With 20,000 students based across four campuses — in Paisley, Lanarkshire, Dumfries, Ayr and London — UWS is one of Scotland’s largest modern universities. Career-focused degrees are offered through four academic schools with an emphasis on real-world experience. At the pre-hospital simulation centre at the Lanarkshire campus, healthcare students learn to develop clinical skills in an immersive environment that recreates the challenges of complex care scenarios. Music students take part in the long-running EuroGig project — which enables them to perform at major events abroad — or develop their careers via UWS’s record label, Damfino. A new partnership between UWS and OneRen, Renfrewshire’s culture, leisure and sports charitable trust, is behind the £45 million redevelopment of Paisley Museum, Scotland’s biggest cultural heritage project.

A 20-place gain in our graduate prospects measure this year (82nd) suggests UWS’s focus on employability is paying off. Our analysis of the latest Graduate Outcomes survey shows that about three-quarters of leavers are in high-skilled jobs or further study 15 months after finishing their degree.

The university’s reputation for widening participation in higher education goes before it, and UWS tops our Scottish social inclusion index.

A generous financial package supports students to succeed, including £1 million in childcare funds to help eligible student parents meet costs that may otherwise stand in their way of attending university. Most courses leave Wednesday afternoons free to encourage students to take part in sport and social activities, and membership to gym and fitness facilities at the four Scottish campuses is free of charge. 

What is the University of the West of Scotland’s reputation?

Formed in 2007 by the merger of the University of Paisley with Bell College in Hamilton, the institution’s heritage goes back to 1897 and the schools of art established to improve product design after the Industrial Revolution. Sport and exercise sciences, leisure and tourism, and physics led the way for UWS in the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), with 71 per cent of the submission assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent. The university’s Institute of Clinical Exercise and Health Science is responsible for some of its leading research.

Up five places in our main academic table, UWS is boosted by rates of student satisfaction with teaching quality. In our latest National Student Survey analysis, UWS has risen 24 places, to 47=, as a result of feedback on teaching, and up eight places (to 104=) for satisfaction with the wider undergraduate experience. In our main academic league table, however, UWS remains in the bottom five, held back by its continuation rate (125) and a student-to-staff ratio of 22.4:1 (125=). 

In Times Higher Education Impact Rankings for 2024, which measure universities’ progress in delivering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, UWS ranks 16th in the world for its success at reducing inequalities. 

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

UWS has withdrawn courses in occupational safety and health; events management; tourism management; and computer aided design. In 2025, integrated health and social care will close. New from 2024 are degrees in collaborative health and social care; environmental science and sustainability; business with sustainability; and project management. A degree in events and tourism management will be offered from 2025.

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

Entry requirements range from 104-126 Ucas tariff points (BCC-BBB at A-level). Each applicant is assessed on their life experience as well as qualifications and UWS makes a minimum offer to people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Care-leavers are guaranteed an offer if they come through one of the university’s recruiting programmes, or are guaranteed an interview/audition for courses that require them.

What are the graduate prospects?

Employability initiatives at UWS include academic, professional and personal development modules built in to undergraduate programmes. It seems to be working: UWS has jumped 20 places to rank 82nd for graduate prospects in our analysis of the numbers in highly skilled jobs or further study 15 months after finishing a degree. There are also strong ties to the creative industries and many UWS staff are still active in their industries, such as Jim Prime from the band Deacon Blue. 

UWS’s chancellor, Yekemi Otaru, is an entrepreneur, and a new partnership with Robert Gordon University and the University of Strathclyde supports mothers to start new business ventures under the Pathways Pre-start Fund.

What is the University of the West of Scotland’s campus like?

The headquarters in Paisley — a ten-minute train ride from Glasgow — have specialist laboratories and a well-equipped library. At UWS Ayr, £81 million of investment has added facilities including a prizewinning library shared with Scotland’s Rural College. Ayr also has facilities to help students find their way into the creative industries with radio, podcast and television studios, and digital sound and editing suites.

The Dumfries campus is UWS’s smallest, sharing an 85-acre parkland site on the Crichton estate with the University of Glasgow and Dumfries and Galloway College. New facilities include simulated healthcare wards and an immersive learning video suite, along with flexible teaching areas, open study spaces and a new IT studio. The Lanarkshire campus features high-tech equipment for nursing, midwifery and paramedic teaching, an extreme environments laboratory, breakout areas and a health and fitness centre. The London Docklands base offers professionally focused programmes in fields including business, health, project management and accounting. 

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

Students have a wide range of culture and sport options (gym membership is free of charge). UWS Radio is a hybrid student and community station that broadcasts from UWS Ayr and is available on DAB. The students’ union venue is at the Paisley campus.

A counselling service is immediately available, and there is support for students who are struggling to engage with their studies.

What do the students say?

“The lecturers at UWS are experts in their field and have an open-door policy, so if you’re struggling with anything, they’ll help. The university labs are well-equipped and there’s lots of opportunities to try different experiments and test your knowledge, and to get experience in the field. Joining UWS was the best decision I ever made.”
Nicole Gray, chemistry student 

What about student accommodation at the University of the West of Scotland?

Paisley and Ayr campuses have 696 beds between them, with allocation on a first-come, first-served basis. Most students live at home, however, which eases pressure on space in halls.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of the West of Scotland?

The UWS Foundation Academy, now in its third year, has worked with more than 1,500 senior school pupils from at least 30 schools across western and southern Scotland to pave the way to university for eligible pupils. Its free programme starts with a campus visit and leads to online training in academic skills and a reduced offer. UWS, which remains the most socially inclusive institution in Scotland overall, recruits the most students from deprived areas (30.7 per cent) and from non-selective state schools. Nearly six in ten students are aged over 21 when they enrol. 

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

UWS’s generous portfolio of financial support includes £850,000 for “discretionary funds” to help struggling students with the cost of living. There are sport scholarships of £500 to £1,500 and a merit bursary of £1,000 a year for entrants from the rest of the UK or Ireland with BBB or better at A-level.