Best Campus universities in the UK 2023

CONTENTS

1. What is a campus university?

2. What is a city university?

3. Campus university vs. City university

4. Top campus universities in the UK

5. Universities with best student life

What is a campus university?

A campus university is usually located at the edge or out of a city or town. The buildings and facilities are generally all within walking distance of each other and are custom-built for students. The grounds are maintained by the university.  

What is a city university?

A city university is usually located within a city or town centre enabling students to live and work around the centre. City universities will maintain their buildings and immediate surroundings but not the wider area.  

Campus university vs. City university

There are pros and cons to both campus and city university life. A campus university offers everything in one location. There’s usually a strong sense of community and being out of the city centre, it will be easier to get some peace and quiet and have more green space. However, the convenience it offers means you’ll be out of town, so further away from other facilities. This might limit your options particularly on a night out and takes more effort to get off campus and explore.  

A city university will give you an eclectic mix of people and lots going on around you that you can dive into including more vibrant nightlife options. Depending on the city you live in, you might have less access to green space and you’ll need to build your own student community off campus. You’ll probably need to travel further to get to your university, costing you time and money.  

Top campus universities in the UK

The top ten campus universities in the UK according to our 2023 university rankings are:  

1. Loughborough University   

2. University of Bath   

3. University of Warwick  

4. Lancaster University   

5. University of Southampton   

6. University of Birmingham   

7. University of Leeds   

8. University of Surrey   

9. University of Exeter 

10. University of York  

Universities with best student life

It’s not easy to compile a list of universities with the best student life as everyone will want and need slightly different things from their student experience. However, the Whatuni Student Choice Awards, which is solely driven by student reviews, saw the University of Leeds, Birmingham, Bath, and Loughborough all appear in their top 20 for best student life in 2022. 

Loughborough university also topped the Whatuni Student Choice award for best facilities which also included the University of Birmingham and the University of Bath in its top 20.  

The University of Exeter and Lancaster University joined Loughborough and the University of Birmingham in the top 20 universities for facilities spend in 2023.  

It’s also worth noting that all ten top campus universities featured in this list were ranked in the top 20 for best universities overall in the UK according to our league tables.