Durham University

By ALASTAIR MCCALL, DAILY MAIL UNIVERSITY GUIDE EDITOR Published: 13:07, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 13:07, 12 August 2026 Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Durham is one of the UK's fastest-growing universities, with UK admissions increasing by more than 50% in the past two years. Applications in September 2025 were up by a more modest 9.5% compared to two years before, all of which has cut competition for places from more than 7:1 in 2023 closer to 5.5:1 now. Set in a pretty - but small - cathedral city, the university has long been a plum destination. Particularly so in London and the South East, from which 37% of admissions came last year with a similar proportion drawn from private schools. Durham is striving to diversify this intake, with several scholarships reserved for students from the North East. Its Next Gen Durham and Destination Durham initiatives work with local secondary school children to boost applications, while the Asian Access Pilot is designed to generate more from children of Asian heritage in areas with low take-up of higher education. Undergraduates are allocated to one of 16 colleges, which are social rather than academic groupings. They are grouped in two locations: the modern Hill colleges to the south of the city centre, and the Bailey colleges located in largely historic premises in the centre, with University College in Durham Castle the most sought-after destination. Trevelyan, one of the Hill colleges, has just had a major refurbishment of several of its distinctive hexagonal accommodation blocks, and a £1m project has upgraded audio-visual equipment and refurbished multiple teaching rooms across the university. A similar sum has been spent remodelling laboratories in the department of biosciences. Durham's well-respected Business School moved to new riverside premises two years ago. The university is a strong all-rounder, with the arts, sciences and social sciences to the fore and its graduates fare well in the jobs market even in today's straitened times. Your browser does not support iframes. Student financial support is extensive and about one in three UK and international students benefit. The main Durham Undergraduate Bursary is worth £2,721 in each year of study to those from homes with less than £30,000 annual income. So far, so normal, but a high income eligibility threshold makes this one of the most generous bursary schemes out there, offering support to students from homes with annual income up to £62,410. At this level and down to a household income of £47,201, an annual bursary of £714 is paid. From £47,200 down to £30,000, payments rise on a sliding scale from £851 to £2,720, at which point the top rate kicks in. In the 2025-26 academic year, about 3,700 students qualified for support across the three bands. There are several bursaries and scholarships reserved for the growing number of recruits from North East England, who accounted for just over 10% of admissions in September 2025. A Destination Durham bursary is paid to North East students from backgrounds that are under-represented in higher education. Working in tandem with the Durham Undergraduate Bursary, it tops up the payment of the latter to the maximum sum of £2,721 for Destination Durham students from homes with income as high as £47,200. Several others (including the Durham Inspired North East, Keep Making History North East, Fiona Hill and Glaister Northern scholarships) are open to students from homes with an annual income of less than £42,875. A hardship fund for those with unexpected financial difficulties paid out a modest £68,000 last year - a tiny proportion of the overall £8.3m spent on student financial support. Between all 17 colleges, Durham has 7,358 catered and self-catered places in accommodation. Self-catered prices for the 2026-27 academic year range between £7,217 and £11,631 for 39-week contracts. Many - but not all - colleges offer catered accommodation on 39-week contracts (with meals provided for the 30 term-time weeks) costing from £9,810 to £12,020. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Admissions, teaching and student support Durham is one of 26 universities to have been awarded the University Mental Health Charter award by Student Minds. The mental health charity praised the university's holistic approach to the issue, resource allocation, and 'outstanding initiatives which demonstrate excellent practice'. A matrix model of support spans colleges, departments and centrally run professional support services. An elaborate case management system ensures that students should not have to tell their story more than once, regardless of where the first point of contact is made. This is often in the 16 undergraduate colleges, which each have a student support office. Some colleges deploy voluntary pastoral tutors as part of building supportive communities. Academic departments also have student support officers and since 2024 all student-facing staff must undertake mandatory learning on the support available at Durham and on suicide awareness in a university context. With over 5,000 students disclosing a disability - 23% of the student body - one of the more elaborate support operations is kept busy. And Durham is seeking further social diversification going forward. A contextual offer scheme typically reduces standard entry requirements by two A-level grades, the main criterion being having received free school meals. Meeting two of the following criteria can also trigger a contextual offer: attending a state school, living in a postcode among the 40% from which fewest progress to higher education, living in an Acorn 5 or 6 postcode, being care-experienced or being estranged from parents. One in four of the September 2025 entry cohort held contextual offers.