Quick Answer
The University of Bristol acceptance rate is one you can calculate from the university's own numbers, because Bristol publishes its admissions statistics as a downloadable dataset by school, by study level and by fee status. Adding up its undergraduate rows for the 2022 cycle, the most recent it has published, gives 46,350 home and overseas applications and 26,345 offers, an offer rate of 57%.
- Typical offer: A*AA for Economics, Law, Computer Science, Psychology and most engineering, A*A*A for Mathematics, AAA for History, Politics, Accounting and Finance, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, AAB for English
- Acceptance rate: 57% of home and overseas undergraduate applications received an offer in the 2022 cycle, and 65% of overseas applications, both our sums of Bristol's published dataset. Overseas by school: Law 68%, Economics 65%, Management 41%, Medicine 6%
- Known for: a Russell Group red brick university founded in 1876 in the middle of the city of Bristol, with 30 subjects in the UK top ten and research quality ranked 4th in the country
- Tuition: £25,500 to £33,400 a year for the degrees on this page at 2026 entry, £41,900 for Veterinary Science, £45,800 for Medicine and £49,700 for Dentistry, with 2027 fees to be confirmed later in 2026
- Students: 31,132 in 2024/25 on Bristol's own figures, 10,903 of them international, and QS records 32% of them as international
- Applying: UCAS by 13 January 2027, or 15 October 2026 for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science. The UCAT is required for Medicine; no admissions test is listed for the other degrees on this page
Reviewed by Dr Elizabeth Adey for 2027 entry · Uni Direct team, 2026
The University of Bristol is the university international families name when they want a Russell Group degree in a city that is neither London nor a campus in a field, and it has one habit that makes it unusually easy to judge. It publishes its admissions statistics as a spreadsheet: every school, every study level, every fee status, applications, offers, acceptances and registrations, for six admissions cycles. So the acceptance rate on this page is not a figure a ranking site has guessed. It is arithmetic on Bristol's own rows, and you can download the same file and check it. Bristol sits on our guide to the best UK universities for international students as the English city university families most often weigh against the London options, and our guide to studying in the UK covers what every university on that list has in common.
Two cautions before the numbers. The most recent cycle in Bristol's dataset is 2022, and the university says on the same page that it does not recommend using the statistics as a guide to whether you might receive an offer. We agree with the second point and we publish the numbers anyway, because a family choosing between Bristol and a university that publishes nothing deserves to see the shape of the competition, school by school, and because the 2022 figures are the most recent honest ones there are.
161
of 208 · CUG 2027
78%
78.4 of 100 · CUG 2027
£25,500
Archaeology and Anthropology BA, 2026/27 entry. Computer Science MEng £33,400.
17th
of 130 · CUG 2027
78%
3.11 of 4 · CUG 2027
Sources: Complete University Guide 2027 and the university's own published fee pages, read 7 September 2026.
What is the University of Bristol acceptance rate?
The University of Bristol acceptance rate for the 2022 admissions cycle was an offer rate of 57% across home and overseas undergraduate applicants: adding up the undergraduate rows of Bristol's own admissions statistics dataset gives 46,350 applications and 26,345 offers. For overseas applicants the sum is 11,165 applications, 7,270 offers and 1,065 students who registered, an offer rate of 65%. For home applicants it was 35,185 applications, 19,075 offers and 3,565 registrations, 54%. Bristol publishes the dataset on its applicant statistics page as a CSV file with a row for every school, study level and applicant category, rounded to the nearest five in the way the Higher Education Statistics Agency rounds, and it states that the undergraduate data is accurate as at 1 December 2022 and that each cycle is named for the calendar year in which it ended. Every percentage in this section is our arithmetic on those rows, not a figure Bristol prints, and Bristol prints none.
