The Birmingham student experience offers the best of both worlds: life on a leafy 26-acre campus in suburban Edgbaston but within easy reach of the heart of one of the UK’s busiest, buzziest cities. Founded as Britain’s first civic university, at the turn of the 20th century, the institution has been celebrating its 125th anniversary. Modern campus facilities sit alongside the original redbrick buildings presided over by 100m-high Old Joe, said to be the world’s tallest freestanding clock tower.
A research-led member of the Russell Group, Birmingham has an enviable record on employability. It hosts more than 300 leading employers each year and is the most targeted university in the UK by the largest number of top graduate employers, according to Times Top 100 Employers: The Graduate Market in 2025. It gets Highly Commended in our University of the Year 2026 category.
What is the University of Birmingham’s reputation?
The university achieved superb results in the national Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) and ranks tenth in our research quality index. Some of its best outcomes were in physics; Earth systems and environmental sciences; computer science; philosophy, theology and religious studies; sport and exercise sciences; public health, health services and primary care; social work and social policy; engineering; and law.
Birmingham is making ground on its target of becoming a global top-50 university, climbing to 76th in the QS World University Rankings 2026 (up from 80= in 2025) and 93= in Times Higher Education’s world list 2025 (up eight places in a year).
A global outlook is ingrained in all courses and the university has more than 225 international exchange agreements offering opportunities for students to spread their wings at summer schools, internships, or a year studying abroad.
Birmingham was rated silver overall in the latest Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) but achieved gold for student outcomes for “tailored approaches that are highly effective in ensuring students succeed in and progress beyond their studies”. The TEF panel rated the student experience bronze.
Birmingham’s results improved in our analysis of the latest National Student Survey, climbing to 88th for satisfaction with teaching quality (up from 110=) and 47= for the wider experience (up 32 places. Investment of £6 million in upgrading teaching spaces and swish new student housing should help lift rates of student satisfaction in future.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
The 28 new courses being launched, most with 2026 starts, include AI and public policy; politics, philosophy and economics (PPE); energy engineering; and business management with operations and supply chain management.
What are the University of Birmingham’s entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?
Birmingham’s entry requirements start at BBB and go up to A*A*A. Contextual offers are typically one grade lower than standard and benefited nearly one in ten new entrants in 2024, a similar proportion to those who entered via clearing. Ten per cent took advantage of the Pathways to Birmingham access programme, which typically offers two grades below standard.
Birmingham attracted a record 57,625 applications in 2024. More than 8,500 new undergraduates were accepted onto courses — its biggest intake to date, up from about 7,000 the year before — including 1,815 from abroad.
What are the graduate prospects?
The university’s careers network helps Birmingham students to step into about 9,000 vacancies each year for graduate positions, internships, work placements, part-time roles and work experience. Businesses which belong to the network include Lloyds Banking Group, Jaguar Land Rover, PwC and Goldman Sachs. In our analysis of the latest Graduate Outcomes survey recording the numbers in highly skilled work or further study after 15 months, Birmingham ranks 16th.
What is the University of Birmingham’s campus like?
As Birmingham’s £600 million-plus decade of development draws to a close in 2026, the university has brought in its 2045 Campus Vision, emphasising new technologies and sustainability. The Centre for Anatomy, Surgical and Clinical Skills is due to open its immersive learning facilities in 2026 at Birmingham’s Health Innovation Campus near the medical school and the institution’s Edgbaston base.
Since 2016, its ten-year development plan has produced energy-efficient student townhouses at Pritchatts Park and the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory for Stem subjects, which features wet labs, dry labs and e-labs with space for up to 1,200 students. The School of Engineering opened in 2021, and two years later the Molecular Sciences Building added extra facilities for the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. Next door is a research centre of excellence in digital systems.
The Edgbaston campus has room to breathe in its 12-acre Green Heart outdoor space. The Selly Oak campus hosts drama courses, and the BBC Drama Village offers student placements.
In 2018, Birmingham became the first Russell Group university to launch an outpost in Dubai.
When can I visit?
birmingham.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about the University of Birmingham’s student life and wellbeing support
With more than 350 student groups there is something for everyone. Off campus, student-friendly nightlife abounds in the UK’s second city. Its rich cultural diversity is another big draw. Birmingham’s teams finished sixth overall in the latest British Universities and Colleges Sport (Bucs) points table (2025-26). The university was an official partner for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and students can use the exceptional facilities created to host hockey and squash events and training centres for swimmers and athletes.
Recent investment has added a lower floor to the gym and the two-storey facility now has 17 lifting platforms and a stretching room. There are glass-backed squash courts, a 50m swimming pool, climbing wall and multipurpose arena, as well as acres of sports pitches and courts at Bournbrook and Metchley, less than a mile away. The Gillett Centre at Selly Oak has two gymnastics training rooms with sprung floors and the Tiverton gym in the student village has been refurbished to become a purpose-built lifting gym.
Art, museums, gardens and concert venues abound on campus. In the city, many cultural resources offer free admission for students and there are opportunities to get involved through volunteering, talks and performances.
To support students, there are wellbeing officers in every academic school. Services include UB Heard, a 24/7 online and telephone listening service, and Pause @UoB, a no-wait mental health and wellbeing drop-in service run in partnership with the NHS and the Children’s Society.
What do the students say?
“As well as academic support, I’ve found cultural pride, endless opportunities, and friendships that stretch across the globe. Campus is always buzzing with life, from roller skating sessions and historical battle reenactments to food festivals and formal balls.”
Syed Sadath, Guild of Students president
What about student accommodation at the University of Birmingham?
Rooms in halls are guaranteed for first-years who apply in time.
How diverse and inclusive is the University of Birmingham?
As with other research-intensive universities, Birmingham tends to occupy the lower reaches of our social inclusion index, ranking 100th in our latest social inclusion index.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Birmingham
About four in ten of 2024’s new entrants received one of Birmingham’s scholarships or bursaries, which include the £2,000-a-year Chamberlain Award, given to those who meet widening participation criteria.
Academic achievement scholarships are offered by some departments and music scholarships are open to those who play at grade 8 standard. Students who compete at national level can apply for Birmingham's sports scholarships.
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