Best Universities for Campus and Facilities 2023

This historic original redbrick university boasts over 200 buildings around their two main campus sites, Selly Oak and Edgbaston. With cutting-edge facilities such as the Collaborative Teaching Laboratory and the new School of Engineering, the University of Birmingham is a world-leading institution for research and education.

A stone’s throw away from a World Heritage Site, the University of Greenwich combines history with contemporary buildings and facilities. The central campus is close to the heart of London, while the Avery Hill campus is surrounded by lush green spaces and is home to the newly refurbished £14m all-weather sports pitches and four clinical skills laboratories.

The University of Sheffield is invested in ensuring the very best for its students, with the university library housing over 60,000 journal titles, a million ebooks and spacious study rooms. The cutting-edge Diamond building provides modern, creative media facilities with a dedicated support team on hand and private study areas plus TV editing booths. 

Loughborough University is considered to be one of the best sports-related educational centres in the country, with facilities boasting an outdoor stadium, all-weather pitches and contemporary gyms such as the Holywell Fitness Centre and Powerbase. Showcasing facilities to support an extensive range of sports from archery to water polo, Loughborough University has the experience, expertise and teaching excellence to encourage students to thrive. 

The University of Glasgow has three extensive campuses: Gilmorehill, Garscube, and Dumfries. Gilmorehill retains the majority of the university's education and investigation facilities and also provides a 25m pool, art galleries and two Students' Unions. The new £90 million James McCune Smith Learning Hub offers open study spaces and huge rooms for hosting events run by student societies or external groups. 

Campuses at the University of Exeter can be found in three locations: one in Cornwall and two in Devon. Streatham Campus overlooks a beautiful countryside estate, surrounded by botanic gardens and sublime green spaces. This is the idyllic backdrop for the newly-built Forum, home to a 400-seat lecture theatre, an entirely renovated library and advanced IT suites available for student use. 

With the charming combination of historic buildings and contemporary facilities, the University of St Andrews ensures their students get the best of both worlds. The library allows students to access over 210,000 rare books. With free Wi-Fi campus-wide, access to Microsoft Office 365 across 5 devices and stellar IT suites, the University of St Andrews places a high priority on supporting its students' learning through technology and access.

Ulster University has four state-of-the-art campuses in varying beautiful locations, from the coastal Coleraine Campus to the central Belfast campus. The Belfast campus is the beating heart of digital media and animation at Ulster, with the Ulster Screen Academy available to offer unique insight into the working world and teach practical skills to aid employability in students.  

Northumbria University has many facilities for students to access, including study spaces across campus and Sports Central, a new £30-million building hosting modern gym and swimming facilities, which is primarily home to Northumbria Sport. The past decade has seen an investment of more than £250 million in Northumbria’s campuses, with a new computer science building, an architecture studio, and campus library all helping to deliver a renowned educational experience.

The extensive labs and cutting-edge equipment in University College London’s medical innovation centres have enabled the production of a dialysis machine to treat liver failure, an astounding feat for the students and faculty alike. Supporting arts students, the Slade School of Fine Art shows its commitment to refining and encouraging skills through the provision of media, sculpture and printing studios and resources. 

University of Leeds' lush green campus blends the historic with the modern, with buildings such as the Great Hall, dating back to the 1880s juxtaposed alongside modern structures like the Students' Union. The university demonstrates the importance of culture, history and art, while still embracing and providing modern facilities full of the newest scientific equipment and state-of-the-art study spaces.

With facilities boasting museums, galleries, laboratories and farms, Newcastle University provides the very best for academic excellence, while being surrounded by beautiful green spaces. State-of-the-art computing and business school buildings based in Newcastle Helix are only a short 15-minute walk from the centre of the campus.

The continual investment being made into the university's campuses and facilities ensures Nottingham Trent University maintains its reputation as an excellent academic institution. The city campus provides everything from mock courtrooms and ICT facilities, to creative arts studios. Brackenhurst campus showcases the best educational facilities for nature enthusiasts with equestrian centres, wildlife conservation, and veterinary clinics.

Featuring facilities such as the fully-staffed Wellness Hub, modern laboratories and contemporary all-weather pitches and gyms, the University of Warwick ensures students can benefit from top-of-the-line amenities no matter what their academic interests. Warwick Arts Centre is known as the largest venue of its kind outside London, showcasing films, comedy and theatre. 

Manchester Metropolitan University supplies world-class swimming and sports facilities to appeal to every kind of sports enthusiast, from badminton players to powerlifting champions. The students' union provides spaces for students to study or relax, as well as two studios for clubs and societies and a dedicated events space. The Library is a hub for learning, with a knowledgeable team on hand to support students in their studies, with a massive array of books, study guides and online material for students to access.

University Park Campus is where it all started for the University of Nottingham. With acres of green parkland and home to the iconic Trent Building – University Park is the heart of student life. The well-equipped David Ross Sports Village, with its modern gyms, swimming pool and fitness suite, is available for all students and faculty. The on-campus Cripps Health Centre, as well as various food and drink venues, means the university ensures the needs of all its students, their families and faculty are provided for. Jubilee Campus is famed for its innovative architecture and commitment to sustainability - it’s the only university campus that has won a Civic Trust Green Flag Award every year since 2003. Sutton Bonington Campus is home to the university’s world-leading laboratories and specialist facilities for studying biosciences and veterinary medicine.

The Andersonian Library is the study hub on University of Strathclyde's campus, holding millions of print copies spread across the five floors of the vast building, and supplying additional critical material, textbooks and novels online. With an affordable laundrette in the centre of campus and vast lecture theatres holding classes ranging from business to the arts, students are well provided for.

As a leading research institution, Sheffield Hallam University boasts modern research centres for the students across a range of faculties. The Owen Building houses biochemistry laboratories and sits next to modern photography studios. The Hertha Ayrton building supplies contemporary labs for engineers and simulations for architecture students.

With over £600 million having been invested in the University of Liverpool campus-wide, the facilities on offer such as new laboratories for the sciences and studios for the arts, show that teaching and learning excellence is a demonstrated priority. Students can enjoy the spacious green areas as well as visiting the many buzzing cafes, bars and restaurants, as well as state-of-the-art sporting facilities.

The University of Aberdeen has seen a multi-million pound investment over recent years to provide students with cutting-edge facilities. The Aberdeen Sports Village and Aquatic Centre feature many world-class amenities. The £50-million investment into the Institute of Medical Sciences has enabled further research in cell biology through labs and new equipment. The King’s College campus houses several museums with exhibits changing throughout the year.