The trend is the striking part. Overseas applications to Bristol almost doubled across the five cycles in the table below, from 5,850 in 2018 to 11,165 in 2022, while the overseas offer rate sat between 65% and 75% throughout. The home offer rate, by contrast, fell from 66% in 2021 to 54% in 2022. Bristol's own explanation, on the page it calls understanding our admissions statistics, is worth quoting because it is the clearest account of the mechanism we have read from a British university: "Whilst in the 2019 cycle the proportion of Home conditional firm offer holders that met the terms of their offer was approximately 45%, in the 2021 cycle this rate had risen to approximately 74%. This has led to a larger student body in 21/22". In plain terms, in 2021 far more offer holders met their conditions than usual, the university filled up, and it made fewer offers the following year. The same page states that "Recruiting 100 students, for example, is not as simple as issuing 100 offers", and says the statistics are published so that the public need not "wait for an FOI request to be fulfilled".
| Cycle | Home applications | Home offers | Home offer rate | Overseas applications | Overseas offers | Overseas offer rate | Overseas registered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 32,935 | 22,245 | 68% | 5,850 | 3,960 | 68% | 460 |
| 2019 | 34,435 | 23,875 | 69% | 6,355 | 4,645 | 73% | 590 |
| 2020 | 33,855 | 23,720 | 70% | 7,395 | 5,390 | 73% | 765 |
| 2021 | 34,920 | 23,220 | 66% | 10,365 | 7,765 | 75% | 930 |
| 2022 | 35,185 | 19,075 | 54% | 11,165 | 7,270 | 65% | 1,065 |
Below the university total, the school by school figures for overseas applicants are what an international family should actually read. The table shows the 2022 cycle for the schools that received the most overseas applications. Management received 2,080 overseas applications and made 845 offers, 41%, which makes it the most competitive of the three schools that received more than 1,000 overseas applications, and its home rate was lower still at 32%. Law made 595 offers from 875 overseas applications, 68%, against 28% for home applicants to the same school, a gap that tells you a great deal about where the pressure on places sits. The Medical School received 440 overseas applications and made 25 offers, 6%; the Dental School made 5 offers from 155, 3%, and Bristol's dataset records none of those five registering. Mathematics and Chemistry show more offers than applications in the overseas rows, which Bristol's rounding and its counting rules can produce, and we print no percentage for either.
| School | Overseas applications | Overseas offers | Overseas offer rate | Overseas registered | Home offer rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental School | 155 | 5 | 3% | 0 | 8% |
| Medical School | 440 | 25 | 6% | 10 | 19% |
| Veterinary School | 380 | 85 | 22% | 40 | 21% |
| Management | 2,080 | 845 | 41% | 185 | 32% |
| Accounting and Finance | 1,245 | 800 | 64% | 150 | 67% |
| Economics | 1,265 | 825 | 65% | 140 | 46% |
| Law | 875 | 595 | 68% | 160 | 28% |
| Humanities | 225 | 160 | 71% | 10 | 89% |
| Psychological Science | 465 | 330 | 71% | 30 | 36% |
| Policy Studies | 150 | 125 | 83% | 15 | Not calculated |
| Physics | 275 | 240 | 87% | 10 | 92% |
| Biochemistry | 335 | 295 | 88% | 20 | Not calculated |
| Biological Sciences | 290 | 255 | 88% | 20 | 74% |
| Cellular and Molecular Medicine | 545 | 515 | 94% | 30 | Not calculated |
| Mathematics | 785 | 850 | Not calculated | 110 | Not calculated |
| Chemistry | 255 | 255 | Not calculated | 20 | Not calculated |
University of Bristol, applicant statistics page and its overview admissions statistics CSV dataset, undergraduate rows for the 2018 to 2022 cycles, and the understanding our admissions statistics page, read 5 September 2026. Bristol rounds every count to the nearest five and states the undergraduate data is accurate as at 1 December 2022. Every percentage is our division of Bristol's offers by Bristol's applications; Bristol publishes the counts and no rates. The Cellular and Molecular Medicine school teaches science degrees and is not the medical degree.
What is the University of Bristol known for?
The University of Bristol is known for research strength across an unusually wide spread of subjects, for a city centre setting and for being one of the original red brick universities. Bristol's own history pages record that University College, Bristol opened at nine in the morning on Tuesday 10 October 1876 in rented premises at 32 Park Row, that the Bristol Medical School, created in 1833, was formally incorporated into the College in 1893, and that the Charter approved by King Edward VII came into effect on 24 May 1909. Its own facts and figures add that it was the first higher education institution in England to admit women on an equal basis to men, and it is named on the Russell Group's own list of member universities.
The Complete University Guide 2027 gives the clearest picture of where the strength lies. Bristol is 17th overall on a score of 774 out of 1,000, but its research quality is ranked 4th in the country at 3.51 out of 4, and it has 30 subjects in the UK top ten, among them General Engineering, Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, Biological Sciences, Geology, Geography, Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Law, Politics, History, Classics, Music, Marketing, Business and Management and Accounting and Finance, the last at 10th. Its entry standards score 161 UCAS points out of a maximum of 208, 17th in the country.
