Birmingham City University guide: Rankings, open days, fees and accommodation
Overview
The past two years have seen more applications for places at Birmingham City University (BCU) than ever before. This bustling, uber-urban institution is one of the country's larger universities, with more than 22,000 undergraduates spread across several sites in central Birmingham. A rolling programme of investment has upgraded many buildings and departments. Over the summer, BCU completed its move to the Alexander Stadium, which hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games and will now be home to the university's sports provision. The new facilities are just the latest to benefit BCU students. The City Centre campus, near to the new HS2 station, sits within an Investment Zone, which will pave the way for future developments. The university is home to the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the School of Jewellery, which is the largest in Europe. With 70% of students coming from the West Midlands - and many of them living at home - the relatively small number of university-owned student rooms (2,746) is not the problem it might be.
Paying the bills
Participants in the BCU Accelerate programme - essentially those from low-income households - are eligible for both a contextual offer (see Admissions, teaching and student support, below) and a scholarship worth £1,000, which is paid in three instalments during their first year. A separate £1,000 High Achievers' scholarship is paid in the first year to students who achieve AAA at A-level, or 144 Ucas tariff points from their main three qualifications. Students who qualify for both scholarships will be paid only the High Achievers' scholarship. The university also spent more than £850,000 on hardship support in 2022-23. This included a dedicated fund of £464,600 to address the cost-of-living crisis, which has since been discontinued. However, BCU has pegged increases in accommodation costs for 2024-25 at just 4%. Prices range from £4,840 for 44 weeks in accommodation with shared bathrooms to £10,965 for 51 weeks in a top-end studio flat.
What's new?
BCU is top of the podium as the only university to teach sports courses from a Commonwealth Games-hosting athletics stadium. The move to the Alexander Stadium was completed over the summer, when the East Stand was kitted out with laboratories for biomechanics, psychology, sports therapy and physiology. There is also a performance analysis suite and an altitude centre, where almost all global climates can be replicated to test how the body responds to them. The £8m investment saw space in the West Stand opened to students and staff earlier this year. The university's health and life science facilities at City South Campus are also set to expand. BCU's presence in the gaming education market will be bolstered by the introduction of game design, game technical art, game programming and game technology degrees next September. The addition of degree apprenticeship programmes for diagnostic radiography and paramedic science builds on the university's portfolio of 13 degree apprenticeships. With 260 degree apprentices enrolling last September, BCU has one of the biggest degree apprentice contingents of any university.
Admissions, teaching and student support
BCU begins sowing the seeds of higher education in the minds of children as young as 10 with community-outreach activities. Attracting students from disadvantaged backgrounds is the goal and BCU's Accelerate programme is the centrepiece of its efforts, giving pupils access to higher-education workshops, subject-specific activities and guidance. Accelerate is open to children attending one of 12 partner schools in Birmingham, or those from lower-income families living in a postcode among the 20% with the lowest rate of participation in higher education. Those from lower-income households living in postcodes among the 40% with the lowest rate of participation in higher education can also qualify if they meet other criteria, such as being first-generation students or receiving free school meals. Those who complete the programme can get offers two A-level grades (16 Ucas points) below the normal entry requirements. Contextual offers are made for all full-time, three-year degree courses other than acting and music. Around one in eight students gained their place via a contextual offer last year. BCU operates a 'campus-first' approach, whereby all students are expected to attend teaching sessions and use lecture recordings for catching up and revision. Lecture capture is being implemented formally in the coming academic year. The university offers pre-entry appointments so that prospective students can discuss any mental health and wellbeing concerns and seek support for existing conditions. There is also a BCU online publication - Know Before You Go - which covers mental and sexual health, establishing relationships, identity, education and where to find help. Face-to-face sessions with mental health and wellbeing advisers, CBT therapists and counsellors are also offered on the City Centre and City South campuses 51 weeks of the year.
