Offering a lower cost of living than its northwest neighbours Liverpool and Manchester, Preston has a friendly reputation. It is the main site of the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), which also has campuses in neighbouring Burnley, and Westlakes, in Cumbria. A large, modern university of around 17,000 undergraduates, UCLan’s broad curriculum includes one of the biggest portfolios of degree apprenticeships in the country, across 30 programmes, in the fields of engineering and the built environment, professional services, and health and wellbeing.
What is the University of Central Lancashire’s reputation?
Rated silver overall in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), UCLan won praise for its “highly effective support for students to succeed in and progress beyond their studies”. There were more commendations for UCLan’s “support for students to achieve educational gains”.
Our analysis of the National Student Survey (NSS) puts UCL in 51st place for teaching quality and 66th for the wider student experience. This is an impressive leap from last year's 84= and 102 respectively.
Among the two thirds of UCLan’s submissions to the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) rated world-leading or internationally excellent, some of its best results were in physics; social work and social policy; and the allied health professions. The university gained four places in our research quality index (82=) compared with the previous national assessment, in 2014.
Taking one giant leap on UCLan’s space-research path — and building on its longstanding links with Nasa — the institution’s base in Preston is the British outpost for the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. University researchers are working with those from the UN’s Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-Spider) to bridge the technology gap to ensure that all countries can access observations from space to prevent and mitigate disasters.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
Six programmes launched for 2024, among them degrees in game art, and international social work and community development. Another three will be added from 2025: nutrition; physical activity, health and wellbeing (subject to approval); and cyber investigations with digital forensics. Degrees that are ending include modern languages; airport security management; and physics.
What are the University of Central Lancashire’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
Entry ranges from 96 to 144 Ucas tariff points. Foundation years are offered on most courses. Nearly three in ten of 2023’s new students benefited from UCLan’s contextual offers, which cut grade requirements by eight Ucas points for those who qualify under widening participation criteria. The policy applies to all degrees except for dental studies; dental therapy; clinical dental technology; and pharmacy.
What are the graduate prospects?
Work placements and other opportunities to boost students’ graduate employability benefit from UCLan’s links with the NHS, BBC, Lancashire Constabulary, Wigan Warriors and Royal Mail, among other organisations. In our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey, UCLan is on the rise, up nine places to 77th, with nearly three quarters of leavers in highly skilled jobs or postgraduate study 15 months after finishing their degree. Boosting its provision in the earn-while-you-learn route, the university launched Spark in 2023. This is a service to help match potential apprentices with apprenticeship providers.
What is the University of Central Lancashire’s campus like?
The Preston campus has a master plan to spend £200 million on development. The £35 million Engineering Innovation Centre and a £60 million student centre with a rooftop garden have recently opened. The School of Dentistry is doubling the number of teaching bays to 16. Facilities for nursing and midwifery students — who make up a large proportion of UCLan students — are gaining simulation of real-world settings for practice-based learning. The first cohort of students enrolled in the vet school, which is the UK’s 11th, in 2023. Anatomical skills laboratories are among facilities under construction as part of the University of Central Lancashire’s new School of Veterinary Medicine.
At the Burnley campus, in the heart of the Pennines, the university’s courses promise small class sizes. Here UCLan is converting a vacant mill into a 3,250 sq m teaching and social space in the latest phase of development of its canalside campus in the historic Weavers’ Triangle area of the town. The Westlakes campus focuses on nursing and other health subjects. There is also a UCLan campus in Larnaca in Cyprus. It opened in 2012, has space for about 1,000 students and the degrees offered include sports; business; law; and English.
Everything you need to know about the University of Central Lancashire’s student life and wellbeing support
The wellbeing service provides extended hours and students can access wide-ranging supports, which include one-to-one counselling, course-specific workshops, and emergency accommodation if needed. There is practical help to combat the rising cost of living too, in the form of free food for students in UCLan refectories.
The Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre at the Preston campus and the UCLan Sports Arena two miles away have grass rugby and football pitches, floodlit tennis/netball courts, artificial pitches, an eight-lane athletics track and a 1.5km cycle circuit. Cycle hire is also available for students.
The PR1 Gallery exhibits collections year-round, and the university cinema’s programme includes free film festivals. The recently developed University Square houses Preston’s Mobile Event Tent — a two-month installation in summer and the starting point for Preston Pride.
What do the students say?
“Our three campuses offer lively atmospheres and close-knit communities, so it's easy to feel at home. Students are listened to: support, opportunity and a sense of belonging are at the heart of everything.”
Charlotte Lastoweckyi, the vice-president of education at UCLan Students' Union and a criminology and sociology graduate
What about student accommodation in the University of Central Lancashire?
There are 1,356 student rooms in Preston, 129 in Burnley and 131 at Westlakes, where the university turned a hotel into halls of residence. Accommodation is guaranteed for first-years on the Preston campus.
How diverse and inclusive is the University of Central Lancashire?
UCLan has fallen nine places to exit the top 20 in our social inclusion index, where it now ranks 26th. The vast majority of students (96.6 per cent) are from non-selective state schools (23rd). The university’s six-week, part-time Return to Study taster courses target over-21s who have demonstrable skills in a particular area but who may not have formal Level 3 qualifications and mature students make up 38.8 per cent of the community (25th). The UCLan Scholars’ Programme is for Year 12 students from the northwest of England, and those who complete its workshops on study, research and academic skills qualify for a contextualised offer from the university and a bursary of £500 a year.
The newly launched Vice-Chancellor’s Group (VCG) Allies programme aims to support UCLan’s student communities by pairing senior leaders with students from minority groups to help with any issues they face. Initiatives to promote engagement in Stem subjects include the Lancashire Science Festival for children aged 5-14 and the Young Scientist Centre, a collaboration with the Royal Institution that offers practical experience in laboratory space.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Central Lancashire
The university’s 14 undergraduate bursaries and scholarships include medical scholarships — two for East Lancashire and Cumbria-based students and two for northwest students from underrepresented backgrounds — which cover all tuition fees for the duration of the five-year course. Other awards include bursaries of up to £2,000, across three years, for those from low-income households.
