Darwin, Keynes, Turing and Woolf are among the eminent British scholars after whom the University of Kent’s six colleges are named. Kent is one of the only universities in the UK to have a collegiate system. Each college has its own academic and residential facilities, and they fast become the epicentre of social life, especially in the first year. Further attractions are to be found off campus in the student-friendly cathedral city of Canterbury. 

What is the University of Kent’s reputation? 

One of Britain’s 1960s generation of universities, Kent enjoys a stable history in our academic league table, where it has placed no lower than the mid-fifties since our first edition, in 1998. In the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) Kent was rated silver overall (down from gold in the previous assessment, six years earlier), achieving silver for both the underpinning factors of student experience and student outcomes. Among the “outstanding quality” features singled out for praise by the TEF panel were its physical and virtual learning resources “tailored and used effectively to support outstanding teaching and learning”, as well as “excellent academic practice” across the university. A strong performance by Kent in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) has nudged it up a place, to joint 32nd, in our research quality index, holding its own against improving results sector-wide. The best performers were in architecture; classics; history; law; philosophy; social work and social policy; theology; and in music and drama. Rates of student satisfaction are moving up, having tumbled in the pandemic years. Our analysis of the latest National Student Survey puts Kent in 82nd place for students’ evaluation of their teaching quality (up from 107= in our previous edition) and 72= for the wider experience (a 25-place gain).

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

In common with many universities across the higher education sector, Kent is responding to financial challenges — it was a big recruiter of students from the EU — and adapting its course portfolio “to better match future student demand”. It is closing more than 50 undergraduate programmes across its Canterbury and Medway campuses from September 2025, among them health and social care, music, philosophy, law and economics, politics and international relations with a language, English literature and film, and cultural studies and media. Anthropology, art history and journalism are also being phased out. 

It has, however, retained modern languages degrees — which had been under review — and introduced a suite of four psychology-based degrees and three economics-related courses, as well as adding a year-abroad option to its ecology and conservation degree.

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

For undergraduate degrees the lowest entry criteria, CCC (96 Ucas tariff points), applies to contextual applicants to some programmes. Kent’s highest grade requirements of AAB (136 points) are demanded by its law degree. Foundation degrees require from DDD (72 points) up to CCC (96 points) for the law foundation. The university’s contextual admissions scheme undercuts standard offers by up to 16 Ucas points

What are the graduate prospects?

As part of its programme of 800-plus career related events, workshops and talks each year, Kent works with the county’s high concentration of small to medium-sized enterprises to enhance its offerings while continuing to support the larger graduate employers. Kent continues to lose ground in our analysis of the Graduate Outcome survey, falling ten places to 91= on top of a fall of 21 places in our previous edition, based on the percentage of those in highly skilled jobs or further study 15 months after leaving university.

What is the University of Kent’s campus like?

Kent’s original low-rise Canterbury campus is set in 300 acres. The most recent developments include upgraded facilities for the natural sciences division and high-spec teaching laboratories for computing. For forensic science students, there is a new taphonomy farm (for the examination of decomposition) and a superglue fuming chamber for developing fingerprints. Students on courses within the school of architecture and planning have been afforded more studio space in the Marlowe Building in line with Kent’s creation of a 21st-century studio culture. 

The Kent and Medway Medical School, a collaboration with Canterbury Christ Church University, opened in September 2020 and offers about 100 places a year. The Medway campus is shared with Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church universities. The site houses the university’s £50 million School of Pharmacy and the purpose-built Centre for Music and Audio Technology, along with the refurbished business school.

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

The Sports Centre, located near the heart of the Canterbury campus, has a gym, two dance studios and three multipurpose sports halls. Outdoor activities are at Park Wood, where students have access to artificial and grass pitches as well as the four-court indoor tennis arena. The Medway Park Premier membership gives students in Chatham access to the local sports and leisure centre. There are plenty of student-centric venues among Canterbury’s cobbled streets and the seaside charms of Whitstable and Margate are easily reached by public transport. During term time a free shuttle bus connects the campuses at Canterbury and Medway.

Services range from counselling and mental health advice to wellbeing and addiction support. Kent also targets its help towards disabled and neurodivergent students and ensures there is access to learning support for those who need it. There is a compulsory Expect Respect module that students take before joining, which covers sexual consent and racial, social and sexual tolerance. Kent has instituted practical responses to the cost of living crisis, introducing £3 meal deals, and microwaves and hot-water points around campus. A campus pantry provides short-term supplies for students experiencing food insecurity.

What do the students say?

“Kent feels like a home away from home. I studied at the Kent Business School, where there is a focus on sustainability embedded into each module, alongside the foundational skills to succeed in life after university. There are more than 230 societies, so there is a community for all interests. We also have an award-winning nightclub on campus, so you can feel safe while enjoying your time at Kent.”
Zaid Mahmood, students’ union president, and a business and management with data analytics graduate

What about student accommodation at the University of Kent?

Kent is one of the best-provided universities for accommodation, which includes more than 600 catered rooms. The university extends a housing guarantee to all first-years who apply by the end of June deadline.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Kent?

Working with more than 50 secondary schools and three further education college groups across Kent and Medway, the university targets its outreach work in areas with low progression to higher education. Placing 76th overall in our social inclusion index, Kent is 32nd for ethnic diversity.

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

The Kent Financial Support Package (KFSP) is open to UK students from households with incomes up to £30,000 and who meet other widening participation criteria. For those entering in 2024 the KFSP is worth £3,000, paid across three or four stages of a full-time degree. Merit-based scholarships are offered in a wide range of subjects.