University of York guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
York is our Community University of the Year - an acknowledgement of the role the university plays in the cultural, economic and academic life not just of the City of York but of the wider northern region. This is embodied culturally by the university's annual Festival of Ideas, a programme of more than 200 talks and events that plays to a combined audience of 60,000. But York also has a national and global academic footprint. It recruits students from across the UK, with no one region dominating, thanks to its excellent reputation across most academic disciplines. It is one of just four members of the research-intensive and highly selective Russell Group of universities to secure both a top-ten ranking for research and a gold rating in the most recent Teaching Excellence Framework assessments. There is particular strength in the social sciences, history, languages and biosciences. The university's 1960s origins are evident in the concrete of the original Heslington campus (now called Campus West), an attractive low-rise site built around a pond with a sizeable population of ducks. The newer Campus East site has been the scene of much recent development, and the university's new School of Architecture opens there in September.
Paying the bills
The university has simplified the terms of its York bursary this year, with all UK students from homes with an annual income of up to £35,000 now receiving a £1,000 cash bursary each year for the duration of their studies. Bigger bursaries and accommodation discounts for students from homes with an income of £25,000 or less have been done away with. York also offers generous bursaries for care leavers and students estranged from their parents. Having stepped in with a variety of cost-of-living hacks when inflation was at its worst, York continues to help students in severe financial need through its student support fund; emergency loans; digital hardship support to cover repair costs or replacement equipment; food vouchers; free food events; and York students' union's Activities Access Grants, which help students take part in activities. There are close to 7,000 places in student residences across the university's 11 colleges, with the cheapest self-catered rooms still pegged at £3,960 for a 40-week tenancy. Large ensuites can cost up to £10,428 for a 44-week contract with a weekly college meal. Catered accommodation is also available, priced between £6,281 and £10,080 for a 40-week tenancy.
What's new?
York's second site, Campus East, continues to be the focus of new and relocated academic activity. A significant addition to the university's academic portfolio, the York School of Architecture, opens there in September. At the same time, the department of mathematics will move to the Ian Wand Building so that it can link up with the computer science staff and students who are already based there. The move is one of a number of relocations to more modern and sustainable buildings. York has also developed a world-leading indoor air quality research facility at Campus East to provide evidence-based policy recommendations to improve housing. The university's older estate is not being neglected, however. Halifax and James, two of York's 11 colleges, are getting upgraded accommodation. York's colleges are social and residential groupings which break the institution into bite-sized student communities. And the oldest campus building of all, Heslington Hall, which dates from the 16th century, is to become a new hub for the arts and humanities by September, with the Humanities Research Centre, Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, Centre for Medieval Studies and the Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies moving in. All this is taking place despite York not having been immune to the financial crisis enveloping higher education. It has shed 270 jobs in the past year as part of a £34m programme of savings to tackle successive years of deficits.
Admissions, teaching and student support
York has a long-standing commitment to social justice. It was the first Russell Group university to sign the Social Mobility Pledge and, while competition for places is tough thanks to record numbers of applications, a contextual admissions programme open only to state-educated applicants helps generate a more diverse student population than in many universities of a similar standing. The scheme cuts the standard entry offer for a given course by up to two grades. Living in an area where few progress to university, being care-experienced or being estranged from family can trigger a contextual offer. Those who take part in one of York's eligible widening-participation programmes, meanwhile, could receive an alternative offer up to three grades below the standard entry requirements. York has recently established major outreach centres in the City of York, Grimsby and Bridlington, targeting some of the region's most underserved communities to reduce educational inequalities. Bespoke resources for students from underrepresented groups include On Track, an enhanced employability scheme for students in receipt of a bursary; scholarships to help students access professional development opportunities; and tailored careers guidance for disabled and neurodivergent students. Student mental health and wellbeing support has been boosted by recent investment in the TalkCampus web platform and app, funded through the university's Mentally Fit York alumni funding scheme. TalkCampus offers peer support in 26 languages and a 24/7 telephone line staffed by clinicians. Student wellbeing officers are embedded in all academic departments and York's colleges also have welfare teams and an intercollegiate sports programme which engages 2,600 students every week, boosting both physical and mental health.