University in United Kingdom
Canterbury, England, United Kingdom
University profile
The University of Kent is a public university based in Canterbury, in the South East of England, with a second campus at Medway. It was founded by Royal Charter in 1965 as one of the new campus universities of the 1960s, and since 1 August 2026 it has been part of the London and South East University Group (LASE), a multi-university group formed with the University of Greenwich. Students continue to apply to, study at and graduate from the University of Kent, which keeps its own name and identity within the group.
The main campus sits on 300 acres of parkland overlooking the city of Canterbury, about an hour from London by train. Kent is one of a handful of UK universities with a collegiate system: every student and member of academic staff belongs to a college, and the six Canterbury colleges are named after Darwin, Eliot, Keynes, Rutherford, Turing and Woolf. Medway students belong to Medway College. The Medway campus at Chatham is shared with the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University under the Universities at Medway partnership.
Teaching is organised in ten academic schools: the School of Computing; School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics; School of Arts and Architecture; School of Psychology; School of Economics, Politics and International Relations; School of Social Sciences; Kent Law School; School of Humanities; Kent Business School; and the School of Natural Sciences. Medicine is taught at the Kent and Medway Medical School, run with Canterbury Christ Church University, and pharmacy at the Medway School of Pharmacy. Four institutes lead cross-university work: the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries, the Institute of Cyber Security for Society, the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, and the Institute of Health, Social Care and Wellbeing.
Student life centres on the colleges, Kent Union and its 250+ clubs and societies, more than 50 student sports clubs, and Kent Sport facilities on the Canterbury campus. The Canterbury campus has over 5,000 rooms in university accommodation, with no deposit and bills, Wi-Fi and contents insurance included; Medway students live at Pier Quays, a short walk from campus. New home undergraduates receive the Your Kent Start package of £2,000 over their first two years.
Kent describes its student body as representing more than 100 nationalities. International students can join directly or through the University of Kent International College on the Canterbury campus, run with Oxford International, which offers an International Foundation Programme, International Year Zero, International Year One and an International Incorporated Master's. The university's UCAS institution code is K24.
Home undergraduate tuition is £10,050 a year for 2027/28 (£9,790 in 2026/27). International undergraduate fees vary by course; for 2027/28 entry, for example, Computer Science is £23,950 and Economics £21,950 a year. Fees may rise in later years of study under the university's Tuition Fees Increase Policy. As a guide, the full-time UK postgraduate research fee for 2026/27 is £5,238. Course fees are listed on each course page and in the tuition fees tables.
Home undergraduates receive £2,000 over their first two years: £1,000 in cash and £1,000 in campus food and drink credit, paid automatically. The package does not apply to Medicine or Pharmacy students. Your Kent Start
New UK undergraduates on their first degree with household income below £35,000 (and meeting other criteria) receive a £1,000 non-repayable cash bursary in each stage of full-time study, with an extra £1,000 for a placement, integrated master's or higher-fee foundation year. Part-time students receive a pro rata award. Assessment is automatic through Student Finance England for most students; care leavers, estranged, young independent, carer and homeless students complete an application form. Award holders join the Kent Ambition Scholars Programme. KFSP
International undergraduates who accept an offer for September 2027 can receive £5,000 as a tuition fee waiver (£3,000 in the first stage and £2,000 in the second), with no application needed. For January 2027 entry, the scholarship is up to £5,000 for undergraduates, £3,000 for Kent Business School taught master's and £5,000 for other taught master's (postgraduate awards for applicants domiciled in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkiye or Vietnam). Two British Council GREAT Scholarships of £10,000 are offered to students from Ghana and Kenya for a one-year taught master's starting in January 2027. International scholarships
The Kent Graduate Scholarship gives eligible Kent graduates and alumni a 20% reduction in taught master's tuition fees. Kent also offers location-specific scholarships, philanthropic awards, subject-specific PhD project funding, and support for UK Postgraduate Master's Loans, US federal loans and Canada Student Loans. Postgraduate fees and funding
The Sports Scholarship Scheme supports athletes competing at county or regional level or above with up to £1,000 a year (more for Elite Scholars), free Premium Plus Kent Sport membership, strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and wellbeing support; applications for 2027/28 open in November 2026. Sports scholarships. Music Performance Scholarships of up to £1,000 plus £500 of instrumental or singing tuition are open to students of any subject, with around fifteen awarded each year after interview and audition. Music scholarships
Students in financial difficulty can contact the financial support team at [email protected]; cost-of-living support includes affordable meals and access to technology.
