Not too big, not too small, and centred on a 32-acre campus — Chester is just the right size for most students, and Liverpool and Manchester are nearby.
A restructuring of academic life has organised all courses into three new faculties: arts, humanities and social sciences; health, medicine and society; and science, business and enterprise. The aim of this configuration is to promote interdisciplinary teaching and research, while also supporting the university’s employment-focused Future Skills approach – where the emphasis is on social learning, digital skills and continuous assessment. The most popular courses are within nursing and midwifery, business and management, and psychology, along with education, law, agriculture, and sociology.
What is the University of Chester’s reputation?
First established as a teacher-training college in 1839 (a co-founder was William Gladstone, the four-time prime minister and chancellor of the Exchequer), Chester continues to offer a wide range of teaching courses. All of these courses are now based at the Exton Park site.
The university gained a triple silver in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) – overall and for underpinning aspects of student experience and student outcomes. Assessors commended its “course content and delivery that effectively encourages students to engage in their learning, and stretches them to develop their knowledge and skills.”
However, the TEF findings are slightly at odds with Chester’s recent dip in rates of student satisfaction. Only five years ago the university ranked in the top 30 for satisfaction with teaching quality and the wider undergraduate experience, based on results from the National Student Survey (NSS). In our latest NSS analysis, Chester has risen one place to 78th for teaching quality and fallen 23 places to 124th for student experience.
Theology, health subjects and sports and exercise science produced some of Chester’s best results in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). Overall, 51 per cent of research was assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent (compared with 31 per cent in the previous assessment in 2014), while the number of staff who submitted research almost doubled. Even so, against even bigger gains at other universities, Chester slipped to 110th place.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
New to the curriculum are a number of criminology-based degrees as well as a range of creative arts and media courses with a foundation year, among them acting, popular music performance and fashion design. Degree apprenticeship programmes to train dieticians and community nurses launch in 2024/25.
What are the University of Chester’s entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?
Applications have fallen 17 per cent in a year and about 40 per cent compared with a high point in 2014. Typical entry requirements are 72 points in the Ucas tariff for degrees with a foundation year, and 112-120 Ucas points for standard undergraduate degrees. Contextual offers may be considered. A-levels are not the only means of entry, as Chester accepts a wide range of equivalent qualifications and different entry points into higher education.
What are the graduate prospects?
The TEF panel praised the work of the university for “effectively raising the profile of graduates among employers, allowing students to develop industry links.” The university engages with more than 1,400 employers for work-based learning modules and placements. Chester’s flagship “Enhancing Your Employability Through Work Based Learning” scheme has run for more than 25 years, offering a five-week placement in the second year.
According to our analysis of the latest Graduate Outcomes survey, Chester has improved by 20 places to 59th, with 76.3 per cent of those finishing their degree finding highly skilled work or enrolled in further study within 15 months.
What is the University of Chester campus like?
The Queen’s Park campus, once the wartime headquarters of the army’s Western Command during the Second World War, houses Chester Business School. The Wheeler building, overlooking the River Dee, is the base for the medical, nursing and midwifery courses. Facilities include a mock labour unit and a high-dependency unit simulation, as well as an anatomy suite. Next to Chester crown court is the School of Law and Social Justice (encompassing criminology, policing and law courses), which has its own moot court.
Everything you need to know about the University of Chester’s student life and wellbeing support
Most sports facilities are near the Exton Park site, which includes a sports hall, grass pitches, tennis and squash courts, a swimming pool and a fitness studio. Warrington-based students have free access to the town’s Youth Zone, including a climbing wall and fitness centre. There are also opportunities to take evening classes in a foreign language, volunteer, run a society and join a team, band or theatre group.
Among mental health supports offered, students can self-refer into the student counselling service, access low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy sessions or take part in wellbeing sessions such as a men’s mental health group. A signatory of the Recovery Friendly University Pledge, Chester is committed to supporting students and staff in recovery from addictions.
What do the students say?
“My time at Chester has shaped me into a more confident person and has provided me with valuable real-world skills. Experienced mentors and lecturers offer guidance and support, and our learning sites are part of the local communities – allowing you to embrace the history, culture and vibrant nightlife on offer.”
Ellie Smith, Chester students’ union president 2023/24 and law graduate
What about student accommodation at the University of Chester?
First-years are guaranteed a room and nearly a fifth of hall spaces are catered. Sumner House at Exton Park has been refurbished and the ground floor of Fisher House has been remodelled. Plenty of Chester students live at home and commute.
How diverse and inclusive is the University of Chester?
Ranking 17th in our social inclusion index (down from 13 last year), Chester succeeds in recruiting more white working-class male students than most universities (10th). A fifth of entrants are drawn from deprived areas.
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Chester
Financial help starts with travel bursaries of up to £100 for students from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend taster events such as open days or interviews. There are bursaries of £1,500 for those who have been in care, are carers, or are estranged from their families – as well as for students from gypsy, Roma, traveller, showman and boater communities.
