Lancaster University

Lancaster is a historic, student-friendly city in the north-west of England, perfectly placed close to National Parks including the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. Compact and easy to navigate, it offers everything you’d expect from a city, alongside access to coastline and countryside. Lancaster has excellent transport links, making it easy to explore the UK’s major cities and beauty spots. Trains reach the Lake District in 30 minutes, Manchester Airport in just over an hour, and London or Edinburgh in around 2.5 hours. Among the cobbled streets and stunning architecture, you’ll find a vibrant independent scene. Alongside familiar high-street names, Lancaster offers a range of cafes, bars, boutiques and entertainment spaces, as well as theatres, cinemas and museums. A busy calendar of events, from a light festival to live music gigs, adds to the lively atmosphere. All this is just three miles from our campus.

Lancaster University Students’ Union (LUSU) is at the heart of student life, giving you the support, opportunities and voice to shape your university experience. LUSU supports over 200 student run clubs and societies, where you can explore new interests, meet people outside of your course, or connect with others who share your culture and beliefs. If the society you want isn’t here already, you can even start your own! There’s an exciting calendar of events throughout the year, including festive markets in the winter and the Roses tournament in the summer. Roses is a whole weekend of sports, cheering and fun as we compete against our sporting rivals, the University of York.

At Lancaster, you’ll be surrounded by a strong community that’s committed to helping you thrive both academically and personally. Everyone’s needs are different, so we offer a range of free, professional support services that you can access whenever you need them during your studies. The support we offer includes:

• Specialist guidance for international students on visas, moving to the UK, and settling in
• Advice on academic, personal or financial concerns
• Pastoral, faith-based and peer support
• Specialist wellbeing, counselling or practitioner-led services
• Reasonable adjustments for disabilities or long-term health conditions

As well as scholarships and bursaries, we offer a variety of financial support. You can access guidance on budgeting, managing money, and opening a UK bank account through our Student Money Advice Service. The Student Funding Team can also assist with information on all aspects of student funding, student finance assessments, and internal university funding. Lancaster’s cost of living is lower than many UK cities (finder.com), and we offer a variety of services to help you save money, including:

• Lancaster Opportunity and Access Fund (LOAF), providing additional funding for students in financial hardship
• Pre-paid dining schemes offering discounts of up to 50%
• The ‘Don’t Ditch It, Donate It’ project, which sells affordable second-hand items
• Food initiatives including college community cupboards and free meal events

"Connecting with people from my home country has been very comforting and has helped me feel more settled while studying away from home. At the same time, Lancaster has given me the opportunity to meet people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds." - Alisha Zariwala, MSc Cyber Security.