University of Portsmouth

About the University of Portsmouth

A modern, research-active public university located on England’s south coast in the city of Portsmouth. It has a city-centre campus made up of many purpose-built buildings (library, research centres, specialist labs and a Dental Academy) and strong industry links — especially in engineering, marine science, business, health and creative industries.

 

Why choose Portsmouth?

  • Good mix of city life + seaside — lower living costs than many larger UK cities and easy travel to London (around 2 hours by train).

  • Practical, career-focused courses with strong employer links and placement/sandwich-year options in many degrees.

  • Active international student community (students from 150+ countries) and dedicated international student support teams (visa advice, arrival support).

 

University ranking (snapshot)

  • In global subject and overall league tables Portsmouth typically sits in mid-table bands in THE subject ranks (for 2025 several subject areas appear in the 150–500 bands depending on discipline). Use subject-specific rankings to judge your course.

 

Campus locations & travel

  • Main campus buildings are concentrated around the Guildhall and city centre — the campus map and PDF layout are on the university site. Closest station: Portsmouth & Southsea (≈5 minute walk to Guildhall campus). Trains from London Waterloo/Victoria are direct and take about 1.5–2 hours.

 

Types of courses / study levels

  • Undergraduate (Bachelor’s) — full-time, part-time and sandwich (placement) degrees.

  • Postgraduate taught (Master’s) — more than 200 Master’s programmes available.

  • Research degrees (MPhil / PhD) and professional/short courses.

  • Distance and flexible learning options exist for selected programmes.

 

Mode of learning

Primarily on-campus (face-to-face) for undergraduate and most postgraduate taught programmes. Some postgraduate and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes are offered by distance learning or blended delivery — check the course page for the exact mode.

 

Number of programmes offered

  • The university lists hundreds of courses: UCAS and the university course pages show over 400 undergraduate programmes and 200+ postgraduate taught courses overall (counts vary by year and mode). Always check the specific course page for up-to-date availability and intake dates.

 

Highlights & strengths

  • Strong professional and practical focus with industry links (placements and employability support).

  • Specialist facilities (Dental Academy, marine/engineering labs, creative & digital hubs).

  • Compact city-centre campus next to the sea, affordable compared to many UK cities, and good transport links.

 

Practical tips for international applicants

  1. Check entry requirements on the course page (academic and English language). Each course page lists offers, accepted qualifications and English tests.

  2. Scholarships — apply or check eligibility early; some awards are automatic at offer stage, others require separate applications.

  3. Visa & immigration — contact the International Student Advisers at student-visa@port.ac.uk for clear, official guidance. Use the university’s page for country-specific advice.

  4. Arrival & accommodation — university accommodation options and arrival guidance are on the site; book early (sep/jan intakes fill fast).

Scholarship

1) Vice-Chancellor’s Global Development Scholarship

  • What it is: £2,500 fee reduction applied to the first year of tuition for eligible international, self-funding students new to Portsmouth (from Sept 2025 entry).

  • Who’s eligible: Self-funding international students starting full-time campus courses in 2025 whose programme fees are above the specified fee band (policy has exclusions for very low fee bands and certain split-fee arrangements).

  • How to get it: This is a university policy award — eligibility and automatic application details are set out in the University policy on tuition fee discounts (contact Admissions/Student Finance for case specifics).

2) EU Scholarship (Sept 2025)

  • What it is: For EU / EEA / Swiss nationals resident in those countries, Portsmouth will apply an EU Scholarship for September 2025 entry so fees are reduced to match UK-home student fee level for that cohort.

  • Who’s eligible: EU/EEA/Swiss nationality and resident — check detailed residency/fee status rules with the Student Finance/Admissions team.

3) Global Excellence / ICP pathway discounts (Navitas/ICP)

  • What it is: Discounts available to some students entering via partner pathway providers (International College Portsmouth / Navitas). Example: Global Excellence discount for qualifying Pre-Masters/Undergrad pathway students.

  • Key conditions: Must be self-funded, full-time, campus-based and meet fee/entry requirements; not available to students already studying at ICP/UoP. Terms vary by intake (Sept/Jan) and program. Check the ICP/Navitas scholarship page for exact eligibility and amounts.

4) Postgraduate taught bursaries & small awards

  • Examples & amounts: The University and external partners periodically list small bursaries or provider bursaries (for example, Postgrad Solutions offering several £2,000 bursaries for specific intakes). These tend to be limited in number and require separate applications.

5) PhD studentships and funded research

  • What to expect: Fully funded PhD studentships and research studentships (covers fees + stipend for some posts) are advertised by departments and doctoral training partnerships (e.g., South Coast DTP). These are competitive — apply to advertised projects and follow the specific studentship calls.

 

Othe funding options & practical tips

  • Unite Foundation / external partner scholarships — University pages list partner scholarships and foundation support (some with application deadlines) — check the “Scholarships and bursaries” pages for undergrad and specific partner opportunities.

  • Refer-a-friend fee discount — the University sometimes runs referral fee reductions — check the funding page for current offers.

  • Loans & sponsorships — international students should check whether home country scholarships or employer sponsorships are available; the UoP pages list sponsorship/loan options.

 

Deadlines & admin (what to do and when)

  • Undergraduate scholarship application window — some internal deadlines are published (e.g. an undergrad scholarship application deadline was listed as 13 June 2025 for specific awards). Always verify the current year deadlines on the University’s scholarships pages.

  • PhD / research studentship calls — these have their own deadlines per project; monitor the PGR funding pages and departmental adverts.

Programs

Portsmouth, United Kingdom