Why choose Winchester

With so many universities to choose from why should Winchester be at the top of your list?

We offer you:

  • Innovative and forward-thinking learning and teaching with scholars at the forefront of their disciplines
  • A great location in Hampshire in the ancient cathedral city of Winchester, which is one hour away from London
  • An attractive campus situated within walking distance of the city centre
  • First year full-time undergraduates are guaranteed high quality campus accommodation (subject to conditions)
  • Great sports facilities, including the Winchester Sports Stadium and new University Gym
  • A new Student Union inside the award-winning University Centre
  • Research activity at national and international levels of excellence
  • A safe and supportive community with an informal culture
  • A dedicated centre for research and knowledge exchange offering support for postgraduate research students

Campus & city life

The campuses are friendly and compact with a community feel, offering excellent facilities for learning and teaching.

King Alfred Campus

Student life is centred on our King Alfred Campus within walking distance of the historic cathedral city of Winchester. In recent years, the King Alfred campus has undergone much change to enhance its facilities.The £6.5 million St Alphege building opened in 2013, as a new-state of the art learning and teaching building. Features include 10 new lecture rooms, and a mezzanine floor with open access PCs. Our Martial Rose Library has over 300,000 resources available including course-specific reading material, academic journals and DVDs. There are 600 networked PCs available for students to use across campus including the Library, faculty buildings and our social learning spaces, the Learning Café and Kenneth Kettle Building, which offer 24-hour access. We also have a new open access room being built in Medecroft.
The King Alfred Campus also includes the University Centre (Student Union), the Chapel, a state-of-the-art gym and other sports facilities and Faculty buildings where the majority of lectures and seminars take place.

Many undergraduate students live in the halls of residence on the King Alfred Campus, Queens Road and Burma Road (opened in 2013) or in the accommodation at nearby West Downs.

West Downs

exterior of West Downs buildingWest Downs is a short walk away from the centre of the King Alfred Campus. It is the home of our self-catering accommodation, the West Downs Student Village,and the West Downs Centre, which is where the University’s Winchester Business School is based. The centre also has social learning spaces with the latest IT equipment for students to use for individual and group work sessions.

The Link Gallery is also located on the campus. It is open to the general public and runs an exhibition programme throughout the year featuring established and emerging artists from the world of visual arts.

The Research and Knowledge Exchange Centre is also based at West Downs. It is dedicated to research, enterprise and consultancy. It provides excellent resources for postgraduate students, particularly research students as it is the centre of research administration and support services.

Winchester the City

Just one hour away from London, the quintessential English city of Winchester combines the best of city life with medieval history and beautiful countryside

Winchester is renowned for its ancient history, its cathedral and high quality of life.

Shopping

Winchester offers an array of unique, independent shops and boutiques as well as traditional and nationally-known stores. The high-street offers a bustling atmosphere with street performers and markets while other more unusual shops are nestled along the cobbled streets that surround the cathedral and tucked away along intriguing backstreets.

 

Going out

There is a strong cafe and restaurant culture in Winchester. Raymond Blanc has a restaurant and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is opening a River Cottage Canteen and Deli later this year. There is also an array of award-winning bars and pubs which offer a traditional pint or mojito cocktail. Winchester has also held the Purple Flag award, which recognisies cities that are safe, enjoyable places for a night out. Winchester has held the award since 2010.

Arts and Culture

Winchester and its surrounding district have inspired literary classics by Jane Austen and John Keats. This has made the city the ideal setting for literary events and writers festivals. There are several theatres in Winchester and the Guildhall – which hosts various gigs and comedy nights. There is also a cinema, once a military chapel that offers mainstream releases alongside independant and foreign language films.

History

King Alfred StatueWinchester is steeped in history and packed with historic buildings and monuments. Winchester was chosen by King Alfred as the seat of power for his kingdom of Wessex. William the Conqueror commissioned the monks of Winchester to write his notorious Domesday Book which was housed in the King’s Castle. Now only the Castle’s Great Hall remains and in it is the legendary ‘Round Table of King Arthur’ which has been exhibited there for over 700 years. The famous Winchester Cathedral has been a place of worship for over 900 years. It has the longest medieval nave in Europe and is the resting place for Jane Austen, Izzak Walton and the early English Kings.

Transport links

Winchester has excellent transport links including a direct train service to London Waterloo which runs every 20 minutes during peak times. The station is also well-served by trains running to and from Southampton, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Brighton, the New Forest and the north of England.

The University of Winchester is located close to the M3 which provides easy road access to the M25 and M27. Travelling to and from Heathrow and Gatwick airports is easy by both road and train and Southampton Airport is located 15 minutes away by train and offers services within the UK, the Channel Islands and mainland Europe.

The National Express coach service picks up from Winchester and serves various destinations across the UK. Ferry services from Portsmouth link to various ports in France, Spain and the Netherlands.

Courses available

We have a large range of attractive and popular courses at the University of Winchester which invite applications from International students.

​​​​Our main start date is in September, and some of our postgraduate courses also offer a January start. Please click on the links below to learn more about the programmes we offer. If you are not sure of which level to apply for please don’t hesitate to contact us.