The University of Exeter has been dedicated to discovery and changing lives through education since 1851 when the Exeter Schools of Art and Science were founded. In 1922 we became the University College of the South West, receiving our Charter in 1955, achieving full university status and becoming the University of Exeter.
We welcome over 30,000 students from more than 150 countries to our four friendly campuses: Streatham and St Luke’s in Exeter, Devon, and Penryn and Truro in Cornwall. Our locations offer environments that are inspiring, safe places where you will soon feel at home.
A member of the prestigious Russell Group of UK universities, we offer a wide range of undergraduate, masters and research degrees taught by world-leading academics. In recognition of the outstanding teaching we provide, we were one of the few Russell Group universities to achieve a triple gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework review (TEF 2023), consisting of a gold overall rating as well as gold ratings for student outcomes and student experience.
Our research is at the heart of what we do and is making a difference across the world. We unite expertise from across our academic disciplines, breaking down barriers to create innovative solutions to complex, global challenges. The 2024 Times Higher Education Impact rankings, which assess universities’ progress towards delivering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, placed us top 10 in the world overall and first globally for our research contribution towards delivering clean water and sanitation.
The 2021 Research Excellence Framework also showed that we are doing more research, of better quality, with a bigger impact on the world than ever before. Our world-leading research impact grew more than any other Russell Group university, more than 99% or our research was rated of international quality* and 12 of our subjects were in the Top 10 for world-leading impact.**
* Research rated 4* + 3* + 2* in REF 2021
** Based on ranking for 4* impact in REF 2021
Rated as one of the ten universities most targeted by the UK’s leading employers*, our students come from all kinds of backgrounds and have gone on to successful careers as politicians, pop stars, activists, scientists, entrepreneurs, judges, writers and more. During your time at Exeter, we will help you gain the skills and experience to compete in the global job market or go on to further study – whichever you want to do.
Our degrees are designed to stimulate creativity, entrepreneurship, a global outlook, leadership, teamwork, analytical skills, resilience and imagination – all qualities employers are looking for. Many of our degrees incorporate the opportunity to work closely with industry experts or undertake an industry placement, helping you gain valuable skills, contacts and experience for your future career. We also offer an award-winning careers service, the Career Zone, which facilitates frequent networking opportunities with top employers and a range of innovative employability programmes, including 1:1 mentoring, part-time student job options, a graduate-specific employment scheme, an employability award and more.
For our postgraduate research students, we also run a specific Researcher Development Programme, which includes a Careers strand that covers securing a job at the end of a postgraduate research degree. This specific support is provided in addition to the Career Zone’s services.
Our careers support continues for all our students after graduation and our alumni have lifelong access to a variety of our online employability resources.
*High Fliers Research, ‘The Graduate Market in 2024’ report
Your health, safety and wellbeing is important, and as a University of Exeter student we’ll support you to take care of yourself and look after your mental health. We have a wide range of wellbeing services and resources which are available in a safe and accessible way, including mental health support.
Our support services include:
· Personal tutor, who will be your main point of contact for your academic, personal and professional development and who you can talk to about any difficulties you might face
· Disability support
· Childcare
· Religious provision
· Emotional and mental health support
· Students’ Guild (Exeter) and Students’ Union (Cornwall) student advice services, including debt and budgeting advice
· Specific support for international students, including visa assistance, airport pickup, English language support and more
It’s important to have somewhere to call home when you go to university. Whether you want to live in catered or self-catered accommodation, on or off campus, we have a range of options to suit you. Living in university accommodation is a great way to expand your world by meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures and studying different subjects.
Our accommodation website for our Exeter campuses and Penryn Campus provides full details about all our residences – as well as information about private accommodation – to help you choose where you want to live. We also regularly upload student blogs so you can hear advice and stories about student living, directly from our current students.
We have dedicated libraries on all our campuses, and our Streatham and Penryn libraries are open 24/7 during term time. We have 1.2million e-books and 1million print books across our campuses as well as thousands of other digital resources, and our collections are expanding all the time.
From the mobile app and student portal – where you can access your timetable, email, library account and much more – to our highspeed wired and wireless network across our campuses and halls of residence, we make sure you have all the IT support you need to succeed.
We offer a high-quality digital learning experience, providing the flexibility to study wherever you are.
The University works closely with health centres, which are easily accessible for students on all campuses. Students from overseas are encouraged to register to access NHS services during your time in the UK.
We’re lucky to have some of the most beautiful, green campuses in the UK, providing plenty of areas to socialise with friends and enjoy green landscapes and outside space.
The Streatham Campus, the University’s largest site in Exeter, is built around a country estate overlooking the city and is readily acknowledged as one of the most beautiful in the country. The Forum building sits at the heart of the campus and is home to a state-of-the-art library, a variety of study spaces and many popular places to eat and drink.
St Luke's Campus is located on the east side of the city centre, just over a mile from Streatham Campus. Students have been studying on the site for over 160 years, and the historic campus combines its picturesque old buildings with modern learning spaces and facilities.
The Penryn Campus is set in 100 acres of countryside, close to the waterside town of Falmouth, and boasts beautiful views over the Fal estuary as well as easy access to Cornwall’s beautiful beaches and coastline.
The University of Exeter is home to some of the best sports facilities in the South West with world-class sports facilities for beginners and athletes alike. We’re the #1 sports university in the south of England and Wales, and we frequently finish top 5 in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings each year.
Sport is an important part of the student experience, and we believe sport and wellness should be embedded in student life. Our superb facilities allow us to offer a large variety of participation opportunities for all students.
From ‘Anatomy’ to ‘Zero Waste’, there are more than 400 societies that you could join. Many of our international students enjoy being part of their home country’s cultural society, allowing them to meet others with a similar background and share familiar customs and celebrations. You can get involved with the running of any of our student societies, and if there’s a society you want that we don’t have, we’ll help you set it up.
The University of Exeter Business School is proud to be among the 1% of the very best global institutions to gain Triple Crown accreditation from the three largest and most influential business school accreditation organisations worldwide: AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By U.S. News & World Report
Dropped 5 places compared to 2025
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 152 | 122 | 127 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 151 | 151 | 151 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
Climbed 14 places compared to 2025
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 153 | 169 | 155 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
Climbed 2 places compared to 2025
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 177 | 172 | 170 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Based on 100 reviews
I believe I will enjoy studying and staying at Exeter. I will be joining them in 2026.
I intend to start my course in September 2026 as I suffered an injury and my doctor has advised me to avoid moving for the next 6-8 weeks. The admissions team were incredibly prompt and helpful when I emailed them asking if they would consider deferring my application from September 2025 to September 2026.
Quality of teaching varied massively by course. Some marking is done on personal preference rather than objective, fair standards. Generally, more technical courses are taught better although there are issues with people using their own computers not being able to run software.
The Global Student Satisfaction Awards empower students across the globe to determine the best universities of 2025. Universities with a score above 4.0 (out of 5) in any of the 7 award categories, receive Badges of Excellence. Congratulations!
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