The university’s 34,000 students are based across campuses in Belfast, Coleraine and Derry-Londonderry. Ulster is a regular in the upper tiers of National Student Survey outcomes, and sits comfortably in the top half nationally in our graduate prospects index. The university is fresh from moving into the £363.9 million Belfast campus in the cathedral district, one of the biggest academic capital builds in Europe. 

At Coleraine, a new inshore marine research vessel, the Laconia, provides opportunities to monitor coastal waters. At Derry-Londonderry, Ulster is expanding its medical school’s presence on campus and at Altnagelvin Hospital, in conjunction with Derry’s City Deal. The medical school, run in partnership with St George’s, University of London, launched in 2021 to fulfil a shortfall of doctors in Northern Ireland. In Belfast, the university is leading the consortium behind the £75 million Studio Ulster research and development facility. Building on Northern Ireland’s popularity as a location for film and television drama, Ulster Studio is intended to drive the next generation of visual effects technologies.

What is Ulster University’s reputation? 

Ulster is a pioneer of blended learning and its online recordings (provided for every module for more than 20 years) are popular with students. In our new National Student Survey analysis, the university ranks 20= (up from 24=) for satisfaction with teaching quality and 22 (a one-place gain) for the wider experience. With an average of 129 points required in the Ucas tariff and more than four in five students graduating with a first or 2.1, Ulster is in the top half of UK universities. Ulster is ranked 45th in our research quality index; 87 per cent of its submission to the 2021 Research Excellence Framework was rated world-leading or internationally excellent, with the strongest results in allied health subjects. Connected by the themes of social renewal, sustainability, healthy communities, and creativity and culture, 97 per cent of the university’s research had “outstanding” or “very considerable” impact, the assessment said.

Ulster has branch campuses in London and Birmingham, offering courses in business, computing and engineering in partnership with QA Higher Education.

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

Food business and retail management (Coleraine); and business analytics (Derry-Londonderry) closed in September 2024. The new degrees are food and business innovation (Coleraine); accounting and finance; accounting with computing; accounting with education; law (graduate entry); law with criminology; and law with politics and international studies (all at Derry-Londonderry); and an integrated master’s in software engineering (Belfast). New from September 2025 are liberal arts (Derry-Londonderry); animal healthcare and bioveterinary science (part-time); and veterinary nursing (both Coleraine).

What are Ulster University’s entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?

The lowest published asking grades are CCC (or CC for a foundation programme) rising to AAA. Ulster does not make contextual offers. The university attracted 33,650 applications in 2023, up 9 per cent and record demand. However, new student enrolments went 9 per cent down, with 6,100 undergraduates accepted onto courses,14 per cent through clearing.

What are the graduate prospects?

More than 2,500 students undertake a professional practice placement or a placement year, and employers contribute to the design and delivery of many courses. And more than three-quarters of Ulster graduates were in high-skilled work or further study 15 months after finishing their degrees, according to our analysis of the latest Graduate Outcomes survey. This maintains Ulster’s position comfortably in the upper half of UK universities. Ulster’s degree programmes often feature a work-based learning component. 

What is Ulster University campus like?

Opened in 2022, the Belfast “campus community within a building” has room for 15,000 students and houses facilities for learning and research under the same roof as student services and social spaces. It is the base for the Belfast School of Art, founded 175 years ago, as well as a wide range of other courses. Facilities include a two-storey library, a student-run restaurant and training kitchens. A £42 million Centre for Digital Healthcare Technology is being built adjacent to the campus. Specialist health-related course facilities have been added at the Derry-Londonderry campus, where the School of Health Science relocated its undergraduate programmes to in 2022, bringing 800 students. The campus already had a nursing and paramedic skills suite. Ulster has a £6.5 million media centre in Coleraine on the Atlantic coast, building on Northern Ireland’s emergence as a leading film and television centre. As well as virtual production facilities, it has a BBC television studio with a multimedia newsroom and editing suites. Courses in the environment, hospitality and communication are also based at the Coleraine campus. 

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

At the High-Performance Sports Centre at Jordanstown, the base for the Sports Institute Northern Ireland, cameras are installed in the sports hall and three outdoor pitches for performance analysis and live-streaming matches. Students have access to outdoor and indoor sprint tracks, sports science and sports medicine facilities. The Coleraine and Magee campuses also have sports facilities, and the Belfast site has opened a new gym and studio. Belfast’s arts and culture venues are on the doorstep of the Belfast campus, while the Coleraine campus is home to the Riverside Theatre. Ulster’s new student TV channel, Offshoot TV, launched in autumn 2024.

Mind Your Mood, Ulster’s student-led mental health and wellbeing campaign, runs training sessions to build resilience. Counselling is available through an external provider, complemented by a 24/7 online support hub. AccessAbility Advisers help students with diagnosed disabilities including mental health conditions by making adjustments to support their learning, and student-led groups on each campus support neurodiverse students. 

What do the students say?

“Ulster University is a vibrant, welcoming place. The campuses are beautiful, and whether you love a city experience or a more chilled, outdoorsy campus vibe, there’s something for everyone.”
Rebecca Allen, students’ union president, law with criminology

What about student accommodation at Ulster University?

A place in one of more than 2,800 rooms in university accommodation is guaranteed for all first-year students who apply by the July 7 deadline.

How diverse and inclusive is Ulster University?

Ulster has an extensive outreach scheme and an excellent record in widening participation at university-level education. Almost all the undergraduates are from state schools, but we do not include Northern Ireland universities in our social inclusion index because of regional differences in the education system. Selective grammar schools make up a greater proportion of state secondary provision, which would skew national comparisons. 

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

Up to one-third of admissions qualify for some form of bursary. Support targets those from households with incomes of less than £19,203 and includes access bursaries of £475 a year, which can be topped up to £1,000 to help with costs of one year’s student accommodation. Fee discounts of up to £500 are available for students who meet widening participation criteria. There are 28 community scholarships of £3,000 per year available to students based at Belfast, Coleraine or Derry-Londonderry campuses. A wide range of subject-specific scholarships is available too, such as the An Droichead Scholarship, which is open to Irish-language students.