Internationally, QS places Bristol 57th in the world in its World University Rankings 2027 and records 496 programmes with 32% of students international. For a family weighing it against the London universities on this guide, the honest summary is that Bristol offers a comparable research reputation, a lower fee for the same subjects and a city of its own, and that the choice against London is about the city and the fee as much as the name.
What are the University of Bristol entry requirements for international students?
Bristol publishes two offers for every undergraduate course: a standard offer and a contextual offer, the second for applicants who meet its widening participation criteria, and its understanding our admissions statistics page states that the contextual offer is "currently up to two grades below the standard entry requirements" under a scheme that has run since 2009. The standard offer is the one to plan on. For 2027 entry it is A*AA for Economics, Law, Computer Science, Psychology, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and Physics, A*A*A for Mathematics, AAA for History, Politics and International Relations, Accounting and Finance, Chemistry, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, and AAB for English. Each course page states the required subjects and the International Baccalaureate equivalent, and each carries what Bristol calls an admissions statement setting out how the school selects, which is worth reading before you apply, because the offer rates in the tables above show how differently the schools behave. No admissions test is listed on any of the course pages below except the UCAT for Medicine.
| Degree | A level offer | Required subjects | International Baccalaureate | International fee, 2026 entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economics BSc | A*AA | Mathematics | 38 points with 18 at higher level, 6 in higher level Mathematics or 7 at standard level | £28,200 |
| Law LLB | A*AA or A*A*B | None specified | 38 with 18 at higher level | £25,500 |
| Computer Science BSc | A*AA | Mathematics at A* | 38 with 18 at higher level, 7 in higher level Mathematics | £33,400 |
| Mathematics BSc | A*A*A, or A*AA with Further Mathematics | Mathematics at A* and a second mathematical subject | 40 with 18 at higher level, 7 in higher level Mathematics | £31,300 |
| Mechanical Engineering BEng/MEng | A*AA | Mathematics at A* and one of Further Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Computer Science | 38 with 18 at higher level, 7 and 6 in the required subjects | £31,300 |
| Aerospace Engineering BEng/MEng | A*AA | Mathematics, with two of Further Mathematics, Physics or Chemistry preferred | 38 with 18 at higher level, 6 in higher level Mathematics | £33,400 |
| Engineering Mathematics BEng/MEng | AAA or A*AB | Mathematics at A | 36 with 18 at higher level, 6 in higher level Mathematics | £33,400 |
| Psychology BSc | A*AA | A in a science related subject | 38 with 18 at higher level, 6 in a higher level science | £33,400 |
| Accounting and Finance BSc | AAA or A*AB | Mathematics at A | 36 with 18 at higher level, including Mathematics | £28,200 |
| Accounting and Management BSc | AAA | None specified | 36 with 18 at higher level | £28,200 |
| Physics BSc/MSci | A*AA | Mathematics at A* and Physics at A | 38 with 18 at higher level, 7 and 6 in Mathematics and Physics | £31,300 |
| Chemistry BSc/MSci | AAA | Chemistry | 36 with 18 at higher level, 6 in higher level Chemistry | £31,300 |
| History BA | AAA | None specified | 36 with 18 at higher level | £28,200 |
| Politics and International Relations BSc | AAA | An essay based subject | 36 with 18 at higher level, 6 in a higher level essay subject | £25,500 |
| English BA | AAB | None specified | 34 with 17 at higher level | £28,200 |
| Veterinary Science BVSc, five years | AAA | Chemistry and one other science | 36 with 18 at higher level | £41,900 |
| Medicine MB ChB, five years | AAA | Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics | 36 with 18 at higher level, 6 and 6 in Chemistry and the second science | £45,800 |
| Dentistry BDS, five years | AAA | Chemistry and one other science | 36 with 18 at higher level | £49,700 |
University of Bristol undergraduate course pages for 2027 entry, read 5 September 2026. The offers are Bristol's standard offers; its contextual offers are typically one or two grades lower and depend on criteria set out on each course page. The fees are the figures each 2027 entry page currently shows, which Bristol states are "for 2026 entry only", that "Fees for 2027 will be confirmed, subject to government approval, later in 2026", and that international fees "increase annually in line with expected inflation rises".
What grades does the University of Bristol ask for in your own qualification?
