There is a personal feel to the University of Suffolk, thanks to its relatively small size and friendly waterfront setting in Ipswich, ten minutes from the town centre — a quality it has retained despite recently expanding its facilities to meet the demand of a growing number of applications. Additions such as an on-campus gym, outdoor sports pitches and a dedicated careers zone are helping to foster a well-rounded student experience. 

It was established as University Campus Suffolk in 2007 and gained independence nine years later to award its own degrees as the University of Suffolk. Since then it has branched out in Great Yarmouth, where the former Palmers department store is being transformed into a library and University Learning Centre, which will offer degrees and diploma courses from Suffolk, East Coast College and the University of East Anglia. Suffolk’s exemplary record in our social inclusion index, where it ranks 7th in England and Wales this year, is boosted by its successful recruitment of mature students; more than nine in ten undergraduates are older than 21 when they enrol. 

What is the University of Suffolk’s reputation? 

The university made its first submission to the Research Excellence Framework in 2021, in social work and social policy — 68 per cent of which was rated world-leading or internationally excellent. This places Suffolk above 23 other universities in our research quality index in its first entry. It also earned an overall silver rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) — underpinned by silver ratings for student experience and student outcomes — improving on its previous bronze award. Assessors praised the “outstanding rates of successful progression for [Suffolk’s] students and courses”.

Improvements are not limited to the academic: students are increasingly content too, their evaluations in the National Student Survey boosting Suffolk’s rank in our analysis up 16 places (to joint 63rd) for teaching quality and up 27 places (to 96th) for the student experience.

Suffolk’s healthcare provision has expanded with the introduction of a degree in dental hygiene and dental therapy, taught in new laboratories. This follows the launch of the Integrated Care Academy – an alliance between the university, the regional NHS Integrated Care System, Healthwatch Suffolk, Suffolk county council and other community partners – to provide co-ordinated and collaborative care, with the aim of reducing health inequalities.  

Next the university is branching out into esports and will accept its first students on the course in 2025. It is investing in a state-of-the-art laboratory where events and tournaments can be hosted. Meanwhile the new on-campus Legal Advice Centre gives law students the chance to get practical experience, and offers free advice to the local community about family and business law. 

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

Two new programmes will open in September 2024: a children’s nursing degree apprenticeship, and maritime management (progression route), delivered through East Coast College. In January 2025 Suffolk will launch a degree apprenticeship in professional practice in supply chain leadership, and a degree in esports (with or without professional placement). No courses are closing.What are the University of Suffolk’s entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?

Courses require from 96 to 120 Ucas tariff points. Contextual offers undercut the standard rate by one A-level grade or equivalent. Suffolk attracted more than 3,800 applications and accepted 2,045 new students in 2023, 29 per cent of them through clearing.

What are the graduate prospects?

Suffolk’s close relationships with businesses including BT, with which it collaborated on its DigiTech Centre at BT’s Adastral Park, support students and graduates in accessing internships, placements and graduate positions. As a result, it has excellent rates of graduate employment, last year placing in the top 20 in the UK for graduate prospects and sharing its spot with the universities of Bristol and Strathclyde. In the new ranking, however, Suffolk has fallen to 93rd place, based on 72 per cent of graduates being employed in high-skilled jobs or further study 15 months after their degrees.

What is the University of Suffolk’s campus like?

The modern waterfront campus has a new £13 million Health and Wellbeing Building that is used by students, practice partners and the community. Hands-on training is enhanced by simulated learning environments including two hospital wards, a birthing unit and a community flat where trainee paramedics can learn how to treat patients in a home setting.

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

There is a popular hub of bars and restaurants around the marina. New sports facilities include a full-size all-weather floodlit pitch, two grass pitches and upgraded changing rooms, as well as the Move gym in the Athena Hall student accommodation building. The students’ union runs activities for fun and competition, and students are encouraged to take part in wellbeing walks, arts and crafts, and activities to promote mindfulness. Support for mental health ranges from brief one-to-ones, for issues such as managing anxiety, to help for students who have suffered trauma or a suicidal crisis. There is counselling and computerised cognitive behavioural therapy available, as well as specialist mentoring and workshops.

What do the students say?

"The Ipswich campus on the waterfront is a great place to study as well as spend time with friends, with lots of choices of things to do in the area. Smaller class sizes mean teaching staff and students can build up a rapport and better personal relationships with each other."
Lewis Woolston, students' union president of education, and a sports performance analysis graduate

What about student accommodation at the University of Suffolk?

Lots of students live at home so Suffolk’s 752 rooms are usually enough to go around, although there is no formal accommodation guarantee.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Suffolk?

A third of its students are from ethnic minority backgrounds, which ranks Suffolk in the upper half of universities for its ethnic diversity, and its black awarding gap of -2.2 per cent is the third-best in England and Wales. The university draws almost a quarter (23 per cent) of its intake from deprived areas, which is the tenth highest proportion. However, while its record in our social inclusion index is commendable, Suffolk’s continuation rate is its lowest-performing metric in our main academic league table, with 79.7 per cent of students projected to continue from the first to second years of their studies.  

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

About 30 per cent of students qualified for means-tested annual bursaries of £500 this academic year. A digital technology fund worth £300, to go towards IT equipment, supports blended learning.