University of Southampton

Undergraduate applications

Applications for the first year of any full-time undergraduate course go through UCAS (institution code S27, code name SOTON), with a personal statement and a reference from someone who knows the applicant academically or professionally. Applicants who have not yet completed their qualifications or met the English requirement can still apply and may receive a conditional offer. Medicine closes earlier than other courses and requires the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) before applying. Courses such as BA Graphic Arts, BA Fine Art and BA Games, Design and Art may require a portfolio. Application deadlines follow the UCAS timeline, and individual course pages give any course-specific deadlines.

Entry requirements

Each course page gives its typical grades. Accepted qualifications include A levels, Access to HE, BTECs, Cambridge Pre-U, Cambridge Technical, the International and European Baccalaureates, Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers, T Levels, the Welsh Baccalaureate and many international qualifications, as well as combinations of these. Some courses count an A grade in the Extended Project Qualification towards the offer. Resits are accepted in all subjects, with restrictions for Medicine. Some courses also require an admissions test, an audition, an interview or selection event, a portfolio, occupational health clearance or a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Mature applicants, usually aged 21 or over (23 for Law), are typically considered if they have been in education in the past 3 years and hold a level 3 qualification.

Contextual offers

UK-domiciled applicants to participating courses for 2027/28 entry who meet the contextual criteria (for example, having been in care for 3 months or more) can receive an offer lower than the typical offer. The assessment uses the UCAS form and participation in the University's outreach activities. Medicine BM4, Medicine BM5 mature and graduate entry, and the Foundation Year in Engineering, Physics and Maths do not use contextual data. Medicine BM6 Widening Participation has its own eligibility criteria.

International undergraduate entry

International applicants must meet the general entry requirements or a recognised equivalent, and entry equivalencies are set out by country, including Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. Students who do not meet direct-entry requirements can take International Foundation Programmes with OnCampus Southampton. Foundation years in engineering, physics and maths, and a Malaysia Foundation Year, are also available. Students who are not British or Irish citizens may need a visa, which they can apply for once they hold an unconditional offer.

English language requirements

Each course sets an English band from A to I. For IELTS Academic, the overall score ranges from 6.0 (band A) to 7.0 (bands F to I), with component minimums from 5.5 to 7.0 by band. Accepted tests include IELTS Academic (including the UKVI version and One Skill Retake), TOEFL iBT, Pearson PTE Academic, LanguageCert Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency, Oxford ELLT and OTE, Trinity ISE, Skills for English and the Duolingo English Test. Test results must be within 2 years of the course start date. Applicants from majority English-speaking countries are not asked for test evidence but usually need GCSE English Language at grade 4/C or equivalent. Some school qualifications also meet the requirement if awarded within 3 years of the start date, for example WASSCE English at C6 or KCSE English at grade B. Pre-sessional English courses run in the summer before the first semester.

Postgraduate taught

Applicants apply online through the postgraduate application portal from the course page, uploading a degree transcript (an interim transcript is accepted), a personal statement and any course-specific documents such as references, a CV, a writing sample or a portfolio. Each course page gives its own entry requirements and deadline, and some courses close early to applicants from some countries. International applicants usually pay a £2,000 tuition fee deposit after accepting an offer, unless exempt (for example, full scholarship holders, asylum seekers or students transferring from OnCampus). A CAS is issued no earlier than 6 months before the course starts.

Postgraduate research

Applicants should contact a potential supervisor before applying online, choosing 'research' as the programme type. Applications usually need two academic references, transcripts and certificates, a CV, a personal statement, English language evidence where required and a research proposal for self-designed projects. Funding deadlines are usually at least 6 months before the start date. The portal is closed from 19 October to 2 November 2026, and applications for 2027/28 entry open on 2 November 2026. Doctoral College admissions: +44 (0)23 8059 8404, [email protected].

• Highfield Campus (University Road, Southampton SO17 1BJ): the main, oldest and largest campus. It has the Hartley Library (open 24 hours), the Students' Union, the Jubilee Sports Centre with gym and pool, sports halls, a climbing wall, the Turner Sims Concert Hall, a cinema, music studios, refurbished chemistry labs, the Zepler Institute Cleanroom Complex, wind tunnels, the Centenary Building and more than 180 bookable common learning spaces.
• Avenue Campus (Highfield Road, Southampton SO17 1BF): humanities teaching, with an archaeology building and bones laboratory, a digital humanities hub (virtual reality, 3D scanning and printing, a 360-degree immersive audio-visual centre), and tennis, netball and basketball courts.
• Boldrewood Innovation Campus (Burgess Road, Southampton SO16 7QF): the newest campus, home to engineering and maritime engineering and Southampton Business School. It has a 138-metre towing tank, the UKCRIC National Infrastructure Laboratory (five engineering laboratories including a large structures laboratory and a geotechnical centrifuge), an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Laboratory, a Testing and Structures Research Laboratory and an MBA suite.
• City Centre Campus (Guildhall Square, Above Bar Street, Southampton): the Sir James Matthews Building with study and teaching spaces, Student Hub and IT support; doctoral school space in One Guildhall Square; the John Hansard Gallery; and Mayflower gym.
• University Hospital Southampton (Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD): medicine teaching in the South Academic Block, with the Health Services Library, clinical skills rooms built as virtual wards, the Centre for Learning Anatomical Sciences, the Centre for Cancer Immunology and the LifeLab teaching laboratory.
• Waterfront Campus (European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH): based at the National Oceanography Centre Southampton, with all ocean and earth science courses. Facilities include the National Oceanographic Library (Europe's largest marine science library), a research aquarium, a coral reef laboratory and the 20-metre research catamaran RV Callista.
• Winchester Campus (Park Avenue, Winchester SO23 8DL): Winchester School of Art, with over 1,500 students in art, games design, fashion and other creative courses. It has the WSA Library (including the Knitting Reference Library and the Artists' Books Collection), the Winchester Gallery, photography and video studios, sculpture, art and fashion workshops, and a SUSU social space.
• University of Southampton Malaysia (Iskandar Puteri, Johor): business and engineering degrees, studied as split-campus degrees between Malaysia and the UK, plus a Malaysia Foundation Year.
• University of Southampton Delhi (Gurugram, India): programmes in business, accounting and finance, management, computer science and economics.

Halls of residence include Archers Road, City Gateway, Glen Eyre, Highfield Hall, Wessex Lane and Erasmus Park, plus partner halls Capital House, Lucia Foster Welch, Orion Point and Southampton Crossings. University halls are accredited under the UUK Student Accommodation Code of Practice, and students may choose quieter-lifestyle, alcohol-free, single-gender or LGBTQ+ flats where available.