University of Worcester: What it's really like
Find out more about the University of Worcester
Want to study in a historic city close to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty? Worcester could be your place!
The University of Worcester at a glance:
| Founded | 1947 |
| Locations | Worcester, West Midlands, UK |
| Undergraduate course length | Three years |
| Courses | The university has ten faculties including allied health and community, education, psychology, and business. |
| Students | 10,000 |
| Great for | Students who want to learn from a more personalised approach and study in smaller classes. |
| Not for | Students who want to study in a big city where they can get lost in the crowd. |
Mary, who studied at the University of Worcester and now works for its communications team, tells us what it’s like to be a student there.
What is the University of Worcester?
The University of Worcester is a West Midlands uni, set in the heart of the countryside. It’s a short distance from the Malvern Halls, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The uni has 10,000 students spread across four campuses. This includes the St John’s campus—our original home—based in the friendly, residential community of St John’s. Just a 15-minute walk away are our more central City and Severn campuses. And finally, the Lakeside campus is based in Holt, a ten-minute drive from Worcester city centre.
Why apply to Worcester?
A great reason to apply is the uni’s emphasis on small group learning. This means you get to know your lecturers and course mates really quickly in a relaxed, interactive setting. It also makes it so much easier to join discussions and ask questions, so you can get the most out of your classes.
The uni has a truly inclusive feel. We currently have 800 international students from over 30 different countries. Worcester was also recently ranked 15th happiest place to live in Britain. We think this is due to its beautiful, safe surroundings and reasonable cost of living.
Who isn’t the right fit for Worcester?
Worcester probably isn’t the uni for you if you’re looking to study in a big city where you can get lost in a crowd. But if you’re after independent coffee shops, riverside walks, and a welcoming community, we could be the perfect fit!
Any application tips?
My top tip is to visit one of our open days. Open days at Worcester are not only a chance to explore our campus, its facilities, and meet lecturers and students. You can also drop into a one-to-one session at our Personal Statement clinic whilst you’re here. This will help you make your application stand out.
What’s the location like?
Worcester is a small, historic city close to Birmingham. It offers many of the benefits of a bigger city, but has the friendly, community-driven feel of a small town. Worcester’s medieval history gives the city high street a unique character, with restaurants set in 16th century Tudor houses and coffee shops under railway arches.
Everything in the city centre is accessible on foot, but there are good transport links if you’re commuting onto campus or want to explore further on the weekends. The city is about two hours away from London by road or rail, for example.
What facilities does Worcester have to offer?
The uni is constantly expanding and improving on its facilities. Students benefit from our purpose-built law court, business incubator, and art house. Future healthcare professionals can hone their skills in our clinical simulation suite, and science students can test their theories in our microbiology labs.
Our library, The Hive, is Europe’s first joint public and uni library. We’re also about to open a new medical centre, complete with a state-of-the-art health and wellbeing centre.
Sports students and those on sports teams can make the most of our award-winning arena, which is the training base for the GB Men’s Wheelchair basketball team and the Worcester Wolves.
What's the accommodation like?
Halls are available on our City and St John’s campuses. There are six different tiers to choose from, ranging from traditional halls with shared facilities to ensuite premium options. Bespoke accommodation is available for students with disabilities.
All halls benefit from 24/7 security, emergency maintenance, and wifi and all other bills included. If you live in halls, you’ll get a free gym membership too!
For those looking to live off-campus, there are lots of private student housing options in both the St John’s area and the city centre.
How does Worcester meet the needs of students with different accessibility requirements?
At Worcester, accessibility is woven into the way all our courses are taught.
We have a dedicated disability and dyslexia team, who offer support on an individual basis so every student can make the most of their learning here. To support students’ wellbeing, we have regular visits from therapy dogs and we offer ‘have a cuppa’ sessions, where you can drop in and chat to someone when you need support.
The buildings are designed to create an inclusive environment, going well beyond the minimum legal requirements. Every residential room built this century has been designed to accommodate a wheelchair turning circle, and every floor is served by a lift. Spaces like the university arena, library (The Hive), and art house are also built to be fully inclusive.
Want to explore more UK universities? Unifrog’s Shortlisting tool can help you put together a list of great potential courses.