This ambitious and ancient institution founded in 1451 has a tradition of firsts. Glasgow was the first university in Britain to have a school of engineering and the first in Scotland to have a computer. Now it is extending its campus in the city’s fashionable West End to develop modern facilities fit for the future. The £1 billion, decade-long investment which began in 2017 includes the James McCune Smith Learning Hub, a facility for 2,500 students that is named after an alumnus — the civil rights activist and first African-American to be awarded a medical degree anywhere in the world in 1837. 

What is the University of Glasgow’s reputation?

One of only two Russell Group universities north of the border, our Scottish University of the Year 2024 is linked with eight Nobel laureates. The results of the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) add contemporary sheen to the university’s illustrious research profile. Of particular note was the work within the medical, veterinary and life sciences disciplines — where 95 per cent of work was judged world-leading or internationally excellent — and in the social sciences (90 per cent). The results put Glasgow in 12th place nationally in our research quality index. The university has also secured another top 100 spot (78th) in the QS World University Rankings 2025.

No Scottish universities opted to join in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) and Glasgow was not one of the five which participated in the last round from 2017.

Teaching quality takes a dive according to our latest National Student Survey analysis, tumbling from 92= last year to 116th. The wider student experience also takes a hit, falling from 67= to 112th.The university’s only graduate apprenticeship (equivalent to a degree apprenticeship in England) is a four-year programme in software engineering.

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

N/A.

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

Offers range from CCC up to AAA at A-level and in Scottish Highers it is BBBB up to AAAAAA (which can be met with 4 A grades at SQA Higher and 2 B grades at Advanced Higher or six A grades in six Highers). In real terms, however, students tend to arrive with even higher grades and Glasgow ranks joint second in our entry standards metric, which is based on the Ucas tariff points averaged across two years of admissions in 2019-20 and 2021-2022. Only 4 per cent of undergraduates gained a place through clearing.

The university makes contextual offers for eligible students who have completed an accredited pre-entry programme, have been in care, are refugees or seeking asylum or are estranged from their family. 

What are the graduate prospects?

Glasgow is 27th in our analysis based on the proportion of graduates in highly skilled work or postgraduate study after 15 months, rising slightly from 32nd last year. Its careers department works with more than 150 organisations each year to provide more than 300 exclusive placements — most of them paid. Many students are kept on afterwards. 

What is the University of Glasgow campus like?

Glasgow is not “a campus university” in the traditional sense and has three campuses around the city. As well as the McCune Hub, the redevelopment of Gilmorehill has produced the £50 million Clarice Pears Building, which opened in 2022 and has created a single multidisciplinary centre for the university’s School of Health and Wellbeing. The £116 million Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (ARC) research facility, a flagship development, houses about 600 academics, postdoctoral researchers and PhD students working across five themes: creative economies and cultural transformation; digital chemistry; global sustainable development; quantum and nanotechnology; and technologies touching life. The ARC’s ground floor is open to the wider university and the community. 

The spacious Garscube campus, four miles from Gilmorehill in the northwest of the city, hosts the veterinary school and outdoor sports pitches. Liberal arts and teaching courses are delivered in Dumfries, where more than £13 million has been spent on sporting and social facilities.

More than a quarter of undergraduates are from outside the UK and Glasgow has a branch campus in Singapore, working with the Singapore Institute of Technology, and a joint graduate school with Nankai University in northeastern China.

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

Students can expect a warm welcome in Scotland’s biggest metropolis, which is known for its friendly atmosphere and relative affordability. Cultural life abounds: Glasgow was named the first Unesco city of music in the UK, and the university has its own museum, the Hunterian, which was created in 1807 and houses collections of art, zoology and anatomy. For music, facilities range from a concert hall to an audio lab.

There are purpose-built sports facilities on the Gilmorehill campus, where 350 classes and sports activities take place each month, and at the Garscube site, which hosts 70 sporting activities a month.  The campus has a 25m swimming pool, indoor cycle studio, squash courts and a strength and conditioning suite. At Garscube students have access to all-weather and grass pitches as well as a cricket oval and tennis courts. 

To promote wellbeing, Glasgow students have access to a confidential advice line — open round-the-clock by phone or online chat — as well as a dedicated mental health disability adviser. One-to-one counselling and a peer wellbeing support scheme links trained students with those seeking help for mild mental health issues. The university’s SafeZone app is on hand for students who get lost, need to report an emergency or require first aid. Let’s Talk About Sexual Violence is a peer-led workshop offered alongside others including the Mind Your Mate training programme.

What do the students say?

“Our vibrant campus offers countless opportunities for engagement, from advocacy work and social events to fundraisers and opportunities to gain skills through internships. The supportive network and resources available ensure that every student has the opportunity to find their community and network. Additionally, Glasgow’s lively and welcoming community enhances the university experience.”
Irene Libelli-Vinco, international relations and sociology graduate

What about student accommodation at the University of Glasgow?

The university has increased spaces in halls of residence to more than 5,500. First-years who apply by July 14 are guaranteed a room. Off-campus housing has been in short supply due to fewer private rentals available and a booming student population: the city is home to five universities.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Glasgow?

Glasgow’s Top-Up programme is among its pre-entry schemes designed to widen participation. The university also works with schools across the west of Scotland and pupils across Scotland to target those from priority postcode areas. Such efforts are showing progress in diversifying the intake, and 16.7 per cent of new students come from the most deprived postcodes. Even so, Glasgow is among the lower reaches of our Scottish social inclusion ranking at 13th. Its black achievement gap, although still negative at minus 9.8 per cent, is the leading result in Scotland.

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

While four-year courses are the norm in Scotland, students from the rest of the UK will find their fourth-year tuition fees (or the fees for a placement year) waived on the majority of degree courses. Access bursaries of £1,000 to £3,000 per year of study are available for students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland from low-income households. A £3 million annual scholarship budget funds a wide range of merit-based awards, paid in the form of tuition fee discounts or cash stipends and available in science and engineering; medical and veterinary sciences; and social sciences — among other disciplines — as well as high academic achievement more generally. About 11 per cent of entrants in 2024 received some kind of financial assistance.