their own horse, and other horses are available to ride.
Recent investments include the £12.75 million University Learning Hub with study zones and social areas, which also houses the library and careers services. Newer still is the Veterinary Nursing and Technical Skills Centre, with laboratories and a clinical skills centre with animal simulators.
When can I visit?
hartpury.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about Hartpury University’s student life and wellbeing support
Students enjoy country life to the full in an area of outstanding beauty. And for animal-mad types, working with horses and caring for all creatures great and small is hard to beat. Sports facilities are also central to university life. The championship-level Hartpury University RFC plays and trains on site, as does Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s RFC. The university is a training centre for British Rowing World Class and Pentathlon GB Pathway programmes. The £10 million Sports Academy houses biomechanics labs, an anti-gravity treadmill, and a rehabilitation suite — surrounded by pitches, a golf driving range, and a floodlit rugby stadium. "Wellfest" is part of Freshers' Week and promotes student health and safety services. An ongoing "wellbeing calendar" addresses monthly topics such as stress awareness and kindness. Wellbeing officers offer daily drop-ins and one-to-one appointments until 10:30pm while therapeutic services include counselling and a 24/7 student assistance programme.
What do the students say?
“You get an ideal balance of rural life with an emphasis on sport and time in the countryside, as well as nearby Gloucester. Our gorgeous campus has amazing opportunities and facilities.”
Olivia Henson, students’ union clubs and societies co-ordinator, equine science
What about student accommodation at Hartpury University?
There are 370 on-site student bedrooms and 236 off-campus. Hartpury guarantees a place to first-years.
How diverse and inclusive is Hartpury University?
Hartpury ranks 58= in our social inclusion index, down one place from last year. Its outreach focuses on attracting care leavers, mature students, those from low participation areas, and students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds as well as those with vocational and non-traditional entry qualifications.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at Hartpury University
About 15-20 per cent of students qualify for some form of financial assistance. There are bursaries of £1,000 a year for those from households with incomes up to £42,000, or £1,500 per year for care leavers and students estranged from their parents. A £3,000 veterinary nursing hardship grant is paid during a placement year. Uncapped, non-means-tested sports scholarships are also awarded.
