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Study at Solent University

Southampton

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Location: Southampton
Founded: 2005 (university status; origins 1856 School of Art)
Students: about 8,500 (2024/25)
Type: Public university
Main intakes: September, January
Study levels: Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Research

Southampton Solent University is a public university in the centre of Southampton, on England's south coast. It began as a private School of Art founded in 1856 and became a university in 2005. Around 8,500 higher education students study here, which makes it medium-sized, and teaching has a practical, career-focused character. International students come from a wide range of countries. Many courses include foundation years, placements and routes on to postgraduate study. Solent is best known for its maritime school at Warsash, and for media, film and television, sport, fashion and art and design. On the city-centre campus you'll find television studios, maritime simulators, sport science laboratories and a nursing ward. In 2023 the Teaching Excellence Framework awarded it triple Gold, for student experience, student outcomes and overall.

Location and student life

The main campus is on East Park Terrace, in the middle of Southampton, and the six halls of residence are in the city centre too. Most students therefore live within walking distance of teaching buildings, shops, restaurants, cinemas and nightlife. Southampton is a coastal city in Hampshire on England's south coast, with parks and a waterfront close by for time outdoors. The Students' Union runs clubs, societies and sport, and Solent's sports facilities support both teams and individual athletes. With a large student population, the city is used to students.

Courses and subjects

Subjects include maritime, film, television and media, digital arts, animation, games and visual effects, fashion, make-up and prosthetics, music and performing arts, sport, health and fitness, and nursing, medical science and social work. Accountancy, business and management sit alongside them. Warsash Maritime is the best-known name, and creative and sport courses here are practice-based, taught in studios, simulators and laboratories. If you don't yet meet the grades for a degree, many bachelor's degrees include a foundation year. The university's pathway provision also offers International Foundation Programmes in routes such as business and management and the creative industries.

Entry requirements for international students

For undergraduate study you usually need school-leaving qualifications equivalent to British A-levels. For postgraduate study you need a bachelor's degree at the required level, and art and design courses often ask to see a portfolio of your work. Published guidance asks for IELTS 6.0 overall with no component below 5.5 on many undergraduate courses. If your score is below that, you can take a pre-sessional English course or an International Foundation Programme first. Exact grades and English scores differ by course, so check the page for the course you want before applying.

Accommodation

Students live in six halls of residence in the city centre, close to where they are taught. Named options include Deanery and Chantry, with en-suite rooms and single study-bedrooms for undergraduates, postgraduates and exchange students. The accommodation office allocates university housing, and private rented housing in Southampton gives you another choice. Prices, contract lengths and application deadlines are on the accommodation pages, so check those for current details.

Scholarships and funding

Funding information sits on the university's scholarships and bursaries pages, and the university warns applicants that awards change each year. Named international awards include the Solent International Pioneers Scholarship, which gives 25 new undergraduates a £2,000 reduction on first-year fees for September entry, awarded through a competitive application. The Solent Postgraduate Taught International Excellence Scholarship gives eligible international postgraduates a £1,500 fee reduction automatically. Check who qualifies and what the deadlines are on the official scholarships pages before you apply.