Kent International Scholarship Postgraduate Taught (Kent Business School), January 2027 →
Kent International Scholarship Postgraduate Taught, January 2027 →
Kent International Scholarship for Undergraduates, January 2027 →
British Council GREAT Scholarship (Ghana and Kenya), January 2027 →
Browse the scholarships listed for University of Kent and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for University of Kent →Full-time applicants from the UK and Ireland apply through UCAS (institution code K24, code name KENT). For 2026 entry the key dates were 15 October 2025 for Oxford, Cambridge and most medicine, veterinary and dentistry courses, and 14 January 2026 for most other courses; Kent accepts applications for many courses until 30 June 2026, after which applications enter Clearing (open 2 July to 19 October 2026). Every course requires a personal statement, most programmes do not interview, and applicants complete an Admissions ID check. Offer conditions must be met by 31 August of the year of entry. Medicine (BM BS) applicants apply to the Kent and Medway Medical School, UCAS code K31. Part-time students apply directly to the university.
The general minimum is five GCSE passes at grade C/4 or above including English Language plus at least two A levels, or three A levels with GCSE English Language at C/4. Offers are normally based on three A levels or equivalent Level 3 qualifications; typical offers vary by course (for example BBC for Computer Science and Economics for 2027 entry). The standard IB Diploma offer is 34 points, or a pass in the Diploma with specified subject achievement for most programmes. BTEC Extended Diplomas, HNDs/HNCs, Access to HE Diplomas, T Levels in aligned subjects, Scottish Highers/Advanced Highers, the Irish Leaving Certificate and the European Baccalaureate are considered case by case. Applicants should be at least 17 by 20 September in the year of entry.
Applicants who meet Kent's contextual eligibility criteria can receive offers up to two A level grades below the standard offer; subject-specific grade requirements are not reduced. Applicants should show how they meet the criteria on the UCAS application, personal statement or reference.
International students may apply through UCAS or directly to Kent (no application fee) if they are not from the UK or Ireland, pay international fees and have never used UCAS. Country pages set out equivalent qualifications; for example, applicants from Ghana typically need a Higher National Diploma or university Diploma at Second Class (Lower Division) with 50% or a GPA of 2.51 for Stage 1 entry, and WASSCE Mathematics at C4 where GCSE maths is required. Students without the required qualifications can take an integrated foundation year or a pathway at the University of Kent International College (International Foundation Programme, International Year Zero or International Year One). For January 2027 entry the undergraduate and taught postgraduate application deadline is 27 November 2026 (9 October 2026 for undergraduate applicants from Pakistan and Bangladesh); for September 2027 it is 31 August 2027.
Requirements are set at three levels. IELTS Academic or IELTS for UKVI: Good 6.0 with 5.5 in each component; Very Good 6.5 with 5.5 in each component; Excellent 7.0 with 7.0 in each component. Pearson Academic UKVI: 63, 67 or 76 overall with minimum sub-scores of 59, 59 and 76. Duolingo is accepted at 110, 120 or 130 overall with set component minimums. Tests must be taken no more than two years before the course starts. Applicants from Pakistan must take an in-person test (IELTS, TOEFL or Pearson). Pre-sessional English courses are available in person and online.
Applications go directly to Kent through the KentVision portal with no application fee, and include a personal statement (minimum 100 words, up to 2,000 characters), at least one academic reference, transcripts and identification. Home applicants have no fixed deadline but should apply at least three months before the start date. Courses requiring a UK 2:1 or 2:2 accept equivalent international degrees (for Ghana, Second Class Upper or CGPA 2.50 for a 2:1; Second Class Lower or CGPA 2.00 for a 2:2).
PhD and Master's by Research applicants should contact potential supervisors first and submit a research proposal (usually 1,000-3,000 words), details of previous study, two academic referees and English language evidence. PhD entry points are September, January and May; Kent Business School and Kent Law School admit research students in September only, with deadlines of 31 July and 30 June respectively. International research applications for January 2027 close on 1 October 2026 and for September 2027 on 2 July 2027.
For January 2027 international entry, offers must be unconditional firm by 11 December 2026, CAS Shield checks and deposits completed by 15 December 2026, and CAS issued by 18 December 2026. Non-exempt applicants must hold funds for UKVI's 28-day requirement in time for the CAS deadline.
As part of the London and South East University Group, Kent students can also use the University of Greenwich campuses and libraries.
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