A UK guide for students, workers and new settlers
Browse every UK university, understand life in the UK, and tell us exactly what you’re stuck on.
25 years experienced UK based consultant for higher education in UK, USA, Australia and Canada
The UK has universities in every nation and almost every city — ancient institutions, red-brick civics, specialist conservatoires, art schools and modern universities built around industry. They differ enormously in size, teaching style and cost, and the right one for you is rarely the most famous one. A course title that sounds identical at two universities can mean three years of seminars at one and a lab bench at the other, so read the module list before you read the ranking.
Most undergraduate applications go through UCAS; most postgraduate applications go directly to the university. Entry requirements, English language evidence, deadlines and fees are set by each institution and published on its own website — which is why this site links you straight to those pages rather than repeating figures that go out of date. Student life outside the timetable matters too: accommodation, societies, part-time work, how far you are from a station, and whether you can afford the city you have fallen for.
Work in the UK comes in several shapes: part-time hours alongside a course, placements and internships built into a degree, graduate roles after you finish, and routes that are sponsored by an employer. What you are allowed to do depends on your immigration status, and in many cases on conditions printed on your own visa — not on what a friend on a different visa was able to do.
Practically, employers will expect a UK-style CV (two pages, no photograph), a National Insurance number, a bank account that can receive salary, and evidence of your right to work. Pay is usually monthly and taxed at source. University careers services are genuinely good and are free while you are enrolled, so use them early rather than in your final term.
Rules and eligibility change, and they can change at short notice. Always check the current position on gov.uk before you make a decision.
Settling in is mostly admin, and the admin has an order to it. Housing first: most private tenancies ask for references, a deposit held in a protected scheme, and sometimes a UK-based guarantor. Then a bank account, which usually needs proof of address and proof of study or employment. Then register with a local GP surgery — NHS primary care is where almost everything medical starts, and registering before you are ill is far easier than registering because you are.
The part nobody puts on a checklist is community. Winter here is dark by four o’clock and the first few months can feel long. Student unions, faith groups, libraries, sports clubs, volunteering and your own national or regional associations are all ordinary, unglamorous ways people build a life here. Council tax, TV licensing, bin days and contents insurance are the other half of the story — dull, but cheaper to learn early.
Rules and eligibility change, and they can change at short notice. Always check the current position on gov.uk before you make a decision.
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The basics, in one place. Everything else on this site points you to the organisation that actually publishes the detail.
167 institutions across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the city they sit in and a direct link to their official website. Search by name or city, filter by nation, jump by letter.
We list names and locations only. Courses, fees and entry requirements belong to the universities themselves, and that is where you should read them.
Tell us. We read every message.
Housing, deadlines, a course you cannot choose between, a letter you do not understand — write it in your own words. There is no form to get right.
We give general information, not legal or immigration advice, and we cannot guarantee an outcome. Anything with a deadline should also be checked on gov.uk.
Start with the directory if you are choosing where to apply — search for a university, check the city, then follow the link to its official website for courses, fees and entry requirements. Read the Study, Work and Settle sections for an orientation to how things generally work here. If you are stuck on something specific, write to us through the “What’s your problem?” form and describe your situation in your own words.