The University of Worcester is building a burgeoning reputation in higher education. It has flourished since gaining its charter in 2005, having been founded as a teacher training college in 1946. There is now a broad subject mix across eight academic schools — including arts and humanities, psychology, business, and since 2023 the Three Counties Medical School, which offers a four-year graduate entry medical degree. Education courses remain a strength.
Worcester is also a go-to destination for inclusive sport, as the site of the UK’s first indoor sports arena designed for wheelchair athletes. Practice-based learning is a key feature and Worcester fosters links with industry partners that lead to opportunities for students — and solid job prospects after graduation.
The focus of recent campus developments has been Worcester's Severn Campus for Health, Wellbeing and Inclusive Sport, which has transformed a derelict industrial site into modern facilities to train the next generation of nurses, doctors, paramedics, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and more. The historic city has plenty of pubs and bars — as well as medieval black and white buildings — and the nearby Malvern Hills are top yomping territory.
What is the University of Worcester’s reputation?
Climbing one place further up our main league table, Worcester ranks 98th this year, partly driven by a top-ten performance in our sustainability metric, based on People & Planet’s university league, which assesses environmental and ethical performance.
Triple silver — overall, for student experience and student outcomes — greeted Worcester in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023). Rates of student satisfaction are showing signs of recovery, having been slow to return to pre-pandemic form. In our analysis of the latest National Student Survey, Worcester ranks 61= for feedback on teaching quality (up 29 places year-on-year). However, at 82= for satisfaction with the wider undergraduate experience it has lost eight places. Further campus investment may help to shift the dial.
In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), one third of Worcester’s submission was rated world-leading or internationally excellent, with some of its best results in art and design, history, and sport and exercise science. However, it fell out of the top 100 (121st) compared with its performance in the previous national assessment in 2014. Worcester’s Three Counties Medical School was allocated 62 places for UK students to begin in the 2025-26 academic year — 12 more than its original 50.
What degree courses have been discontinued and what new courses are available?
New for 2025 are computer science and also football performance and coaching, to be joined in 2026 by forensic science and operating department practitioner courses. There are no planned closures.
What are the University of Worcester’s entry requirements — and my chances of getting in?
New entrants to Worcester averaged 114 Ucas tariff points across all courses, according to the latest figures — ranking it 91= for entry standards. The university attracted more than 9,300 applications for entry in 2024 and around 2,300 new students were accepted onto courses, reflecting a continuing cooling of demand for places at Worcester over the past decade. Applications and enrolments were about 30 per cent higher ten years ago.
What are the graduate prospects?
Work placements of up to 12 months are offered within degree courses and students benefit from links between the academic schools and related organisations. The focus on employability translates into a top-50 place for the university in our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey — which found that 78.36 per cent of Worcester graduates had found high-skilled work or returned to study within 15 months of finishing their degree.
What is the University of Worcester’s campus like?
There are four sites in the city, three of them teaching campuses less than a mile from each other. The headquarters — St John’s — houses science facilities including the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit. The digital arts centre and drama studio are also at St John’s, while the attractive City campus incorporates the former Worcester Royal Infirmary and the striking golden-tiled Hive, Europe’s first integrated academic and public library.
At the Severn campus, the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson building opened for medical and healthcare courses in 2023, kitted out with an anatomy suite and simulation rooms. The Duke’s Building followed in 2025, bringing flexible teaching spaces for students of health, medicine and wellbeing degrees. Students of paramedic science and sports therapy have dedicated facilities in the Elizabeth Casson building. The Lakeside campus is the university’s base for outdoor learning and an activity centre.
When can I visit?
worcester.ac.uk
Everything you need to know about the University of Worcester’s student life and wellbeing support
The student population of more than 9,000 brings a youthful vibe to the historic setting against a backdrop of rolling countryside. Bracing walks and the chance to unwind on the banks of the River Severn are a big part of the university’s appeal.
As well as the Worcester Arena — which has a seating capacity of 2,000 at the fully sprung and wheelchair-accessible 12-court hall and three ice bath suites — there are sports facilities throughout the university sites. The Lakeside campus has 50 acres of open grass and woodland for bushcraft and a lake for open water swimming, canoeing and kayaking. The jetty has a disability hoist. University teams use Worcester Rowing Club on the river and student cricketers use Ombersley Cricket Club.
The Hive hosts regular poetry and author events. The Infirmary Museum at the City campus explores the medical stories of the place where the British Medical Association began.
Worcester’s comprehensive programme of student welfare initiatives includes prompt access to counsellors and other mental health practitioners. Free workshops are offered, covering topics such as managing anxiety, procrastination and perfectionism.
What do the students say?
“Worcester is a perfect blend of a big city and a small town with everything that students need without having to travel very far.”
Ruttuja Mane, outgoing students’ union president, business psychology
What about student accommodation at the University of Worcester?
Accommodation is guaranteed for first-years who firmly accept an offer and apply by the June deadline. Rooms are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
How diverse and inclusive is the University of Worcester?
Worcester is up 11 places to 60th in our social inclusion index of England and Wales. Nearly a quarter of students (24.2 per cent) register a disability, and its non-selective state school intake is in the top 20. But Worcester is less ethnically diverse than many other institutions, with 15.4 per cent of students from black and ethnic minority backgrounds (90th).
Everything you need to know about scholarships and bursaries at the University of Worcester
Academic Achievement scholarships worth £1,000 are awarded to eligible undergraduates in their second and third year of a degree course. Sports scholarships and bursaries are offered in partnership with some of the region’s most successful sports teams such as Worcestershire County Cricket Club, Worcester Hockey Club and Worcester Wolves Basketball Club.
