Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, United Kingdom
Career Counselling
The University of Glasgow is located in Scotland and is a highly ranked institution of higher learning in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1451, the University has grown rapidly, and is now home to almost 21,000 undergraduates and 15,000 postgraduate students.
All academic and research activity at the University is organised into four Schools: Arts, Medical, Veterinary, & Life Sciences, Science & Engineering, and Social Sciences. These have a total of 25 Schools within them; interdisciplinary research between schools is a major ...
| Establishment year | 1451 |
| Total Students | 36,450 |
| International Students | ~5,500 |
| QS World University Rankings 2024 | =76 |
| Campus Size | N/A |
| Total Number of Campuses | 3 (Gilmorehill, Garscube, Dumfries) |
| University Website | https://www.gla.ac.uk/ |
| No. of Schools and Divisions | 4 Colleges (Arts, Medical, Veterinary, & Life Sciences, Science & Engineering, Social Sciences), with 25 Schools within |
| Nobel Prize Winner Alumni | 7 |
| No. of Education Programs | 120 (undergraduate), 296 (postgraduate) |
| Student to Faculty ratio | 7.4:1 |
The University of Glasgow has three kinds of course programmes: undergraduate, postgraduate research, and postgraduate taught. All this activity takes place through 4 Colleges:
The University of Glasgow is highly selective, and has strict entry standards. As measured by the average UCAS tariff score of undergraduates entering the university in 2022-23, it ranked fourth in the United Kingdom, ahead of the University of Oxford.
Any undergraduate applicant can check the specific entry requirements for each course on the relevant course page on the website, where required subjects and minimum grades are listed. Some courses may have additional requirements, e.g. interviews, tests, or auditions, and occasionally programmes must be completed before admission. The grade cutoffs for each course can be translated into the equivalents for different curricula and boards of education using the international student information webpage.
Postgraduate applicants need to display excellence in undergraduate study (typically translated, in most courses, as an Upper Second Class degree or above, or its equivalent for international students). The exact requirements vary from course to course and can be found on the programme webpages. In addition, proficiency in English is a key factor for students whose native language is not English. For this, IELTS scores or a Certificate of Proficiency in English must be submitted. TOEFL scores are not accepted at the University of Glasgow.
Certain PG courses have implicit eligibility criteria. e.g. programs in the Adam Smith Business School primarily admit candidates with 2-4 years of work experience, though this is not a compulsory criterion.
The undergraduate application process at the University of Glasgow is significantly more flexible than at other elite universities in the UK. International students can apply to most courses (excluding Dentistry and Medicine) latest by June 30 of the year in which they seek admission (though students located in the United Kingdom still have to apply by the usual January 26 deadline). However, applying earlier is recommended for equal consideration. Teacher Assessed Grades can be used as an interim solution in case academic transcripts are not yet ready, and many Schools (e.g. within Arts, Engineering, and Social Science) allow students to apply through The Common App, which is the most popular online portal to apply to universities in the USA. However, UCAS is still the gold standard, and is the website through which a majority of UK and international students apply to the University of Glasgow.
UG candidates submit their application through UCAS or The Common App; this typically consists of academic records, supporting materials, a Statement of Purpose, and one academic reference.
Postgraduate applicants need to fill out an Online Application form on the webpage of the course that they are interested in. As part of the process, five materials need to be uploaded within this form:
The University portal provides the facility to check the status of a completed application; deadlines and offer timelines vary according to the school and the course.
The tuition fees at the University of Glasgow are in line with those charged by other top colleges in the UK.
Undergraduate students pay different fees depending on their country of origin (home or international) and on the College they are joining. For international students, annual tuition fees for courses within the Colleges of Art and Social Sciences are currently fixed at £23,520. Most courses within the College of Science and Engineering charge £27,930 annually. The highest fees are charged by the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, with the cost going up to £53,460 for clinical UG programmes.
Postgraduate tuition fees vary widely by course, even within a particular College or School. The highest tuition fees are £46,800 for the MSc in Dental Sciences.
Living costs include non-tuition fees like accommodation, travel, personal items, and students’ union membership costs: The university recommends budgeting an annual average of £11,200 - £15,300 for living costs. These can be added to the relevant tuition fees to obtain an annual education expense rate for any student at the university.
The main campus of the University is located at Gilmorehill, close to the city centre of Glasgow. This is the academic and research hub, containing the main building and most departmental facilities. There are two other campuses: the Garscube campus contains some medical and veterinary academic areas, and most of the outdoor sports activities of the University take place here. Finally, the Dumfries Campus is located some distance from the city, and contains the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, surrounded by 85 acres of lush gardens and parks.
The University of Glasgow has had a long tradition of sporting excellence - for example, the current Chancellor of the University, Dame Katherine Grainger, has won five Olympic medals and six World Championships. Sports activities at the University are organised through 50 clubs, with more than 4,000 members taking part. Students can train in Aikido and Weightlifting, in Skydiving and Cricket, in Karate and Sailing.
The UofG sport app is also the hub to coordinate fitness activities and find online resources to manage physical and mental health, available to all members of the University community. It provides tips and advice on cardiovascular workouts, strength & conditioning workouts, nutrition, and mindfulness. Innovative programmes like the Desk to 3K initiative, where people with sedentary lifestyles are trained in how to get ready for three kilometre runs in 8 weeks, and the University Spotify, filled with tracks to accompany daily workouts, make the journey to peak fitness a social one, filled with fun and interest. Gym and swimming pool memberships are available through the app, and are very popular with all students.
Glasgow Careers coordinates all placement and internship activity at the University. It creates a long term career mindset by encouraging students to book sessions to plan their goals, and organising Careers Masterclasses throughout the year. It contains helpful resources on CV creation, interview advice, and career selection. It is the destination for those who are looking for part-time work to supplement their scholarships on campus, and for those who are approaching their final year and are looking to secure long-term employment or apply for further education.
For full time job opportunities for students graduating soon, candidates are encouraged to log in to the Careers page, and search for employers who match their interest, experience, and qualifications. This service can also be used by students within two years after they graduate; the University takes care of its people even when they are no longer enrolled in an academic programme.
For undergraduates, a large number of scholarships and bursaries are only available to students from the UK who might face financial difficulties. There are also scholarships available exclusively to students from the EU: the EU Welcome Award entails a £5,000 reduction in the annual tuition fee. The flagship scholarship for international and EU students is the Undergraduate Excellence Scholarship: this entails a tuition fee reduction of £7,000 per year, and qualifying criteria can be found on the University site. All students - home or international - can find details of scholarships available to them by using the filtered search function available on the relevant webpage.
Postgraduates have access to similar scholarships as UG students. EU PG students who are highly qualified can apply for the Vice Chancellor EU Award; this gives a tuition fee relief of £8,000-£12,000. Every EU student entering a postgraduate course at the university gets an automatic £5,000 tuition fee reduction under the EU Welcome Award.
Uniquely among the top universities in the UK, Glasgow offers a very large number of academic, sports, and music awards to supplement scholarships and awards; the full list of the 100+ awards can be found on the relevant webpage.
