Two-year degrees are the norm at Buckingham, which introduced the model as Britain’s first private university, founded in 1976. The progressive fast-track programmes mean students can pack their undergraduate studies into two 40-week academic years (compared with three years of 26-30 weeks at most other UK universities) starting in either September or January. A shorter time frame focuses the mind, Buckingham believes, and allows graduates to hit the world of work with a head start on their peers. The course offering delivered by six academic schools matches the range at other UK universities, despite its bijou size: Buckingham has only about 1,600 undergraduates on campus.

What is the University of Buckingham’s reputation? 

The highest riser in our previous edition’s league table and shortlisted for University of the Year 2024, Buckingham has plunged 58 places to 114th in our main academic rankings, not least as a result of precipitous falls in student satisfaction. Our latest National Student Survey analysis shows satisfaction with teaching quality down 48 places year-on-year to 108th and feedback on the wider undergraduate experience has also taken a dive, down 54 places to 128th. 

As a private institution, it cannot avoid being an outlier in comparisons with its peers. Buckingham does not take part in the national Research Excellence Framework exercise so we cannot give it a research quality score in our league table. The university does, however, put a high priority on research and students can expect to be taught by academics who are active in their field. 

Rated silver overall in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) (down from gold in the previous assessment), Buckingham also gained silver for both underpinning factors: student experience and student outcomes. The university won praise from the TEF panel for its “outstanding teaching, feedback and assessment practices that are highly effective and tailored to supporting students’ learning, progression and attainment”. Course content and delivery was found to inspire students “to actively engage in and commit to their learning, and stretches students to develop knowledge and skills to their fullest potential”. Physical and virtual learning resources were “used effectively to support very high quality teaching and learning.”

Known for its small class tutorials, Buckingham’s teaching is face-to-face, supported by a virtual learning environment. New for 2024 are online subject pages created via library software. Buckingham’s AI policy allows students to use tools such as ChatGPT during their studies, but not to use an AI system to create their work.

The expense of private tuition fees — £27,750 a year for UK students living on campus — is higher than mainstream institutions but offset by saving a year’s living costs. Buckingham calculates that a typical home student is about 20 per cent better off on one of its condensed two-year degrees, compared with a traditional three-year programme. Buckingham’s medical school is a popular choice for home and overseas students because they finish their courses in a shorter time than they would elsewhere, with a 4½-year MBChB.

The university’s three degree apprenticeships – in senior leadership, teaching, and digital and technology solutions – are well supported, with about 300 apprentices in 2023.

Buckingham appears to have recovered from the financial circumstances that led to a fine of £37,000 by the Office for Students for filing its 2019 accounts two years late. Once published, they showed a £17.5 million deficit, due to leasing the ambitious new health science campus in Crewe, Cheshire, which is due to close by 2026. The university welcomed Professor James Tooley as vice-chancellor in 2020 and subsequent financial reports have been on a steadier footing.

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

The curriculum gained eight new options in September 2024 including liberal arts, computing (gaming pathway), history with politics, and digital marketing. Buckingham’s Centre for Heterodox Social Science has dived into the culture wars with a low-cost online course studying progressive illiberalism — better known as “wokeism”.

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

Some foundation programmes ask for DD, or 48 Ucas tariff points, while at the upper end you’ll need ABB (128 points) to get into medicine. Buckingham attracted more than 1,400 applications in 2023, a new record, boosted by increasing demand from international students. Almost half of the 440 freshers in 2023 came from outside the UK. Applications for 2024 entry were trimmed back by about 8 per cent at the end of March, due to some course rationalisation and a national dip in demand for medicine and health courses.

What are the graduate prospects?

A micro-internship scheme — B-Enterprising — connects students with industry partners to complete short, paid, flexible projects. Law students shadow roles in law firms, barristers’ chambers and in court. First-year law students can apply for a sandwich year placement with the Home Office.  

In the top 20 for graduate prospects in our previous edition — and the top ten in 2021 — Buckingham has hit a low point with 76.4 per cent of graduates in highly skilled work or further study within 15 months, according to the Graduate Outcomes survey (57=). 

What is the University of Buckingham’s campus like?

The original riverside campus is on three sites — the main hub in Hunter Street, Chandos Road and Verney Park — in leafy Buckingham, tucked into a bend of the Great Ouse. A former friary and military barracks are among the facilities repurposed for academia. The barracks is now a refurbished library and there is a new moot court and upgraded wellbeing space.The Vinson Centre for the Public Understanding of Economics and Entrepreneurship has an award-winning building and the School of Computing has futureproofing in hand at its Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Centre.  

All courses will soon be taught in Buckingham, after the decision to close the university's costly campus for medicine and health sciences students in Crewe, Cheshire by 2026, six years after it opened. 

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

The main campus has a bar and fitness facilities, and a refurbished refectory with social learning space. 

Student-led clubs and societies cover academic, sport, cultural, medical and religious interests. 

Every student has regular meetings with their personal tutor, who provides academic support and guidance as well as signposting students to any other services they may need. The university’s wellbeing department offers counselling, mentoring and wellbeing advice.

Life is tranquil in rural Buckingham while the brighter lights of Milton Keynes are a 20-minute drive away. Students based at Crewe are close to both Liverpool and Manchester. 

What do the students say?

“The University of Buckingham is unique with its innovative two-year degrees and a calm, picturesque campus. It makes you feel proud to be a part of something as individual as you are.”
Phoebe Arrowsmith, an economics graduate

What about student accommodation at the University of Buckingham?

All first-years who apply by the deadline are guaranteed a room in halls of residence, which include the new Mount Pleasant site in Buckingham, ten minutes’ walk from Verney Park. Formerly a Best Western hotel, it has twin en-suite rooms, study spaces and its own gym, swimming pool, bar, and free laundry facilities.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Buckingham?

Buckingham is in the top 20 for its proportion of black and ethnic minority students (60 per cent). However, the university has lost ground in our social inclusion index overall, placing second from bottom in England and Wales.

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

For UK and Irish students, the High Achiever scholarship of £2,000 is given to those achieving AAB (or equivalent) in their A-levels. Students who qualify for a £7,500 in maintenance loan may also receive the University of Buckingham Bursary — worth £2,000 per year of a two-year degree and paid as a termly fee reduction. For those taking three-year degrees, the maximum bursary remains £4,000.