Bristol publishes a page for every country setting out which school qualifications it accepts for direct entry and at what level, and the three below are the systems our enquiries most often come from. For India, Bristol states that "Typical offers for CBSE and CISCE range from 80% (equivalent to ABB at A-level) to 90% (equivalent to A*AA at A-level)", and that "CBSE or CISCE English at 70-80% or above can be accepted in lieu of another English test such as IELTS". For the United States, Bristol asks for a high school diploma with a grade point average of at least 3.2, or 3.4 for its competitive courses, plus three further qualifications drawn from a list that includes an SAT evidence based reading and writing score of 650 or above, an ACT of 28 or above, Advanced Placement tests at 4 and more commonly 5, honours or dual enrolment classes, higher level International Baccalaureate subjects and A levels, with any Mathematics requirement met by AP Calculus BC at grade 5. For China, Bristol asks for the Senior High School Graduation Diploma plus at least three Advanced Placement tests, normally at grade 5, or entry through its International Foundation Programme.
| System | Undergraduate entry | English language | Postgraduate entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| India, CBSE or CISCE Standard XII | 80% to 90% overall, equivalent to ABB to A*AA | CBSE or CISCE English at 70% to 80% or above accepted in place of IELTS | A bachelor degree equivalent to a UK upper second class degree |
| United States, high school diploma | GPA 3.2, or 3.4 for competitive courses, plus three of: SAT EBRW 650, ACT 28, AP at 4 or 5, AP or honours classes, dual enrolment, IB higher level, A levels | Published on the course page | A bachelor degree with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 for a 2:1 |
| China, Senior High School Graduation Diploma | The diploma plus at least three AP tests, normally at grade 5, with Calculus BC at 5 for any Mathematics requirement; or the International Foundation Programme | Published on the course page | A four year bachelor degree from an accepted Chinese university at 78% to 87%, depending on the university and the programme |
University of Bristol international pages for India, the United States of America and China, read 5 September 2026. Bristol's College Board code for sending SAT and AP scores is 5371. Bristol publishes a page for every country; the three shown are the ones our enquiries most often come from.
Bristol's own dataset shows the same predicted grades facing a two in three offer rate in one school and about one in thirty in another, and the country page for your system decides whether you can apply directly at all. Send us your predicted grades, your board or system and the Bristol degrees you are weighing, and we will tell you which school you are really applying to, what its overseas offer rate was in Bristol's most recent data, and where a second choice would be realistic.
Is the University of Bristol a campus university, and where is it?
The University of Bristol is a city university rather than a campus university. Its buildings are concentrated in the centre of the city, and Bristol's own facts and figures record its capital investment in the Clifton campus and the new Temple Quarter campus. The Wills Memorial Building at the top of Park Street, in the photograph above, is the building most people picture when they think of it. The university's own accommodation page for 2026/27 lists 108 undergraduate residence and room types, from twin rooms to one bedroom flats, and our sum of the beds it lists is 7,390.
Bristol states that its accommodation costs are "fixed for each tenancy" and include bills. The weekly rent for 2026/27 runs from £136.50 for a twin catered room at Clifton Hill House, or a twin self catered room with a sink at Manor Hall at £5,187 for 38 weeks, to £322 for a one bedroom flat at Wills Hall at £12,236 for the year. The cheapest single self catered room is in the Campus Houses at £148.19 a week, £5,631.22 for the tenancy, and the cheapest single catered room is at Clifton Hill House at £150.64 a week, £5,724.32. A catered room adds, in Bristol's words, "£2,731.06 per year for catering (around £72 per week)" for two meals a day during term time. Tenancies run for 38, 39 or 42 weeks. We did not find a published accommodation guarantee for international first years on the pages we read, so ask the university directly before you rely on a room.
Can an international student study medicine at the University of Bristol?
Yes, and Bristol's own dataset shows how narrow the door is: in the 2022 cycle the Medical School received 440 overseas undergraduate applications and made 25 offers, an offer rate of 6% by our arithmetic, and 10 of those applicants registered. The five year MB ChB asks for AAA at A level with Chemistry and one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics, or 36 International Baccalaureate points with 18 at higher level including 6 in Chemistry and 6 in the second science, and the contextual offer is ABB. Every applicant sits the UCAT in the year of application, and Bristol is unusually open about how it uses it. Its course page states that "The combined score from all subtests, with the exception of Situational Judgement, will be used to select applicants for interview", and that "For 2026 entry, the final UCAT threshold score to be invited to interview was 2240 for Home applicants and 2270 for Overseas applicants". Interviews run from November to April. Bristol states that work experience is encouraged but not required, and that graduate applicants need a 2:1. The international fee at 2026 entry is £45,800 a year, the English requirement is IELTS 7.5 overall with no component below 7.0, and the UCAS deadline is 15 October 2026, three months before the main deadline. Medicine is one section of this page and not a service we sell; if it is your course, the honest first step is to check whether your school qualification meets the Chemistry requirement for your country, and we can do that with you.
