Aston Triangle
Birmingham B4 7ET

Tel 0121 204 3000

ugenquiries@aston.ac.uk

www.aston.ac.uk

Sunday Times ranking 32 (33)

Teaching excellence 61.5%

Student satisfaction 75.5%

Head teacher ranking 19 (38=)

Peer ranking 54 (65)

Research quality 55.4%

A/AS-level points 359

A-levels for entry 82%

Unemployment 5.6%

Firsts and 2:1s 62%

Student/staff ratio 14.3:1

Dropout rate 10% (12%)

Undergraduates 6,235 (270)

Postgraduates 1,155 (1,257)

Teaching staff 370

Applications/places 14,310/2,241; 6.4:1 (+6.1%)

Clearing entry 9%

Bursaries 30%: £50-£750

Scholarships Variable: £500-£750

EU/overseas 3.6%/14.2%

Mature 12.6%

State school 89%

Lowest social classes 35%

Low-participation areas 14%

Live in 40% (100%) £62-£97

Aston’s campus lies in the heart of Birmingham, a green oasis of learning set amid a suddenly fashionable city centre. It also happens to be one of the most “successful” universities in the UK. Success can be defined any number of ways but could include: producing graduates in demand with leading national and international employers (Aston has one of the highest graduate employment rates in the UK); having 70% of students follow subjects in which the teaching has been rated excellent; having a low dropout rate; and drawing students from a broad range of backgrounds that includes more than a third from working-class families.

The university’s success in getting students into graduate-level jobs (81%) is due in no small part to its extensive programme of sandwich and language courses (taken by 70% of students). More than 700 companies offer 1,000 work placements annually, during which students earn about £14,000 on average; 200 businesses – many of them high street names – visit Aston to recruit final-year students.

Uniquely, Aston supports those on their sandwich year with a £1,000 bursary if the placement takes place in the UK, rising to £1,500 if it is abroad. This distinctive approach to student financial support extends across Aston’s bursary and scholarship provision. The one-third on state maintenance grants get between a £50 and £750 top-up from the university, but many also get non-means-tested subject awards.

With a compact campus that houses all first-years, Aston has a reputation as a friendly university. It came sixth out of 120 institutions for friendliness in a Friends Reunited poll of graduates. And with one in five students now recruited from overseas, Aston has a worldwide reputation others struggle to match.

Open days Contact the university.

Student view Dildeep Rehal, students’ guild president:

USP Our single campus, where you get to know everyone.

Worst feature The university is being renovated.

Location Everything is on your doorstep.

Social scene Birmingham has lots to offer.

Rated excellent (8) Business and management; French; German; molecular biosciences; organismal biosciences; pharmacology and pharmacy; psychology; subjects allied to medicine (optometry).

Degree of student satisfaction 75.5%

Other subjects allied to Medicine 84.2; European Languages and Area studies 83.6; Business 79.5; Politics 75.5; Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 72.9; Medical Science and Pharmacy 71.3; Biology and related Sciences 70.5; Computer Science 70.0; Psychology 67.9; Mechanically-based Engineering 65.2

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