University of Manchester - admission process, bachelor programs, master degree program, Ph.D program, costs, deadlines and other facts about university.
Manchester is a university you can cross on foot in twenty minutes and still not finish counting. More than 40000 students study here, about a quarter of them international and from over 160 countries[1], alongside some 12000 staff[2] — nearly all of it on one stretch of Oxford Road rather than in colleges or scattered campuses. Scale buys breadth and the attention of graduate recruiters; it also means nobody chases you, because modules, deadlines, scholarship forms and visa paperwork are yours to track. Three numbers drive the decision: the fee on your course page, the living budget the university publishes, and a post-study work window that shortens in January 2027.
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Establishment year
1851
Students
37,090
International students
14,170
Female students
54%
Place in ratings
There's not enough data to display the dynamics of this rating.
By subject
Subject
Place in QS 2024
Accounting & Finance
22
Arts & Humanities
27
Engineering & Technology
27
Social Sciences & Management
28
Life Sciences & Medicine
30
Anatomy & Physiology
31
Natural Sciences
33
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Scholarship options
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Manchester: scale, cost and entry
Students
Over 40000, about 25% international, from 160+ countries[1]
Computer Science: A*AA with A* in Mathematics, or 37 IB points, plus IELTS 7.0[7]
Undergraduate deadlines, 2027 entry
15 October 2026 for Medicine and Dentistry, 13 January 2027 otherwise[8]
Acceptance rate
Not published; courses select against stated grades
Work during study
20 hours a week in term at degree level, full time in vacations[9]
After graduation
18 months on the Graduate Route from 1 January 2027, 3 years after a doctorate[10]
What Manchester does well
🔬 Research strength here is breadth as much as depth
REF 2021 left Manchester 5th in the UK for research power, with 93% of its output rated world-leading or internationally excellent[11].
💼 Graduate recruiters target this campus harder than almost any in Britain
It led High Fliers' 2026 research on the universities employers target[2]; the Careers Service stays open for two years after graduation[12].
🏙️ The living budget runs well below London on the same UK degree
The Home Office sets maintenance funds at 1,550 USD a month outside London against 2,025 USD inside it[13].
🎓 A fully funded UK scholarship sits here, for African professionals
Equity and Merit covers tuition and, on campus, airfare, living costs and visa fees for citizens of six African countries[14].
The Manchester trade-offs to price in
📈 The fee in your offer letter is not the fee you pay later
Manchester may raise international tuition by up to 7% each subsequent year[15]. PhD fees are the exception and stay fixed[16].
⏳ The post-study work window shortens from January 2027
It drops from two years to 18 months for bachelor's and master's graduates applying after 31 December 2026; doctoral graduates keep three[10]. Dependants are barred on taught master's courses[17].
💸 Scholarship eligibility is decided by your passport before your grades
Global Futures covers offer-holders from about 23 listed countries: India, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Pakistan and Bangladesh are listed; the Philippines, the United States and the UAE are not[18].
Three faculties on one road
Three faculties, each divided into schools, cover the subject map: Biology, Medicine and Health; Science and Engineering; and Humanities, which holds Alliance Manchester Business School alongside arts, education and social sciences[19]. You apply to a course inside one, and the school sets the requirements.
Agriculture & Forestry
BSc Zoology with Industrial/Professional Experience
Study degree
BSc
Exams
CAE, IELTS, PTE, SAT, TOEFL
Study field
Agriculture & Forestry
Developmental Biology with a Modern Language (Hons)
The year runs in two semesters, with examinations in January and in May and June and resits in late August[20]: lectures, seminars, coursework and heavy independent reading.
Manchester prices each course individually rather than by band, so your fee sits on your own course page; 2027/28 rates are unpublished as of August 2026.
Applicants domiciled in Bangladesh, Ghana or Pakistan pay a higher deposit before a CAS is issued, stated in the offer[24]. Three years of computer science plus that living estimate is about 209,203 USD.
Applying to a very large university
Undergraduate entry runs through UCAS, postgraduate entry directly through the university, both against published requirements.
Undergraduate: UCAS to a Manchester school
Read the country page for your school system: it decides whether you enter Year 1 directly or need a foundation programme.
Register on UCAS when 2027-entry applications open in early September 2026.
Sit IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT or PTE Academic at a test centre; online and home editions are not accepted, and the score must be valid on the start date[27].
Submit by 18:00 UK time on 15 October 2026 for Medicine and Dentistry[28], or 13 January 2027 for other courses.
