The northeast university with capital ambition welcomed Bridget Phillipson, the secretary of state for education and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, to the opening of its £11.4 million Canary Wharf campus in March, and the minister said it was “fantastic to see the university expanding outside the northeast”.
The majority of students are based not by the River Thames, but the River Wear. The university’s first cohort of medical doctors graduated in 2024, and Sunderland’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences opened a new drug discovery and development research institute courtesy of a £5 million donation from the alumnus and pharmaceutical entrepreneur John Dawson, and his wife, Sam.
Sunderland is at the forefront of social mobility. Its intake of students includes the second-highest proportion of students from deprived areas (28.5 per cent) and eighth-highest proportion of students whose parents did not go to university (63.1 per cent). Port city Sunderland offers relative affordability and students rate the university’s inclusive feel.
What is the University of Sunderland’s reputation?
A triple silver rating in the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), overall and for the student experience and student outcomes, commended the university for its engagement with students. Our analysis of the latest National Student Survey shows that rates of student satisfaction soared; the university is 14th for students’ evaluation of teaching quality (up from 38=) and it has gained 19 places to rank 42= for their feedback on the broad experience.
In the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021) more than 70 per cent of the work it submitted was rated as either world-leading or internationally excellent. Some of the best results were in art and design, and English. Overall, Sunderland gained one place in our research quality indicator, to rank 80th.
A student retention programme connects academic engagement with data on student outcomes and partners with the students’ union on personal academic tutoring. Sunderland has made up some ground on its continuation rate and now ranks 108th (from 122nd last year) with 85.1 per cent of students projected to carry on from their first to second year of their studies.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
The physiological sciences degree is no longer recruiting from September 2025. New courses in audiology and cardiac physiology are being offered from 2025.
What are the University of Sunderland’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
New students average 124 Ucas tariff points to rank in the upper half of our table. The university makes contextual offers (of AAB) for its medicine course, which were made to 11 applicants in the 2024-25 admissions cycle. Eligibility is based on coming from low-participation postcodes in the northeast and Cumbria.
What is the University of Sunderland campus like?
At the St Peter’s riverside campus new esports, mock law-courts and business and management facilities are now open, complementing significant external environmental improvements. Students should have access to the extensively overhauled library by September 2026.
In recent years, nearly £80 million has gone into student-facing facilities such as a £5 million Anatomy Centre that supports cadaveric anatomy (the gold standard for anatomy education), a Centre for Graduate Prospects and enhanced study facilities. Sunderland’s simulation facilities include a £1.4 million midwifery suite with a full maternity ward and a postnatal and immersive/wellbeing suite, alongside areas to simulate home-birthing and birthing pool facilities. The Living Lab reflects care settings from mock hospital wards and pharmacy dispensaries to an immersive simulation suite. Helen McArdle House’s mock hospital wards include child and mental health settings, while outside it is Sunderland’s bespoke training ambulance.
The campus in Canary Wharf, London, offers business, healthcare, tourism and hospitality courses at undergraduate level.
Overseas, Sunderland has a Hong Kong campus, which delivers business and tourism courses.
When can I visit?
sunderland.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about the University of Sunderland’s student life and wellbeing support
The CitySpace Fitness facility on the City campus includes a 50m swimming pool and a seven-metre climbing wall. Students can learn to ski at a dry slope near campus, and the snowsports team competes nationally. It is one of more than 30 Team Sunderland clubs that compete up to national level across a broad range of sports. The Media Centre’s cinema is newly opened to students and the public, offering screenings of independent films. All students can be on air or behind the scenes of the community radio station Spark.
Mental health and welfare support includes the Shine a Light project, which targets ethnic minority students. Counselling is provided onsite or online and in a range of languages. The friendly city is more affordable than many other student hubs and neighbouring Newcastle is just a short Metro or bus journey away.
What do the students say?
“Studying here has been a rich experience. I’ve been able to work with veterans on an internship, host a radio show on the award-winning Spark Radio, represent students like me as a course and voice rep, and get elected for office in the student union. Best of all have been the friends I’ve made and discovering the beauty of the northeast and its people.”
Adewunmi Adeoye, media communication and culture student
What about student accommodation at the University of Sunderland?
With 688 places available, an accommodation guarantee applies to first-years who meet the appropriate deadlines. Many students live at home and commute to university.
How diverse and inclusive is the University of Sunderland?
The university just dropped out of the top 10 in our social inclusion index of England and Wales, placing 13th. Among all English and Welsh universities, only Teesside has a higher proportion of students from postcodes with low participation in further education; Sunderland also has particularly strong representation from first-generation students (63.1 per cent, ranking 8th) and white working-class males (7.4 per cent, 13=).
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Sunderland
University of Sunderland bursaries last for three years and range in value from £500 to £3,000. Priority is given to students with low household incomes and those from groups not well-represented in higher education. Care leavers qualify for £2,500 per year of study.
School of Medicine bursaries include free accommodation and cash bursaries for medical students who meet widening participation criteria.
