Keele University

Bursting the 600-acre Keele bubble, a new teaching space has opened in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme, bringing the university famed for its community spirit to the town centre for the first time. Progressive principles are rooted at Keele, which was founded in 1949 and was a champion of interdisciplinary scholarship — radical at the time. The university is streamlining its combined honours degrees into integrated single-honours programmes to be more responsive to the job market. It continues to fly the flag for a broad-based higher education with its Global Challenge Pathways, which are elective study options that can be taken alongside a core degree and undergraduates engage with debates in issues such as social justice, sustainability, digital futures and global health.Students have everything they need on campus, from sports to culture, and get stuck into a wide range of societies with an active students' union. Rising rates of satisfaction hint at contentment, with Keele up 14 places in our institutional rankings this year.

What is Keele University’s reputation? 

Keele is comfortably in the upper half of our research quality index. Of its submitted work, 80 per cent was rated world-leading or internationally excellent in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). Some of the best results were in allied health; dentistry; agriculture; communication and media studies; archaeology; and general engineering. The university’s veterinary school, a joint venture with Harper Adams, opened in October 2021. 

Keele was rated gold overall in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), repeating its success from six years earlier. The TEF panel praised its “supportive learning environment”. Student satisfaction is returning to form, with a 30-place rise to 40th for the student experience and a 41-place improvement to 54th for teaching quality. 

In May 2025 Keele joined the many universities announcing job cuts, after it said the UK sector was facing “unprecedented financial challenges”.

• The best universities in the UK: the Sunday Times league table revealed

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

Twelve new courses in 2025 include sport and exercise science, neuroscience with psychology, and occupational therapy. From September 2026, two more degrees will launch: social sciences; and philosophy, politics and economics. More than 30 combined honours programmes are being moved to integrated single-honours degrees.

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

Standard offers range from A*AA to BBC. The university has broadened the eligibility criteria for its contextual offer scheme, which undercuts standard requirements. More than a fifth (22 per cent) of new entrants in 2024 gained their places through clearing.

What are the graduate prospects?

Keele is in the top 50 (46=) for graduate prospects, based on the proportion of leavers in highly skilled jobs or further study 15 months on. The university collaborates with employers like Müller, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, Petrostate and the NHS to provide placements and internships. Companies based at the science park on campus also recruit Keele students.

• Everything you need to know about going to university … including the cost

What is Keele University’s campus like?

The largest campus in the country offers all the amenities of a small town — shops, a bank, a health centre and a pharmacy, along with bars, restaurants and a Marriott hotel. The university’s low-carbon energy park, featuring wind turbines and solar panels, supplies up to 50 per cent of the campus’s electricity from renewable sources. 

The Keele Business School has a big-data laboratory and a business incubator while the £34 million Central Science Laboratory was opened by Sir David Attenborough. 

When can I visit? 

keele.ac.uk

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

A busy students’ union and more than 200 clubs and societies contribute to the social scene. Off campus, Newcastle-under-Lyme is the main student hub, while Stoke-on-Trent is nearby. Sports facilities are all on campus and include a bouldering wall, sports halls and a gym. ArtsKeele is the university’s arts programme, with its own gallery.Keele's "whole community" approach to mental health support includes linking services to make them more effective — such as creating a Student Inclusion and Accessibility department to join the disability and dyslexia services with the counselling and mental health team. A 24/7 student assistance programme provides another source of help. 

What do the students say?

“From the moment you arrive on Keele campus until the moment you leave, you become part of a close-knit community where you can pursue new opportunities and be your authentic self. There are unlimited opportunities to get involved — whether that’s academically or as part of an extracurricular activity. There is a dynamic range of assessments and interactive tasks; it’s never just lectures and PowerPoints on loop.”
Jade Cioffi, politics and sociology graduate

What about student accommodation at Keele University?

First-years who apply by the end of June deadline are guaranteed a place in halls of residence on campus.

• Rod Liddle: How Emmy found her freedom away from our domestic dictatorship

How diverse and inclusive is Keele University? 

Keele outperforms many other pre-1992 universities in our social inclusion index, where it places well inside the upper half of UK universities at 61st. It is 21st for recruitment of students from deprived areas.

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

Undergraduates may be eligible for up to £1,500 Access and Success fund awards to support their academic and non-academic experiences. Care leavers and those estranged from their families qualify for £1,000 a year, plus a £500 graduation bonus. There is a range of academic awards and externally sponsored scholarships.