University of Bristol, applicant statistics dataset, 2022 cycle, Medical School undergraduate rows; the MB ChB Medicine course page for 2027 entry with its admissions statement; the accommodation cost by residence page for 2026/27; UCAS dates for 2027 entry; and the University of Bristol's own facts and figures for the campuses, all read 8 September 2026.
What does the University of Bristol ask for a masters?
Postgraduates are 26% of Bristol's students in the Complete University Guide's HESA figures, about a quarter of the university, and for many international applicants a one year taught masters is the realistic route to a Bristol degree. The university sets its requirements programme by programme and the pattern is the British upper second class degree or its international equivalent, with the quantitative programmes specifying the subject. The MSc Finance and Investment asks for a 2:1 in a quantitative subject, the MSc Accounting and Finance for a 2:1 in accounting or finance, the MSc Economics for a 2:1 in a quantitative subject, and the MSc Data Science for a 2:1 with at least 65% in a numerate science, computer science or engineering degree. The MSc Computer Science conversion programme asks for a 2:1 in any subject other than computer science, and the MSc Management, MSc Marketing and MSc International Relations accept a 2:1 in any discipline. The LLM in General Legal Studies asks for a 2:1 in law. Bristol's country pages translate the 2:1 for you: an Indian bachelor degree equivalent to a UK 2:1, a cumulative GPA of 3.3 from the United States, and 78% to 87% from an accepted Chinese university depending on the institution and the programme.
Postgraduate fees are published on each programme page for 2026 entry, with the statement that fees "are subject to an annual review". MSc Finance and Investment and MSc Accounting and Finance are £39,000, MSc Computer Science conversion £36,600, MSc Data Science £36,500, MSc Management, MSc Management with International Business and MSc Marketing £33,900, MSc International Relations £30,400, and MSc Economics and the LLM £29,400. The overseas application deadline for the MSc Finance and Investment for 2026 entry was 13 August 2026, and it is one to check for 2027. Add Bristol's own living estimate for a postgraduate of £1,862 a month for twelve months, £22,344, and a one year masters at Bristol costs from about £51,700 for the LLM or MSc Economics to about £61,300 for MSc Finance and Investment before flights and the visa, which is our arithmetic on Bristol's fee and its living figure. Our page on how to study in the UK covers the postgraduate route from first enquiry to arrival.
University of Bristol postgraduate taught programme pages for 2026 entry named above, the international pages for India, the United States of America and China, and the University of Bristol cost of living page with its 2025/26 survey averages, all read 5 September 2026. The masters totals are our arithmetic.
How much does the University of Bristol cost for international students?
Bristol sets its international fee course by course rather than in two or three bands, so the honest answer is a range. At 2026 entry, which is the figure every 2027 entry course page currently shows, Law and Politics and International Relations are £25,500 a year, Economics, History, English, Accounting and Finance and Accounting and Management are £28,200, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering are £31,300, Computer Science, Psychology, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mathematics are £33,400, Veterinary Science is £41,900, Medicine £45,800 and Dentistry £49,700. Bristol states plainly that these fees are for 2026 entry only, that 2027 fees will be confirmed subject to government approval later in 2026, and that international fees "increase annually in line with expected inflation rises", so unlike Edinburgh's fixed fee the figure in your first year is not the figure in your third. A home student pays £9,790.
