At a Glance

We are proud to be an internationally recognised and award winning institution with a heritage of quality education going back more than 100 years.

We appear in the Times Higher Education World University rankings, ranked as one of the top 300 universities in the world under 50 years old in the Young University rankings.

In 2021 we were extremely proud to have received a first class award in the People and Planet University Green League, obtaining 2nd place out of 154 UK institutions. In 2020 we launched our Target Zero campaign with the aim to become carbon neutral by 2050 and our commitment to sustainability has been recognised with an Eco Campus Platinum award for two years running.

At Bedfordshire we have a vibrant and cosmopolitan student population that includes around 20,000 students from over 70 countries. We are a modern university that believes in nurturing our students to become educated, employable and entrepreneurial global citizens.

We lead the way in expanding educational opportunity; with more than 40% of our students coming from families with no history of participation in higher education. Around 70% are mature returners to education and over half are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, under-represented in higher education.

In 2021, we were named in a report by the Sutton Trust as one of England’s Top 25 universities to have successfully contributed to an increase in social mobility amongst disadvantaged young people in England. We have also rated highest in the East of England for ‘access to education’ and are in the Top 10 of this category for the whole country – one of only two universities situated outside of London.

Studying at the University of Bedfordshire

We have two main campuses in Luton and Bedford, with a large health teaching provision in Aylesbury at the world renowned Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

We are also active in Milton Keynes, London and Birmingham, as well as globally, with a growing portfolio of international partnerships as far afield as Jordan, Egypt, Vietnam, Oman and Trindad.

We support our students in all aspects of their life and encourage through the excellent services we provide:

• Superb, modern facilities across all our subject areas
• Study skills development
• Career and job-seeking guidance
• Volunteer and work experience
• Health and wellbeing services
• Modern accommodation
• Personal tutors
• International education partners with opportunities to study overseas

Why Bedfordshire?

• Commended by the QAA for the high quality and standards of our higher education provision (QAA 2015)
• Commended by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) with 60% of our research and 50% of its impact being judged as world-leading or internationally excellent (2021)
• Top 300 University under 50 years old (THE 2021)
• One of 21 Business Schools awarded the Bronze Award for start-up and business growth advice (Small Business Charter)
• Ranked 1st in England and 2nd in the country in the University Green League (People and Planet 2022/23)
• Eco Campus Platinum award (2021)
• Gold-tier rated in the USwitch University Green League (2022)
• Top 10 UK university for social inclusion (Good University Guide, 2022)
• Best university in the East of England for access to education (Sutton Trust, 2021)
• Continued investment in facilities for our students. Most significantly we opened a £40m STEM building at our Luton campus in 2019.

Our Research

Our research explores some of the most important issues of our times and has a positive impact on people’s lives. In some cases it is quite rare and often it is quite distinct.

The work of our Research Institutes and knowledge exchange partnerships illustrate the University’s commitment to working with some of the most vulnerable groups in society, is reflective of our values and showcase how university research can bring immediate and applicable benefits to society. They tackle the real world problems and challenges faced by our communities, and provide an evidence base for changes to government legislation.

The latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021, saw 60% of our research and 50% of our research impact rated as world-leading or internationally excellent. Our Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA) was ranked 3rd out of 92 submissions with 72% of their research classed at the highest possible rating of world leading. The Institute of Applied Social Research also had 81% of its research classed as internationally excellent or world-leading.

Our Community

At the University of Bedfordshire we recognise our potential to make a real impact within our communities.

We contribute significantly to the financial and social regional economic growth, both locally and nationally (around £370m Gross Value Added from our core economic footprint).

In addition to our role as a large employer and educator, we are committed to working in partnership with our local area, boosting skills and productivity through knowledge exchange, skills provision, expertise in research and consultancy and also by associating ourselves with many community organisations, projects and initiatives. In 2023, we launched a Civic Agreement with Luton Borough Council to formalise this commitment and to support the Luton 2024 vision for the transformation of the town and its people.

In 2021 we were named as one of the top universities in the UK for fostering start-ups. Using data collected by HESA and analysed by Tide business bank, we celebrated being ranked 4^th out of 50 higher education institutions to have produced the most graduate start-ups since 2014/15 and, over the past seven years, Bedfordshire has helped to create 870 start-ups in and beyond the East of England region.

Further details of our social and economic contribution to the region can be found in the Social and Economic Impact Report 2020 [PDF]