The origins can be traced to the early 20th century, with the foundation of Bournemouth Municipal College. The modern history began in the early 1970s with the creation of the Bournemouth College of Technology and the construction of new buildings on the largest farm in Talbot Village – the area now known as the Talbot Campus.
Your university experience should offer both a great course and a great environment. That’s our focus at BU – from undergraduate degrees to PhDs, we value you and your contribution, and provide an environment to help you realise your ambitions and make a difference. Explore our study options to find out more.
The research shapes and changes the world around us, providing solutions to real-world problems and informing the education we deliver. The students are a key part of the research we conduct, co-creating knowledge with us and playing a crucial role in everything that we do.
All our undergraduate degrees and many of our postgraduate degrees offer the opportunity to undertake a work placement as part of your studies.
From our experienced and friendly Careers team and faculty placement staff, to our careers portal, MyCareerHub, and the Global Talent Programme, we can help equip you with the skills and experience you’ll need to make your mark.
Each year, we run 'Your Career Week', a week-long event offering networking and skill development opportunities, workshops and a two-day Careers Fair, attracting a wealth of companies and organisations.
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
Climbed 124 places compared to 2026
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.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 675 | 797 | 673 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
The university hasn’t moved up or down in the rankings over the past year.
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.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 771 | 801 | 801 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Times Higher Education
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
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.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 401 | 401 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
As a new student you’ll know just how much of a big deal coming to university is, especially if this is the first time you've moved away from home. It's such an exciting time in your life, and our Student Support & Engagement Team are here to help you make the most of your time here.
Bournemouth understands the pressures that moving to a new place and meeting new people can bring - as well as how tricky it can be learning how to balance your social life and workload, not to mention managing your own finances and study - Bournemouth also know that it’s not unusual for new students to have trouble coping with it all.
Student Services is made up of a number of teams who offer advice to staff as well as students.
We want to support you to come to university, regardless of any specific needs you may have. As a result, we have a number of accessible flats and houses that are available for you during your time at BU. We also work with DisabledGo to provide detailed information about the specific access arrangements in all of our buildings and facilities.
We have a very limited amount of accommodation specifically for families and couples, which is made available on a first-come, first-served basis. As these properties are available for longer lets - up to three full years, or the entire length of a student’s course - they are not always available at the beginning of each academic year.
The Sir Michael Cobham Library is at the heart of our Talbot Campus and is where you will find our largest collection of printed resources. Our Weston Library is on our Lansdowne Campus and is home to the printed resources for nursing, midwifery and health studies, and psychology, social sciences and social policy, as well as business and management book collections for postgraduate level.
BU students have access to a wide range of IT facilities, tools, services and support. This page should give you all the information you need to get started and to make the most of them. You can contact our IT Service Desk 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by phone or online via the IT Service Portal.
To help your wellbeing be the best that it can be, we offer a dedicated Student Wellbeing service, which is run in partnership with University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust. In addition to our Student Wellbeing service, as a BU student you’ll also have access to our Medical Centre, Faith & Reflection service and SportBU.
The University benefits from a wonderful location, situated between one of the UK’s newest national parks, officially the best beach in Britain and the second largest natural harbour in the world, with the World Heritage Jurassic Coast located nearby. Good transport links means that London is only two hours away.
With all this activity comes a responsibility to the environment and we are delighted to hold the EcoCampus platinum award for our work in making the university sustainable. From bee hives to solar panels, free or subsidised bus journeys for staff and students and a raft of other initiatives, we continually seek to increase our sustainable impact.
From our fitness studios, sports hall and gym on our Talbot Campus, to the 65-acre multi-sports site at Chapel Gate and our partnerships with local venues and clubs across the area, the BU community benefits from a rich variety of places and spaces in which to compete, keep fit, and have fun.
The clubs and societies, run via the Students’ Union (SUBU), are based entirely on the students’ passions – so whatever you’re into, BU should have it covered. These range from sports to charities, baking to gaming, education to politics or even the Bournemouth Banchees Quidditch Society (yes, it really does exist).
The Business School is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), placing Bournemouth University firmly amongst the top institutions globally for business degrees.
Based on 80 reviews
I am very happy with my overall experience at Bournemouth University. There have been ample opportunities outside of the course, guest lectures, events. The teaching staff is really supportive and happy to help, you need only ask. It is also common for graduates to give talks on their experiences and provide information about graduate schemes. The campus itself is decent but I must add that they have invested millions into new buildings. Future students will certainly be able to enjoy better facilities than me.
I enjoyed the university, it had decent lecturers the campus was nice, they built a new student building and it was ready for my final year. It was a nice building, it had multiple transport options to get to and from uni. They had cheap breakfast. The halls of residence was decent. My only complaint is that one of them was a whole town away in Poole and unfortunately that's where i ended up in my first year. It meant we had to travel quite far to get to and from uni as well as to get to any of the nightclubs in Bournemouth city center. After a night out we would have to share a taxi with literally anyone else going back to that halls of residence even if we'd never spoken a single word to them. The nightlife was pretty good too
Positive - very helpful with assignments and looking for internships/placements Very helpful with setting up talks regarding life after university and job roles. I am interested in roles in Media and the university have been very helpful in assisting me in looking for internships for the summer
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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