With campuses dotted around London’s West End, Westminster appeals to students who thrive in the thick of things. The headquarters at 309 Regent Street, the university’s original home, is now the School of Humanities and School of Social Sciences. The institution’s best-known feature — the School of Media, Arts and Design — enjoys a leafier setting in Harrow, northwest London. Here, specialist facilities include studios for music, film and television, plus well-equipped creative arts spaces. At the Marylebone campus, business and management courses are the most popular undergraduate programmes. An expanding curriculum includes new degrees in games art, policing, and fashion photography.

Attracting large numbers of international students to London, Westminster maintains an international perspective. Its courses are taught overseas in Germany, Spain, Nepal, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka, and there are 80 exchange partnerships in 25 countries. The Polylang programme offers free language tuition including Arabic, French and Chinese. 

What is the University of Westminster’s reputation? 

A three-place rise in our main academic ranking is powered by improvement in our latest analysis of the National Student Survey. Westminster has risen 42 places to rank 46th for satisfaction with the student experience in our analysis. For satisfaction with teaching quality, it has risen 11 places to 107=.

Art and design produced the university’s best results in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), keeping pace with many leading institutions. Overall, Westminster places in the upper half of UK universities in our research quality index (59th).

Westminster achieved triple silver in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023) — up from bronze in the previous assessment six years earlier. The TEF panel rated the university silver overall, as well as for the underpinning factors of student experience and student outcomes, and found “effective support for students to succeed in and progress beyond their studies”.

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

Degrees in tourism planning and management, and tourism with business have been withdrawn. New from September 2024 are degrees in contemporary retail; sustainable business management; marketing and data analytics; law and criminal justice; and law and international relations. Beginning in 2025, degrees will be offered in international communications and international business; and a range of business management degrees offered with events, tourism, or hospitality pathways.

What are the University of Westminster’s entry requirements – and my chances of getting in?New entrants averaged 118 Ucas tariff points, the latest data shows, putting Westminster 93= for entry standards. The university does not make contextual offers. More than 27,000 applications were received in 2023 and 6,200 new students were accepted on to courses, about 27 per cent from abroad. Just under a quarter of entrants came through clearing in 2023.

What are the graduate prospects?

With 61.2 per cent of students working in high-skilled jobs or furthering their studies 15 months after graduating, according to the latest data, Westminster is 123rd for graduate prospects, one place lower than last year. Its new Centre for Employability and Enterprise may bring a renewed focus when it opens in 2025.

What is the University of Westminster campus like?

There are specialist facilities at all four Westminster campuses. Among the recent developments are a broadcast newsroom at the Harrow campus and an upgrade to the business school in Marylebone, where a second financial markets suite with Bloomberg platform technology has been added. It is also home to central student support services. The nearby Cavendish campus has an innovation space for computing and engineering, opened in 2023, which can switch its use between being a collaborative 40-seat programming lab, a teaching and learning area or an exhibition space. At Titchfield Street, the university’s Windrush Justice Clinic dispenses free legal advice service on immigration. 

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

The halls of residence have their own vibe, while the opportunities in London — named Best Student City in the QS World University Rankings 2025 — are limitless. Students at the Harrow campus are enjoying its new sports hall, which has basketball, netball and volleyball courts. Membership of all university sports facilities and teams has been free since 2023, including the Regent’s Street gym and Quintin Hogg Memorial Sports Ground in Chiswick, west London, overlooking the Thames, where there are extensive grounds for football, rugby, hockey, lacrosse, cricket, tennis and netball. Across the road is the university’s boathouse.

Westminster is a member of the Mental Health Charter programme, which brings together universities to share good practice on mental wellbeing. Students are provided with one-to-one sessions with wellbeing advisers, counsellors, mentors and mental health practitioners. The students’ union runs the accredited Look After Your Mate training to students, to help them understand mental health and how to access support.

What do the students say?

“Coming from India to pursue my dreams in urban design, I’ve been immersed in a vibrant community that embraces diversity and fosters creativity. My course challenged me to think outside the box, and exploring London was a lesson in itself.”
Taruna Bangia, student’s union president, designing cities: planning and architecture graduate

What about student accommodation at the University of Westminster?

Room allocation in halls is first-come, first-served — with no accommodation guarantee. About 65 per cent of first-years are able to live in one of the university’s 1,030 rooms. Westminster also has a high proportion of commuter students who live at home.

How diverse and inclusive is the University of Westminster?

Westminster is in the top 50 in our social inclusion index (44th) and its student population in London reflects the city’s diversity. The university recruits the seventh-highest proportion of students from black and ethnic minority backgrounds (69.9 per cent) and more than half the intake is made up of students who are the first in their family to go to university.

Sony Interactive Entertainment funds a ten-week programme for school pupils from black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds who receive free school meals to work with lecturers and students to build a video game. The Westminster summer school gives 16 to 18-year-olds from underrepresented groups a residential experience and taster activities at university.

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

There are about 300 means-tested Westminster Bursaries of £500 per year of study. A cost of living assistance scheme awards 500 grants of £300 each. Care leavers and students who are estranged from their families qualify for extra bursary support. 

There are 20 Vice-chancellor Scholarships of £5,000 per year of study for high-achieving black and ethnic minority applicants from low-income households.