Elsewhere, a crime scene investigation house — which simulates the inside of a domestic home — has been created to give students hands-on experience. For those on law courses, a second court has been built, with judge’s chambers, to enhance the established university moot court. Hull has also relaunched its legal mediation centre, which provides final-year law students with real-world experience of mediation within civil law disputes. At the Nidd building, a newly installed professional business lounge is facilitating business networking among students and external partners.

The first computer science (artificial intelligence) students began their studies in September 2022. Computer science facilities include dedicated labs and hi-tech equipment such as gigabit networking and immersive virtual networks. The Turing Lab has high-specification desktop PCs and the Superlab’s 150-plus workstation space has been refurbished. Engineering students now have access to a racing car simulator of a standard to match those supplied to Formula One teams and a FabLab with the latest 3D printing technologies. 

For biology students, facilities have been upgraded in a new molecular genomics teaching laboratory.Hull also has industry-standard recording and performance facilities in Middleton Hall and an art gallery in the upgraded £30 million Brynmor Jones library.

Having secured £86 million funding in April 2022, the university now plans to invest in sustainable facilities and infrastructure to accelerate its carbon-neutral campus ambitions. These build on its efforts to create green skills and training through its £12 million Aura Innovation Centre in East Yorkshire, which specialises in offshore wind energy.  

Hull was awarded silver in the Teaching Excellence Framework, commended for course design and assessment practices that stretch and challenge students. Assessors were also impressed by Hull’s investment in physical and digital infrastructure.

Having achieved one of the stronger performances in the pandemic-affected National Student Survey (NSS) in 2021, Hull has remained in the top half of UK universities in our analysis of the latest NSS results, albeit slipping to 50 for satisfaction with teaching quality and 59= for the wider undergraduate experience. The university’s wide-ranging environmental research projects place it at the heart of the wider Humber region’s push towards a low-carbon economy.

In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) Hull doubled its research graded world-leading (the highest category) compared with the previous assessment in 2014. Across all subjects, 82 per cent of Hull academics’ work achieved the top two categories, lifting the university two places in our research rankings to 52nd place. The university won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its research into slavery and played a key role in shaping the UK’s Modern Slavery Act. 

Hull’s strength in politics is reflected in a steady flow of graduates into the House of Commons. The Westminster-Hull internship programme offers a year-long placement for British politics and legislative studies students.

Now in its fourth year, the university’s partnership with Team GB — the nation’s Olympic competitors — has resulted in a variety of opportunities for Hull students. During Black History month students heard a talk by Kye Whyte, the Tokyo 2020 BMX rider and silver medallist, and there is a continuing research project exploring the heritage of the Olympic Games.  

Based in the £25 million Allam medical building, the Hull-York Medical School (shared with the University of York) offers a gateway year programme for students from underrepresented backgrounds as well as alternative or contextual offers for its five-year medicine degree. 

Hull achieves one of the highest rankings among pre-1992 universities in our social inclusion index — where it ranks among the top 20 most socially inclusive universities this year. Of the student intake, 93.9 per cent are from state schools (non-grammar) and 53 per cent are the first in their family to go to university. Hull makes contextual offers reduced by up to 16 Ucas points to students who qualify under its widening participation criteria.

The university has teamed up with Attitude, the UK’s bestselling gay magazine, to launch a new LGBTQ+ scholarship. Supporting six students from the LGBTQ+ community with £1,000 towards the cost of their studies at Hull, it follows the success of the university’s Jeremy Round scholarship, named in memory of the Hull alumnus, cookery writer and journalist — which supports LGBTQ+ undergraduates from low-income backgrounds. 

First-years are guaranteed a place in halls of residence, and if they want to stay for their second and third years that is usually possible too. The city itself is student wallet-friendly and there is plenty of local nightlife. On campus, students can get from their halls of residence to their lectures in ten minutes.