| Cost | Published figure | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition, Law, Politics and International Relations | £25,500 a year, rising annually | Bristol course pages, 2026 entry |
| Tuition, Economics, History, English, Accounting and Finance | £28,200 a year, rising annually | Bristol course pages, 2026 entry |
| Tuition, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering | £31,300 a year, rising annually | Bristol course pages, 2026 entry |
| Tuition, Computer Science, Psychology, Aerospace Engineering | £33,400 a year, rising annually | Bristol course pages, 2026 entry |
| Tuition, Medicine MB ChB | £45,800 a year, rising annually | Bristol course page, 2026 entry |
| Living costs, Bristol's own undergraduate survey average | £1,401 a month, of which rent £775.78, food and household shopping £173.85, utilities £40.64, public transport £34.82 | Bristol cost of living page, 2025/26 survey |
| Living costs, Bristol's postgraduate survey average | £1,862 a month | Bristol cost of living page, 2025/26 survey |
| University accommodation, weekly rent with bills | £136.50 for a twin room to £322 for a one bedroom flat; cheapest single room £148.19 | Bristol cost by residence page, 2026/27 |
| University catered accommodation, catering charge | £2,731.06 a year, around £72 a week, for two meals a day in term | Bristol cost by residence page, 2026/27 |
| Money to show for the visa | £1,171 a month for up to nine months, £10,539 | GOV.UK Student visa, outside London |
| Immigration health surcharge | £776 a year | GOV.UK |
| Visa application fee | £558 | GOV.UK |
University of Bristol undergraduate course pages for 2027 entry carrying 2026 entry fees, the university's cost of living page with its 2025/26 student survey averages, the accommodation cost by residence page for 2026/27, and GOV.UK on the Student visa and the immigration health surcharge, all read 5 September 2026. Every figure in pounds sterling. Bristol's living costs are averages reported by its own students in a survey, not a university estimate of what you should budget.
Taking nine months of Bristol's £1,401 living average, £12,609, and adding the tuition gives about £40,800 for a first year of Economics, about £38,100 for Law and about £46,000 for Computer Science or Psychology, before flights and the visa, and before the annual fee rise Bristol tells you to expect. Those are our sums on Bristol's figures. The rent figure inside the living average, £775.78 a month, is worth comparing with the university room prices above, because a single self catered university room at £148.19 a week is about £642 a month, which is our arithmetic and which may mean that many of the students surveyed were renting privately. Our cost of living page has the comparison with the rest of the country, and if the total is the sticking point the cheapest universities in the UK page is the honest next read.
Scholarships for international students at the University of Bristol
Bristol has a real undergraduate scholarship for international students, which not every university on this guide can say. Think Big is, in Bristol's words, "the University of Bristol's flagship scholarship scheme", and its scholarships page states that the university "invested up to £5 million in Think Big scholarships" in 2026. The undergraduate awards are worth £6,500 and £13,000 a year "for up to four years of study", and the postgraduate awards are £6,500, £13,000 or £26,000 towards the first year of a masters, with a separate Career Accelerator award of £3,000. Think Big is for applicants with overseas fee status, and there is one application form for all the awards. Applications for 2026 entry closed on 10 April 2026 at 10am, so an applicant for 2027 should expect a spring deadline and check the page early in the year. Bristol's international pages also list the GREAT scholarships and Chevening for masters students, and its India page lists the Zutshi-Smith scholarship. A family should still budget on the full fee, because we did not find a published count of how many Think Big awards Bristol makes.
University of Bristol, international scholarships page and its Think Big scholarships pages, and the international page for India, read 5 September 2026. Check the 2027 conditions and deadline before you rely on them.
What English language level does the University of Bristol require?
Bristol sets its English language requirement course by course, using lettered profiles, and the level rises with how much reading and writing the degree demands. Economics and Accounting and Finance ask for IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with 7.0 in reading and listening and no component below 6.0. Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and the engineering degrees ask for 6.5 overall with no component below 6.0, and Politics and International Relations for 6.5 with no component below 6.5. Law, Psychology and History ask for 7.0 overall with 7.0 in writing and 6.5 in the other components, Veterinary Science for 7.0 with 7.0 in writing, and English, Medicine and Dentistry for 7.5 overall with no component below 7.0. Bristol's India page states that CBSE or CISCE English at 70% to 80% or above can be accepted instead of a test, and each course page names the other qualifications and tests accepted for its profile.
| Degree | IELTS Academic |
|---|---|
| Economics, Accounting and Finance | 6.5 overall, 7.0 in reading and listening, no component below 6.0 |
| Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering | 6.5 overall, no component below 6.0 |
| Politics and International Relations | 6.5 overall, no component below 6.5 |
| Law, Psychology, History | 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing, 6.5 in the other components |
| Veterinary Science | 7.0 overall, 7.0 in writing |
| English, Medicine, Dentistry | 7.5 overall, no component below 7.0 |
University of Bristol undergraduate course pages for 2027 entry, read 5 September 2026. IELTS is not the only route: see our page on studying in the UK without IELTS.
