Perhaps it is all down to the success of Clarkson’s Farm, but applications to Hartpury University, based in the Cotswolds, have risen for the past six years, totalling more than 3,600 for 2023 entry — about 10 per cent of via clearing. Founded in 1948 as an agricultural institute, Hartpury’s inaugural degree programme, in equine science, was introduced in 1994, and it became a university in 2018. Today it offers a broad land-based selection of courses — the growing curriculum encompasses animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing degrees. This is the institution’s fourth appearance in our academic league table, hot on the heels of earning triple gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) — an accolade that only 15 per cent of higher education institutions received. 

What is Hartpury University’s reputation?

As part of a ten-year vision to turn its commercial Home Farm into an agri-tech pioneer, the university’s dedicated Agri-Tech Centre for smart farming technology focuses on increasing productivity and profitability within livestock. Its Tech Box Park workspaces are for local agribusinesses.

Hartpury made its first submission to the national Research Excellence Framework in 2021. Its work focused on sport and exercise sciences, with emphasis on equestrian sport and the use of water treadmills. The university’s indoor and outdoor arenas host major horse trial and dressage events, including the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships in July, attended by the charity’s president, the Princess Royal.

What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?

The curriculum has gained degrees in business management, biological sciences, and equine dental science from 2024 entry, and in 2025 a degree in environmental science will launch.

What are Hartpury University’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?

Offers for entry to undergraduate degrees range from CCC (96 Ucas tariff points) up to ABB (128 Ucas tariff points). Contextual offers undercut standard requirements by eight or 16 points for eligible students. 

What are the graduate prospects?

Partnerships with more than 3,000 employers across agriculture, animal, equine, sport and veterinary nursing provide opportunities for students to benefit from field trips, careers events, work placements and live briefs. On campus there are opportunities for students to volunteer and get behind-the-scenes insights. Commercial businesses on-site include equine and canine therapy centres, while Home Farm, which supplies Müller, offers opportunities across the food chain.

The Hartpury Sports Business Hub, launched in 2022, provides opportunities for students and staff to work on live briefs and real-world research consultancy. 

In spite of such efforts Hartpury is six places from the bottom of our graduate prospects table (127), 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 on campus occupies 72 hectares while the other four are nearby. Facilities for bovine studies include a dairy bull-beef rearing unit and a 296-cubicle dairy unit. An advanced dairy parlour reduces milking times and improves hygiene and welfare for its 250-strong award-winning herd, while also providing hands-on experience. Campus stables allow students to bring their own horse to university — other horses are available to ride.

The university has been ploughing plenty of investment into facilities. The latest, the £12.75 million University Learning Hub opens in the 2024-25 academic year and will bring group work pods, open-plan social areas and study zones as well as being the base for the library and careers services.

Students will also have access to a £5.8 million Veterinary Nursing Centre in 2024-25. The new development will bring two laboratories with 80 workspaces among its facilities.

Next in line for development is the new University Innovation, Careers and Enterprise Learning Centre, which is part of a £20 million “levelling up” investment from the government.

Everything you need to know about Hartpury University’s student life and wellbeing support

Freshers week includes “Wellfest”, which promotes services and awareness around student happiness, health and safety. An ongoing “wellbeing calendar” involves monthly topics such as stress awareness, respect and focus on kindness. Wellbeing officers and support workers offer daily drop-ins and one-to-one appointments until 10.30pm on most evenings. Therapeutic services include counselling and a 24/7 student assistance programme, while the university also has sexual violence liaison officers and designated safeguarding staff. In 2022 Hartpury’s commitment to mental health provision was recognised with a University Mental Health Charter Award from Student Minds.

Sports facilities are at the centre of campus, signalling their significance to university life and its championship-level Hartpury University RFC plays and trains on site. Gloucester-Hartpury Women’s RFC trains on campus too and the university is also a training centre for the British Rowing World Class and Pentathlon GB Pathway programmes.

The £10 million Sports Academy houses biomechanics and human performance laboratories, an anti-gravity treadmill, an altitude chamber, and high-speed cameras and digital mirrors to map body movement. There are also medical and physiotherapy rooms, a rehabilitation suite, gym and a large multi-sports hall. The sports academy is surrounded by eight grass and two rubber crumb pitches, a golf driving range, and nearby, the floodlit rugby stadium. 

Adding to its ten competitive sporting academies, a new academy is planned for the Five Acres site in the Forest of Dean, funded by the aforementioned levelling-up investment. It will provide coaching and placement opportunities for sports students via a five-year partnership.

What do the students say?

“Our setting is truly unparalleled, in an area of outstanding natural beauty. At Hartpury we study what we love, and we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the world of animals. From riding and working with horses to caring for meerkats and llamas, the hands-on experience is unmatched. Our campus fosters a close-knit community; every opinion matters."
Sascha Bruce, president of Hartpury students' union, and an equine science graduate

What about student accommodation at Hartpury University?

There are 389 student bedrooms on site and a further 190 off campus. Hartpury “will guarantee to find accommodation for first year undergraduate students”, the university tells us — as long as they hold it as a firm Ucas choice and apply by August 31.

How diverse and inclusive is Hartpury University?

Hartpury is steady in 57th place of our social inclusion index, shifting just two places since ranking 55th last year. Its outreach activities focus on attracting care leavers, mature students, those from low participation areas, students with vocational and non-traditional entry qualifications, disabled students and students from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. 

Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at Hartpury University

About 15 to 20 per cent of entrants qualify for some form of Hartpury’s financial assistance. Awards include bursaries of £1,000 per year for those from households with incomes up to £42,000, or £1,500 per year for care leavers and students estranged from their families. There’s also a veterinary nursing hardship grant of £3,000 paid during a placement year. 

An uncapped number of sports scholarships are awarded by Hartpury’s sports academies. They are not means-tested.