Reply to your offers, then apply for accommodation: halls go in order of application.
Meet the conditions, collect the CAS and apply for the visa with 1,550 USD a month of maintenance for nine months, held 28 consecutive days[13].
Master's and PhD: straight to the school
Take the degree class from the course page. Manchester converts by country: an Indian First Class at roughly 60-80%[29], a Nigerian 2:1 or GPA 3.5/5.0[30], a US bachelor's at GPA 3.0 or above[31].
Apply directly: popular courses close in staged rounds and fill from the first[32]. For a January PhD start in Humanities, apply by 30 September of the preceding year[33].
Assemble transcripts, degree certificate, English result, references and a statement of purpose; a PhD adds a proposal and an agreed supervisor.
Pay the tuition deposit once the master's offer becomes unconditional, and check whether your subject needs ATAS clearance: free, at least 30 working days, and required before the CAS[34].
Global Futures Scholarship — a tuition discount for self-funded undergraduate and master's offer-holders from the listed countries; there is no separate application, a form reaches you after you accept[18]. The Alliance MBS undergraduate version is 13,241 USD a year for three years, conditional on a 60% average[15].
Equity and Merit Scholarships — 30 fully funded master's places a year, 20 on campus and 10 by distance learning, across engineering, environment, health sciences, global development, education and law. You need a bachelor's awarded before September 2025, work experience and an unconditional offer[14].
If neither fits, funding from home is the realistic route; our overview of scholarships for international students covers government and foundation programmes.
Term-time work and the Graduate Route
A Student visa at degree level allows 20 hours of paid work a week in term and full-time work in vacations[9]; on a foundation or pre-sessional course the cap is 10 hours, and the university advises staying under 15[35]. The Careers Service lists jobs, placements and graduate roles on CareerConnect and reports 94% of graduates going straight into work or further study[36].
The Graduate Route then lets you stay without a sponsor or a job offer, and its length depends on when you apply, not when you started. Eighteen months suits a UK graduate scheme if you apply in your final autumn; our guide to the UK student visa covers the application.
India. CBSE, ISC and five named state boards reach Year 1 directly at roughly 80-95%; other boards route through a foundation year, and Medicine is closed to them[29].
West Africa. WASSCE alone does not open Year 1: INTO Manchester asks for five SSCE passes at B3 or above, and NCUK foundation years run in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt[30].
Philippines. The Senior High School Diploma needs a foundation year at 85% overall, with 85% in mathematics and physics for science and engineering[37].
United States. A High School Diploma at GPA 3.0 plus three A-level-equivalent subjects: AP 5 reads as an A-level A or A*, AP 4 as a B, or SAT 1290 and ACT 27 with college-level coursework[31].
UAE. Three A-levels, an IB Diploma or a US-curriculum diploma with strong APs open direct entry; Al-Thanawaya Al-Aama alone does not[38].
Send transcripts in their original grading system rather than converting marks yourself: admissions staff apply their own conversions, and certified translations go with the originals, as our guide to diploma translation explains.
Questions about scale and city
Is a foundation year at Manchester the same thing as an INTO Manchester programme?
No. The integrated foundation year is year zero of a degree taught by the university; INTO Manchester is a separate pathway provider whose successful students then progress, on a different entry bar, fee and contract[30].
Do I pay a fee to apply?
Undergraduate applicants pay a fee to UCAS, not to Manchester, and taught postgraduate applications carry none[32]. The money comes later, as the deposit.
How much does the world ranking matter for a UK application?
Manchester sits 40th in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and 56th in the THE World University Rankings 2026[39]. That matters less than the grade requirement and the fee on your course page; UK employers read the subject and the Russell Group label.
Choose Manchester when you want a large research university with the full subject map on one walkable campus, your grades clear the published requirement and the UK job market is the point — especially if your budget cannot absorb London rents.
Look elsewhere when your plan depends on a scholarship your nationality does not qualify for, when you need small-group teaching from the first term, or when a long post-study work window is the main reason for going abroad — Australia and Canada currently allow longer. If London is essential, the London School of Economics and Political Science is the sharper social-science option, and the University of Oxford teaches by tutorial; our overview of universities in the United Kingdom sets out the field.
Before you press submit
Your qualification allows direct entry, or you have budgeted a foundation year.
English test taken at a centre in a format Manchester accepts, valid on the start date.
The fee read off your own course page, plus up to 7% a year.
Maintenance funds held 28 consecutive days before the visa application.
Professional assistance in applying to a foreign university