What is the University of Bristol like as a place to study?
Bristol is a city university of medium size with a strong research reputation and a student body that is one third international. Bristol's own facts and figures give 31,132 students in 2024/25, of whom 10,903 are international; the Complete University Guide's HESA figures make 74% of them undergraduates, with 31% of students from outside the European Union and a further 2% from within it, and QS puts the international share at 32%. The university's buildings are threaded through the centre of the city rather than set apart from it, its halls sit mostly in Clifton, and its own accommodation list runs from a £136.50 twin room to a £322 flat, so a student can choose how much of the budget goes on the room. Bristol's dataset shows 1,065 overseas undergraduates registering in the 2022 cycle, which is a large enough intake that you will not be the only student from your country and small enough that you will not disappear.
Reputation and reported experience diverge here as they do at the other large research universities on this guide, and Bristol's own numbers show it. The Complete University Guide 2027 places Bristol 17th overall and 4th for research quality but 99th for student satisfaction, on a score of 3.11 out of 4, and 36th for graduate outcomes at 78.4 out of 100. A family should know that gap before applying. Students who thrive at Bristol tend to be the ones who chose the subject and the city, who read the admissions statement for their school before applying rather than the university wide figure, and who treated the city as part of the education. Students who wanted a compact campus where everything is a five minute walk find a city university harder work.
Elizabeth's view
Bristol is the university I suggest to families who want a Russell Group name with real research depth and have already decided that London is too expensive or too big. What I value most about it is the spreadsheet. Bristol publishes its admissions data as a spreadsheet you can open yourself, school by school and by fee status, and when a family sits with me and we look at the Law row or the Management row together, the conversation changes from hope to planning. The number I make every family look at is not the 65% overseas offer rate but the row for their own school, because 41% for Management and 88% for Biological Sciences are not the same university from the applicant's chair. I would not choose Bristol for a student who wants a fixed fee for the whole degree, because Bristol tells you the fee will rise every year, or for a student who wants a single enclosed campus. I would choose it for a student with strong grades in a science or in law who wants a real city, a lower fee than London and a university that tells you the truth about its own admissions, and for that student it is among the two or three best choices in England.
Frequently asked questions about the University of Bristol
How many students are at the University of Bristol?
Bristol's own facts and figures give 31,132 students in 2024/25 and 10,903 international students; the Complete University Guide's HESA figures split them 74% undergraduate to 26% postgraduate, with 31% of students from outside the European Union and 2% from within it. QS records 32% of Bristol's students as international, and Bristol's own admissions dataset shows 1,065 overseas undergraduates registering in the 2022 cycle.
Is the University of Bristol in the Russell Group?
Yes. The University of Bristol is named on the Russell Group's own list of member universities, and the Complete University Guide 2027 ranks its research quality 4th in the country. Our page on Russell Group universities explains what membership does and does not tell you.
How old is the University of Bristol?
Bristol's own history pages record that University College, Bristol opened on 10 October 1876 and that its Charter came into effect on 24 May 1909, so it has been a university for well over a century. The Bristol Medical School is older still, dating from 1833 and merging into the college in 1893.
Is the University of Bristol a red brick university?
Yes. The University of Bristol is one of the civic universities founded in the industrial cities of England in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which is what the red brick label describes. Its best known building, the Wills Memorial Building at the top of Park Street, is a Gothic revival tower rather than red brick, so the label is about the university's history and not its stone.
The one thing Bristol publishes that most universities do not
Its admissions statistics as a downloadable dataset. Bristol's applicant statistics page carries a CSV file with a row for every school, study level and applicant category, giving applications, offers, contextual offers, unconditional offers, acceptances and registrations for the 2017 to 2022 cycles. An international family can see that overseas applicants to Law had a 68% offer rate and to the Medical School 6%, and that the home rate for Law was 28%, without guessing from a single university wide figure. The University of Manchester refused a request for figures of this kind; Bristol publishes them so that nobody needs to ask.
Is the University of Bristol good for medicine?
