Keele University

Undergraduate entry

Applications for all undergraduate courses are made online through UCAS (institution code K12) and include personal details and qualifications (including GCSEs or equivalent), course choices, a personal statement and an academic reference. Entry requirements are set for each course. Keele accepts A levels, BTEC Extended Diploma, Diploma and National Extended Certificate, T Levels, the International Baccalaureate Diploma and Careers Programme, the Access to HE Diploma, the Welsh Baccalaureate, Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers, the Irish Leaving Certificate and the NCFE Level 3 Extended Diploma. Applicants who do not meet the published requirements but have relevant skills or experience can contact [email protected], and applications are considered on their individual merits.

Key dates for 2027 entry

• 15 October 2026: deadline for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.
• 13 January 2027 (18:00): UCAS equal consideration deadline. Most courses accept applications after this date.
• 25 February 2027: UCAS Extra opens.
• 30 June 2027 (18:00): last date to apply in the main cycle; later applications go into Clearing, which opens on 2 July 2027.

Offers are normally made by the end of March for applicants who applied by the January deadline.

Interviews

Interviews are compulsory for Medicine, Midwifery, Nursing (all routes), Occupational Therapy, Paramedic Science, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Radiography, Social Work, Speech and Language Therapy and Veterinary Medicine. Some applicants with non-standard qualifications may also be interviewed or asked for written work. Courses that require a DBS check also require disclosure of spent and unspent convictions.

Contextual and alternative offers

Home applicants who meet one of the contextual indicators receive a reduced offer, applied automatically. The indicators are: attending a state school and living in a POLAR4 or IMD quintile 1 or 2 area; being a care leaver; being a refugee, asylum seeker or under humanitarian protection; receiving free school meals; being a young carer; being first in the family to enter higher education; or having an Armed Forces connection. For most courses the reduction is two full grades at A level, IB or Advanced Higher (for example ABB becomes BBC). For Medicine and the health professions it is one grade plus an extra point at interview shortlisting. Subject-specific grade requirements are not reduced. Applicants taking the EPQ, Core Maths, IPQ or similar receive an additional alternative offer. These schemes do not apply to Veterinary Medicine (D100) or Foundation Year courses.

International undergraduate entry

Course pages list equivalent qualifications for many countries, including Canada, China, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the USA, Zimbabwe and the European Baccalaureate. Questions can be sent to [email protected]. Keele University International College (KUIC) offers International Foundation Year, International Year One and Pre-Master's pathways to over 150 Keele degrees. Contextual and alternative offers apply to home students only.

English language requirements

Each course is assigned to an English Language Group. GCSE or IGCSE English at grade C or 4 meets the requirement for all groups. For 2027/28 entry, the IELTS Academic minimums include Group A at 6.0 with 5.5 in all components, Group B at 6.5 with 5.5, Group C at 6.5 with 6.0, Group D at 7.0 with 6.5, and Group F at 8.0 with 7.5. The Pearson Academic minimums include Group A at 59 with 54 in each component and Group C at 62 with 59. For students who need a visa, tests must be dated within the two years before the course start date. Medicine (A100), Veterinary Medicine (D100) and MSc Physician Associate Studies set their own requirements. Pre-sessional Academic English courses (11 and 6 weeks) are available for applicants who need to raise their level.

Postgraduate taught entry

Applications for postgraduate taught courses are made online, and documents are uploaded to the Applicant Portal. International applicants pay a tuition fee deposit (£4,000 for most overseas applicants, or £8,000 for nationals of Pakistan) before receiving a pre-CAS checklist. Sponsored students send a financial guarantee letter instead. For September 2026 entry, the deposit deadline was 31 July 2026 for applicants from Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, India and Ghana and 18 August 2026 for all other countries. Keele is not currently accepting postgraduate applications from Bangladesh, Ghana, Nigeria or Pakistan for 2027 start dates. January start dates are available on some courses.

Postgraduate research entry

PhD, MPhil and DM applicants usually need a first or 2:1 honours degree or the international equivalent, and should contact a potential supervisor about their research proposal before applying. Professional doctorates usually require a master's degree in a related field. The English language requirement for research degrees is IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any subtest. UK-based applicants may be invited for interview.

• Keele campus, Staffordshire (ST5 5BG): the main campus of 600 acres of woodland, gardens and lakes around Keele Hall, between junctions 15 and 16 of the M6. All three faculties are based here. Facilities include the £34m Central Science Laboratory, the David Attenborough Laboratories (Life Sciences), the Smart Innovation Hub with Keele Business School and its Bloomberg Suite, the Harper & Keele Veterinary School teaching building and clinical skills centre, a crime scene house for Forensic Science, a Moot Court room, an observatory, the Edith Patch Insectary, pharmacy and psychology laboratories, and an anatomy suite and paramedic training ambulance in the School of Medicine.
• Library: the main campus library is in the centre of campus, with 24/7 access during term time.
• Residences: over 2,600 bedrooms in Barnes, Horwood, Lindsay, and Holly Cross and the Oaks, from shared halls to superior en-suite rooms, all on campus. A Courtyard by Marriott hotel is also on campus.
• Sport and health: a sports centre with gym membership, fitness classes, social leagues and a Talented Athlete Programme, and a medical centre on campus.
• Clinical Education Centre, Stoke-on-Trent (ST4 6QG): Keele's clinical teaching facility at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust on Newcastle Road, used by medicine, nursing and midwifery students.
• Keele in Town, Newcastle-under-Lyme (53 Ironmarket, ST5 1PE): a converted 19th-century building in the town centre with study, working and meeting space for students, staff, local businesses and community groups.
• Harper Adams University, Newport, Shropshire: Harper & Keele Veterinary School students also use the veterinary education building and facilities at the partner campus.

Keele Science and Innovation Park, on the campus, hosts more than 50 businesses.