University of Cumbria guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
This small university of around 10,000 students has a true regional footprint in a sprawling county otherwise short of higher-education options, and is playing a key role in the regeneration of both Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. Both will benefit from the opening of new campuses in the coming weeks and months, which should help turn around application and acceptance figures - both at their lowest in the past decade in the admissions cycle for September 2024. A graduate-entry medical school - The Pears Cumbria School of Medicine - admits its first students in September 2025. Developed in partnership with the world-class medical school of Imperial College London, and with substantial financial backing from the Pears Foundation, it is based in Carlisle. There are two existing sites in Carlisle (with the Citadels campus under development) and a new campus in Barrow is due to open in September 2025. Further outposts are sited in Lancaster and Ambleside at the heart of the Lake District. The latter offers several courses that reflect its location, including new degrees about to admit their first intake in ecology and wildlife conservation, and tourism and visitor economy management. There is even a campus in London which runs business, education and health programmes.
Paying the bills
A points-based system is used to allocate the fixed number of Cumbria bursaries each year. The basic qualifying criteria for the bursary - worth £1,000 per year to full-time students and £500 annually to part-time students - is to come from a home with an annual income of less than £25,000. Points are earned for the level of household income, being a care leaver, having a disability, and living in an area with a low rate of progression to higher education. Bursaries go to those with the highest number of points; a proportion of awards are reserved for students aged over 21 on entry. Postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) students in Lancaster or Carlisle who are alumni are also eligible for £1,000 scholarships and up to £1,000 accommodation discounts. Support is also given to those experiencing severe financial hardship with £145,000 paid out in 2023/24, while costs have been reduced for all students by cutting the price for access to on-campus fitness suites to £25 per academic year, providing free weekday breakfasts and a complimentary IT bundle. The 600+ places in self-catered university accommodation are priced from £3,640 for a 40-week contract to £6,132 for a 42-week deal in the best rooms.
What's new?
These are exciting times with several key developments about to come to fruition. Cumbria's new Barrow campus fronting onto Buccleugh Dock is due to open in September 2025. The campus at the heart of the Barrow Learning Quarter is a stone's throw from BAE Systems, the town's major employer, which has been a key partner in developing the site. One of the degrees to be offered here initially is a five-year mechanical engineering programme with an integrated foundation year and an industry placement year. BAE is offering scholarships worth £8,000 over the course of the degree, plus a 12-week work placement and a guaranteed interview on completion of the course. The company is offering something similar, but with £5,000 of bursary payments, for the three-year computer science degree. Also coming on stream next month is the Pears Cumbria School of Medicine in Carlisle, which will run a four-year graduate medical degree co-created with regional NHS partners. The opening of the Citadels campus in Carlisle has been put back a year to 2027. The bulk of the £78.7m cost is being met by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Cumbria is adding an enhanced clinical practitioner option to its already substantial roster of degree apprenticeships. It expects to have more than 2,500 apprentice learners enrolled by September 2026, making the university one of the UK's biggest providers in this growing area of provision.
Admissions, teaching and student support
Climbing for Wellbeing takes a local pastime and turns it into a therapeutic aid for students suffering from mental health issues. Rather than using the natural resource of the Lake Districts mountains, five-week courses are held at the Eden Rock climbing centre, in Carlisle, one of the largest indoor bouldering walls in England. Catering for climbers of all abilities, the sessions explore fear and trust issues, anxiety, problem solving, making changes, and managing failure and high expectations. This is typical of the holistic approach taken by Cumbria's student support service, underpinned by a Live Well, Learn Well ethos. More common talking therapies, therapeutic groups and courses, self-help guidance and workshops are also offered. Head Start academic skills courses, covering academic writing, referencing and research skills, help students with the transition to higher education in the days before enrolment. All staff must complete compulsory safeguarding training as part of their induction. About one quarter of students qualify for a contextual offer each year. These are mostly made at the bottom end of the standard Ucas tariff point range for a given course to applicants from homes in areas with the lowest higher education participation rates, care leavers or young carers, those estranged from their parents and those who have been eligible for free schools meals during their secondary schooling. Participation in university-run summer schools, masterclasses or the university's Future Teachers scheme also qualifies applicants for a contextual offer.