One of the youngest universities in our guide, Cumbria gained university status in 2007 and has big ambitions. By autumn 2025 it will have opened the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine in Carlisle — a partnership with Imperial College London and backed by £5 million in philanthropic support from Pears Foundation. The medical school builds on Cumbria’s strength in training nurses, midwives and allied health professionals and will offer a four-year graduate-entry programme, blending expertise from the highly rated MBBS programme at Imperial. Its curriculum has been specifically co-created with regional NHS partners to train doctors to meet the needs of Cumbrians and other northwest of England residents. The school’s community focus is in keeping with Cumbria’s overarching remit to be for and of the county. Launching with 50 places in 2025, the medical school’s new doctors will graduate with an Imperial degree.

Cumbria's portfolio of 12 degree apprenticeships has about 2,000 trainees on courses that include paramedic science; midwifery; professional forestry; and project management. They are run in conjunction with partners including the nuclear site Sellafield, the BBC and the NHS.

​​What is the University of Cumbria’s reputation?

Cumbria was rated silver overall in the latest Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), up from bronze in the previous assessment in 2017, along with silver for student outcomes, but only bronze for student experience. The TEF panel commended very high quality features, noting how Cumbria “effectively supports its students to succeed in and progress beyond their studies”, and its “supportive learning environment”.

The university maintained its 124th place in our research rankings, based on the results of the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). The best results were found in history of art; art and design; and geography. 

Yet low proportions of firsts and 2.1s among Cumbria’s graduates contribute to the university’s ranking in our league table, as have faltering rates of student satisfaction expressed in the National Student Survey. In our analysis of the latest data, Cumbria has fallen 29 places to 128th based on feedback about teaching quality, and 15 places to 126th for responses about the wider undergraduate experience.

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

An expansion at Cumbria’s Barrow campus has introduced advanced manufacturing engineering and computer science degrees (with or without a placement year) designed in partnership with BAE Systems.

New courses available from 2025 include a suite of ecology and wildlife conservation degrees; games development; international business management; and criminology and forensic investigation.

What are the University of Cumbria’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?

The University of Cumbria uses contextual information and data and will give eligible applicants an offer at the lower end of its standard Ucas tariff range for their course, which ranges from 104 to 120 points. A quarter of 2023 entrants received a contextual offer and more than a fifth of new first-years gained their places through clearing in the same year.

What are the graduate prospects?

The university fosters links between its courses and local, regional and national organisations across industry to provide opportunities for students, from work placements and paid internships to graduate roles. For graduate prospects, Cumbria is experiencing a renaissance with 74.8 per cent of leavers in highly skilled work or further study 15 months after finishing their degree, according to the Graduate Outcomes survey. This lifts the university 31 places to rank 71=, returning to the middle reaches of our graduate prospects measure for the first time in three years.

What is the University of Cumbria’s campus like?

Students are based at seven campuses, stretching from the Lake District to Canary Wharf in east London. The main campus in Lancaster is set in parkland a short walk from the city centre and caters for courses in education, health, sport and business. The Ambleside campus on Lake Windermere in the Lake District National Park offers the UK’s biggest programme of outdoor education courses plus conservation and forestry degrees. The newest campus, Canary Wharf, is for students taking health, education and business courses.

In Lancaster, the £9 million Sentamu teaching and learning building has a 200-seat lecture theatre and there are views towards Morecambe Bay from the restaurant. In the library there are bookable study rooms, individual booths and laptops for loan. Teaching facilities include sports performance laboratories, ambulance simulators and teacher training rooms.

Cumbria’s Fusehill campus in Carlisle is in a former First World War military hospital and offers courses in health, science, conservation, education, business, law and policing. A second site in Carlisle, close to Hadrian’s Wall, houses the university’s Institute of Arts. 

The university expects to open its expanded base in Barrow-in-Furness in 2025. The new campus will be part of the Barrow Learning Quarter — a collaboration with partners including BAE Systems, Lancaster University and Barrow borough council — covering 2.76 hectares. Cumbria’s Institute for Engineering, Computing and Advanced Manufacturing will be based on the site, offering degrees including project management; digital and cybersecurity; advanced manufacturing, and supply chain and logistics. The port town also has one of the few shipyards in the world capable of designing and building nuclear submarines.

The Workington campus provides graduate courses in decommissioning, reprocessing and managing nuclear waste and has specialist facilities. The university is a partner in the National College for Nuclear and the Project Academy for Sellafield. 

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

Cumbria is the only British university whose mental health team offers bouldering therapy — teaching climbing skills and coping skills at the same time. There are also more traditional forms of mental health support available, such as talking therapies and workshops. Fitness suites and sports halls are available at the Lancaster and Carlisle campuses and Ambleside has a gym and on-site fitness classes. Student membership also includes access to nearby leisure centres.

What do the students say?

"It was important to me to find the perfect balance between an excellent academic degree and the right environment to study. The University of Cumbria offered both, providing qualified teacher status that would enable me to launch straight into my career afterwards. Additionally, it gave me access to the Lake District.”
Kerry Burns, primary and early years education with QTS

What about student accommodation at the University of Cumbria?

About a fifth of students want to live in and accommodation is guaranteed to first-years — some housed within stone cottages at the Ambleside campus.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Cumbria?

Cumbria is 11th in our social inclusion index, leaping 13 places in a year and 36 over two years. The university’s school outreach programme — “Discover. Explore. Support” — is targeted towards low-participation areas.

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

The Cumbria Bursary for students from low-income backgrounds provides £1,000 per year of full-time study, or £500 per year of part-time study. 

One Sanctuary Scholarship is awarded to a forced migrant student each year, waiving tuition fees for up to four years, providing campus accommodation year-round for free, and £3,000 per year of study.