University of Surrey guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
Surrey is a university on the rise, admitting a record number of undergraduates last September as applications climbed above 30,000 for the first time since 2019. The attraction is not hard to explain, with Surrey outgunning many Russell Group universities in the graduate employment stakes. Average starting salaries of £30,000 and more than four in every five students believing their careers to be on track 15 months after leaving speaks volumes. Healthcare, education and finance are the top three industry destinations for Surrey graduates. The university recruits three-quarters of its intake from London and the South East, with students heading to its two modern campuses in Guildford. With both a new medical school and a veterinary school having opened in the past decade, Surrey now has all the academic baubles it needs to sustain a high ranking and a good number of applications - with international enrolments holding up even as others universities struggle. The intake is notably diverse and about a third come from homes where parents did not attend university. While bursary and scholarship provision is smaller than most, Surrey defies the property economics of South-East England by offering some of the cheapest student rooms at any university, with prices starting at just £85 a week.
Paying the bills
The Surrey bursary pays £3,000 for each year of study to students from homes with an annual income of less than £10,000. A smaller annual bursary of £1,200 is paid to students from homes with an income of between £10,000 and £25,000. Care leavers and students estranged from their parents get a £3,000 annual bursary with an additional £500 upon graduation. There are several means-tested and non-means-tested scholarships and bursaries open to students of various backgrounds pursuing specific degree programmes. For example, the Newtons' Undergraduate Scholarship in Mathematics (funded by two alumni) pays £3,000 annually for up to three years and £1,000 for a professional training placement year if taken. Applications are open to students on mathematics, financial mathematics and mathematics with data science degrees from homes with an annual income of less than £35,000. The numbers qualifying for financial support at Surrey is lower than at many universities - around 6.5% of undergraduates - but changes to the qualification criteria for the Surrey bursary are expected to trigger an increase in the numbers awarded. Surrey has some of the cheapest prices in the UK for student accommodation. The 172 self-catered shared rooms at Stag Hill Court cost £3,230 for a 38-week tenancy, while the most expensive studio flats at Manor Park are £10,982 for the same period.
What's new?
Surrey's new medical school, which welcomed its first graduate intake last September, has been awarded 34 government-funded places for UK students seeking admission this academic year. It is currently working through the quality assurance processes required for it to be added to the General Medical Council's list of bodies able to award a primary medical qualification. The school includes a Centre for Anatomical and Surgical Education so students can learn fundamental skills in anatomy and surgery. The centre uses simulated learning facilities with virtual-reality headsets and 3D anatomy software to teach a variety of surgical techniques, alongside conventional cadavers. Elsewhere on campus, a new nutrition and food science facility has opened in the school of biosciences. A new games design lab for the next generation of game creators features high-spec gaming PCs with RTX graphics, dual screens and professional audio-monitoring equipment. The new Surrey Hatchery, meanwhile, is a student-oriented business incubator managed by the university's business school. It aims to nurture young entrepreneurs and help them turn promising business concepts into viable ventures. Five degrees are being taught for the first time in the 2025-26 academic year: BScs in games design; international airline and airport management; criminology and psychology; and politics and international relations; and a new LLB with an environmental and sustainability pathway.
Admissions, teaching and student support
ThriveWell wellbeing advisers are based in all academic departments. Surrey operates a stepped care model to ensure students receive the appropriate level of support. This begins with early intervention one-to-one meetings with a wellbeing practitioner, rises to counselling sessions where further help is required, and culminates with interventions from the mental health practitioner team for more complex or enduring conditions. Students can access services both on campus and remotely. Surrey has introduced a mandatory e-learning module for all academic staff with personal tutoring responsibilities to enhance their ability to recognise and respond to students in distress. To help keep students safe on campus, from September they will be required to complete an online learning module on sexual harassment and misconduct. Contextual offers that typically reduce the standard offer for courses by two A-level grades, or one BTEC grade or equivalent, help maintain diversity on campus. The applicants eligible to receive these offers include those who live in postcodes among the 20% with the lowest rates of progression to university or the highest levels of social deprivation, those estranged from their parents or who have been in care, and those who have received free school meals. Between one in three and one in four students gain places each year with a contextual offer. The university's outreach team works with local schools and colleges to raise attainment and aspiration through Surrey Stars partnerships, while Surrey Scholars delivers a sustained and progressive programme of annual extracurricular activities through a virtual learning environment.