Bristol is more in demand and as ambitious as ever. Last year a record 61,000 applicants chased just under 7,000 undergraduate places.

An earlier start to the academic year greeted Bristol students in September, with welcome week kicking off on September 9 for 2024-25. The move is part of a structural shift that will also include an earlier start to the summer break. And instead of exams taking place after the Christmas holidays, mid-year assessments will take place in December — allowing for a holiday season minus revision stress.

What is the University of Bristol’s reputation?

Climbing up one place in the QS World University rankings year-on-year, Bristol was rated the 54th best university on the planet in the list’s 2025 edition. In our UK guide, it has risen five places, almost breaking into the top 10, at 11th.

Bristol further strengthened its research pedigree in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). In an outstanding performance, 94 per cent of the work of 1,500 eligible staff across 28 subject areas was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. The university took sixth place in our research quality index on the strength of its results, notably in engineering; medicine; law; chemistry; geography and environmental science; dentistry; modern languages; natural sciences; social policy and social work.

The university is also making strides on environmental sustainability and ethical performance, sitting 16th in the latest People & Planet league table (and third among its Russell Group peers).  

In the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) Bristol achieved silver overall and silver for student experience. For “typically outstanding” student outcomes, the university won a gold rating. The TEF panel commended “tailored approaches that are highly effective in ensuring students succeed in and progress beyond their studies”. The panel also said “physical and virtual resources are used effectively to contribute to a very high quality academic experience”. 

Links with more than 150 universities — including the University of Copenhagen, the National University of Singapore and the University of California — create opportunities for students to go abroad for a semester or a whole year. Summer schools and shorter programmes are also offered, with scholarships and other funding available.

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

Twelve new degrees for 2025 include programmes in computer science with AI, and design engineering, adding breadth to Bristol’s longstanding strength in the engineering disciplines.

BSc courses in geography with quantitative research methods, and geophysics are no longer available.

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

Bristol demands grades of A*A*A at the top end, down to BBC for its courses. Standards are high but the university is also a pioneer of contextual offers: students who meet a range of criteria may receive an offer up to two grades lower than standard. Contextual offers accounted for about a quarter of offers in 2023. Among 2023’s admission of nearly 7,000 undergraduates was an intake of 1,650 international students — the highest to date and about 10 per cent of the number of applications received from abroad that year. Few Russell Group universities have undergone such expansion of student numbers following the lifting of the cap on student recruitment.

What are the graduate prospects?

A degree from Bristol carries weight in the jobs market: the university was the fifth most targeted by the largest number of top employers, according to the latest High Fliers graduate market report in 2024. The national Graduate Outcomes survey paints a similarly promising picture — with Bristol ranking 17=, up three places on last year, in our analysis, based on the numbers in high-skilled jobs or further study 15 months on from finishing their degree course. 

More than 20 degree programmes incorporate a year in industry or professional placements and the university belongs to a range of networks that match students with opportunities in relevant fields.

What is the University of Bristol’s campus like?

Bristol’s neogothic Wills Memorial Building spire, where graduates collect their scrolls, has commanded the skyline near the top of Park Street since 1925. Now this learning landmark has competition on the horizon: the launch of Bristol’s £500 million Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. The main building is set to open in 2026 at a seven-acre site next to the Temple Meads railway station. Car-free and part of a wider regeneration of the area, housing up to 3,000 students as well as academics, businesses and partners, the focus of the new campus is on digital, business and social innovation.

The university precinct merges into the city, but most teaching takes place on Bristol’s main campus in Clifton, where Georgian buildings are set against the green spaces of the Downs and the Avon Gorge — straddled by the Clifton Suspension Bridge. 

Standout facilities include the £56 million Life Sciences Building, with its chemistry laboratories certified as a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Seven of Bristol’s eight libraries are at the Clifton site, including one with late opening hours in the Wills Memorial Building. The Richmond Building houses the students’ union, two theatres and one of the city’s largest gig venues. Further afield, in Stoke Bishop, the university has a botanic garden with more than 4,500 plant species.

Everything you need to know about the University of Bristol’s student life and wellbeing support

Sports facilities are spread across five sites. The Indoor Sports Centre at the heart of Bristol’s campus includes two gyms, studios for classes, a sports hall, an indoor running track and a sports medicine clinic, and a nearby swimming pool. To the north of the main campus in Stoke Bishop is the 38-acre Coombe Dingle sports complex, the site of most training and competition, while the university boathouse is at Saltford on the River Avon.

The students’ union offers nearly 400 student-run societies, sports clubs and support networks. You name it, you can join it … from baking and hot air ballooning to free speech. 

A diverse and cosmopolitan city, Bristol is a student hit — and with job opportunities on the doorstep many graduates find no reason to leave. 

Bristol’s 24-hour residential life service is an example of its “whole university” approach to mental health and wellbeing. For students who don’t live in halls of residence, there is access to wellbeing services via their university faculty or school. Personal and senior tutors are points of contact for help with academic and pastoral issues. 

Before arriving at Bristol students can opt in to provide the name of a trusted contact whom the university can call if it has concerns. The university has also stepped up provision for those from underrepresented groups, including LGBTQ+, Asian and ethnic minority students, through staff training and links with external organisations. The university continues to analyse the contributing factors behind a cluster of suicides in recent years, and its efforts have been recognised with the University Mental Health Charter Award, which has so far recognised ten universities.

Bristol is piloting mandatory training on sexual consent in 2024 via an online induction that also covers issues such as drugs and alcohol, discrimination, sexual violence and being an active bystander.

What do the students say?

“Bristol is a thriving city and the university offers a huge range of societies from skydiving to feminist journalism to drag - whatever you enjoy, you are guaranteed to find a group of like-minded people. If not, the student union welcomes students establishing new societies. The wellbeing support is brilliant - you have access to personal tutors and lecturers. If you’re a partier then Bristol also has a lot to offer - our clubs and pubs are among the best out there (The Brass Pig is a favourite with freshers, as is Mr Wolf’s for live music).”
Tilly Heath, classics student 

What about student accommodation in the University of Bristol?

Bristol guarantees accommodation to first-years, as long as they apply by the end of June.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Bristol?

Efforts to diversify the intake include gateway programmes for Bristol’s medicine, dentistry and veterinary science degrees, catering for underrepresented or disadvantaged groups and with entry criteria lower than contextual offers. Outreach activities include the Bristol Scholars programme, in which head teachers nominate students with high potential to receive a tailored offer and support from the university.

The university has made modest gains in our social inclusion index in recent years but remains outside the top 100 (101st). 

Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Bristol

Bristol has a generous bursary and scholarship scheme: about a quarter of the intake qualifies for some form of financial award. In 2023, more than 4,200 students (from households with an income below £42,875) received a bursary of up to £2,060 per year of study. More generous schemes such as Access to Bristol and Bristol Scholars are reserved for local students and a range of academic, drama, sport and music scholarships are also available.