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Study at Bournemouth University

Poole, Bournemouth

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Campus buildings at Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus — Photo: Tom Morris, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Location: Poole, Bournemouth
Founded: 1992 (university status; origins in the early 1900s)
Students: about 17,000, including over 3,000 international students (16,860 in 2024/25)
Type: Public university
Main intakes: September, January
Study levels: Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Research

Bournemouth University is a public university on the Dorset coast, with its main Talbot Campus in Poole and a second campus in nearby Bournemouth. It gained university status in 1992, with origins in the early 1900s as Bournemouth Municipal College, and now enrols about 17,000 students, including more than 3,000 from outside the UK. The university is best known for media production, film and computer animation: its National Centre for Computer Animation has graduates credited on Hollywood productions including Gravity, and its animation teaching received the Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2011. It received a silver rating in the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework. Teaching is organised into four faculties covering science and technology, media and communication, health and social sciences, and business.

Location and student life

The Talbot Campus sits at Fern Barrow on the Poole side of the Poole–Bournemouth boundary and holds most university buildings, including the main library and the students' union, while health and social sciences teaching is based at the Lansdowne Campus in Bournemouth. The setting is a coastal conurbation with sandy beaches and a compact town centre close by. Student life is organised around the Students' Union at Bournemouth University (SUBU), which runs more than 120 clubs and societies alongside advice, volunteering and representation services.

Courses and subjects

The university is divided into the Faculty of Science and Technology, the Faculty of Media and Communication, the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, and the BU Business School. Recognised strengths include computer animation through the National Centre for Computer Animation, media practice and broadcasting research, and tourism and hospitality research. Some degrees offer a foundation-year entry route, and the university points applicants who need extra preparation to Bournemouth University International College pathways. Applicants should check the course pages for the exact structure of their chosen degree.

Entry requirements for international students

International applicants apply with qualifications equivalent to the UK entry requirements published on each course page, so requirements vary by course and country. The standard English-language requirement is IELTS Academic 6.0 with at least 5.5 in each component, while foundation-level programmes normally ask for IELTS 5.5; some professional courses set higher scores. Country-specific academic equivalences are published in the university's international country guides, and preparation options are signposted through the university's international pages and BU International College.

Accommodation

The university guarantees a room in its accommodation to first-year students who meet the published Accommodation Guarantee terms, including January as well as September starters. Options include university-managed halls and the Student Village near the Talbot Campus, alongside privately rented housing in Poole and Bournemouth. Applicants should read the guarantee deadlines and conditions on the accommodation pages before accepting an offer.

Scholarships and funding

The university publishes named international scholarships that are usually assessed automatically. Examples include the BU Academic Excellence Scholarship (International) for undergraduates, a first-year tuition fee reduction, and postgraduate Academic Excellence and Academic Achievement scholarships of differing values for recent intakes. Amounts and eligibility change with each intake year, so applicants should check the current undergraduate and postgraduate international scholarship pages for their start date.