Bristol's Medicine is in the UK top ten in the Complete University Guide 2027, and its Medical School is one of the hardest at the university to enter: 25 offers from 440 overseas applications in the 2022 cycle, 6% by our arithmetic, and 395 from 2,055 home applications, 19%. The MB ChB asks for AAA with Chemistry and a second science, a UCAT score above a threshold that was 2270 for overseas applicants for 2026 entry, an interview between November and April, and a fee of £45,800 a year at 2026 entry.
Is the University of Bristol a top ten university in the UK?
Not on the overall table: the Complete University Guide 2027 places Bristol 17th, on a score of 774 out of 1,000, and QS places it 57th in the world in its World University Rankings 2027. It is a top ten university for research quality, 4th in the country, and for 30 individual subjects including Law, Medicine, Mathematics, Chemistry and most branches of engineering. Whether it counts as prestigious depends on which of those tables you read, and the subject tables are the ones that predict your own experience.
Is the University of Bristol good for law?
Bristol's Law is in the UK top ten in the Complete University Guide 2027, and its own dataset shows the demand: the Law school received 875 overseas applications in the 2022 cycle and made 595 offers, 68%, against 660 offers from 2,360 home applications, 28%. The LLB asks for A*AA or A*A*B with no admissions test listed, IELTS 7.0 with 7.0 in writing, and £25,500 a year at 2026 entry, the lowest fee on this page, shared with Politics and International Relations. Bristol states that the LLB is recognised by the Bar Council of India. Our page on the best law universities in the UK sets Bristol beside its rivals.
Is the University of Bristol a target university for employers?
Its standing suggests so: 57th in the world by QS in 2027, entry standards 17th in the UK at 161 UCAS points, and research quality 4th in the Complete University Guide 2027, though its graduate outcomes score is 36th at 78.4 out of 100. Bristol publishes no recruiter list and neither do we, so treat any named list of firms elsewhere as unsourced.
The next step
If Bristol is on your list, the useful next move is to download Bristol's admissions statistics file, find the row for your school and the overseas applicant category, read the offers against the applications, then open the course page for the standard offer, the required subjects, the admissions statement and the English profile, and decide whether a fee that rises each year fits your family's plan. For a Scottish alternative with a fixed fee and published rates by selection area, see the University of Edinburgh; for a London university with data by department, UCL; for a collegiate university that also publishes its acceptance rates, Durham University; for a campus degree at similar grades, the University of Warwick; and for a large civic university that publishes no rate at all, the University of Manchester. The visa rules are on our Student visa page. We are not a visa agency: we set out the published rules, point you at GOV.UK, and work with partners we pass people to where an application needs professional handling.
Sources, all read 5 September 2026: University of Bristol, applicant statistics page and its overview admissions statistics CSV dataset for the 2017 to 2022 cycles, and the understanding our admissions statistics page · University of Bristol undergraduate course pages for 2027 entry for Economics, Law, Computer Science, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Mathematics, Psychology, Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Management, Physics, Chemistry, History, Politics and International Relations, English, Veterinary Science, Medicine MB ChB and Dentistry, each carrying its 2026 entry fee · University of Bristol postgraduate taught pages for 2026 entry for Finance and Investment, Accounting and Finance, Computer Science conversion, Data Science, Management, Management with International Business, Marketing, International Relations, Economics and the LLM · University of Bristol international pages for India, the United States of America and China, the international scholarships and Think Big pages, the cost of living page with its 2025/26 survey, and the accommodation cost by residence page for 2026/27 · the Complete University Guide, University League Table 2027 and its Bristol profile · QS World University Rankings 2027 and the QS profile of Bristol, as reported by QS · UCAS, dates and deadlines for 2027 entry · GOV.UK, Student visa and immigration health surcharge · the University of Bristol's own History of the University, Facts and figures and Nobel Prizes and Fellowships pages, for the founding dates, the 2024/25 student count, the campuses and the Nobel laureates · the Russell Group's own list of its member universities. Every figure on this page is in pounds sterling. Every offer rate, the bed count, the monthly room equivalent and the first year and masters totals are our arithmetic on Bristol's published numbers; Bristol publishes counts and no rates.
Next review: when Bristol adds the 2023 or later cycles to its admissions dataset, when it confirms its 2027 entry fees later in 2026, and before 13 January 2027.
What to do next
- Best UK universitiesThe guide this page sits in, covering the ranked institutions and the specialists
- University of DurhamAnother Russell Group university in England
- Imperial College LondonAnother Russell Group university in England
- King’s College LondonAnother Russell Group university in England
- University of the West of England, BristolAlso in Bristol