Loughborough University guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
If you are good at sport and aim to play at a high level at university, Loughborough has to be on your shortlist. If you want access to the best facilities on this side of the Atlantic and to rub shoulders with athletes who have represented their country or will go on to, then it ought to be at the top of that shortlist. At last summer's Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, Loughborough-based competitors or those with a close connection to the university scooped 11 gold, ten silver and 14 bronze medals. Had it been a country, it would have finished 16th in the medal table ahead of the likes of Brazil. And its student athletes have won the British Universities and College Sport (Bucs) men's and women's titles for 44 consecutive years. Facilities are so good that sports including athletics have their national headquarters onsite. Loughborough is strong academically, too. It has an outstanding reputation in art, design and engineering and performs well in our subject rankings across the board. Academic life is centred on the 523-acre campus where 6,000 students live. The university ranks in the top ten nationally for the proportion of graduates who land high-skilled jobs. So, there are brains to go with the brawn.
Paying the bills
Loughborough has raised the income threshold but lowered the sum awarded by its Loughborough Bursary this year. More students should get a bursary now that all those from homes with annual income of up to £30,000 qualify (compared to £25,000 previously). The sum awarded per annum - £1,000 rather than £1,200 previously - is paid across all years of study including £500 in the placement years and it is available to all degrees. The bursary is paid to all eligible UK undergraduates except those from Wales, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Students are invited to apply for the 50 opportunity scholarships available each year, worth £3,000 a year for three years. Students who received free school meals and come from homes with up to £30,000 annual income can apply, with priority given to students who take part in national or university access schemes, such as LUDUS (Loughborough University Discover University Scheme). Sports scholarships can be worth up to £5,000 per year for the most talented athletes and performance programme bursaries worth £1,000 per year are awarded automatically to students who represent the university in British Universities and Colleges Sport (Bucs) competitions as part of Loughborough's performance programme first team squads. The near 6,000 rooms in student accommodation offer both self-catering and catered options. Self-catered rooms cost between £5,008 and £9,665 for a 41-week let in 2025-26, while catered accommodation costs from £6,821 to £10,215 for the same length tenancy.
What's new?
DigiLab East opened in January 2025, one of three new digital laboratories on campus funded jointly by the university and the Office for Students STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) Teaching Capital Fund as part of a near £12m development. The investment will equip students with the latest digital analysis skills and increased awareness of artificial intelligence. Each of the labs will feature extended reality learning, 3D data and motion capture, robotics and simulation, and modelling and artificial intelligence. Other campus projects include the relocating of some graphics and design disciplines from existing space in the school of design and creative arts into newly renovated spaces in Martin Hall, while the English department will be united with the rest of the school of social sciences and humanities. In the sporting arena, the university is decarbonising the university swimming pool in a £2m project to replace the gas boilers with electric air source heat pumps. This will deliver the twin benefits of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and creating a living laboratory for students in the school of architecture, building and civil engineering to undertake research and measurements on building and infrastructure performance. Two new degrees, a BSc and MSci in computer science and cyber security, have been launched for the 2025-26 academic year, with a Law LLB degree programme is due to take its first intake in September 2026.
Admissions, teaching and student support
About one in ten admissions in September 2024 qualified for a contextual offer of up to two A-level grades below typical entry requirements. Applicants who have received free school meals are eligible for these offers, as well as any state-educated applicants living in a postcode among the 20% with the highest levels of deprivation. Those who have completed the university's LUDUS Gold or the national Realising Opportunities widening access programmes also receive an offer reduced by up to two grades. Loughborough works hard to ensure all students, particularly those from under-represented backgrounds, go on to achieve success at university and afterwards. Its student success academy focuses on skills development at key points in the student journey, from transition to university life, through to moving into and out of work placements, and on to stepping up to final year and graduation. Future talent programmes offer work opportunities to black and South Asian students (and are expanding every year to involve students from other groups traditionally under-represented in higher education), while a web app, Personal Best, provides a framework for personal, academic and careers development. Compulsory induction sessions include information on well-being and mental health; Loughborough offers everything from short-term support for wellbeing issues to long-term support throughout students' time at the university for diagnosed mental health problems. This can take the form of one-to-one support, group sessions or peer-led support. More than three-quarters of incoming students each year complete the university's online transition and induction programme, Ready Set Loughborough, before they arrive on campus. Presented as an online transition 'badge', the course includes sections on sexual consent, tackling racism and privilege and active bystander training.