De Montfort University

Became a university in: 1992

Student population: 27,915 (2022/23)

Location: Campus in Leicester city centre

Subject areas: Art, Design & Humanities, Business & Law, Health & Life Sciences, and Computing, Engineering & Media.

Admissions: Generally straightforward academic requirements; normally around A-levels BBC to BBB, or BTEC Extended Diplomas at DDM. Nursing, Midwifery, Education and creative subjects will normally require an interview, portfolio, audition etc.

📸 Snapshot

Having lived in Leicester for over a decade, I have indeed worked at all three Leicestershire universities. Due to a couple of problematic managers, however, I spent just 9 months at De Montfort. A shame really, as it has a lot to recommend it.

Thanks to some decent academic leadership during the 90s and early noughties, DMU (as it’s generally known locally), really focused on the things it had been good at when it was Leicester Polytechnic; that is, professional, vocational and creative teaching. Pretty much everything they teach falls into one or more of those categories. While some of these subjects are also taught at the older, more prestigious university up the road, because DMU takes a more practical, work- and career-focussed approach, they don’t ever need to feel like they are competing.

In addition, thanks to some excellent financial leadership during the same period, they have a campus estate that is in fantastic shape. Each of their faculties occupies either new or relatively recently refurbished buildings, concentrated in a small area just to the east of the city centre. To me, it always had a really nice vibe, and there are some genuinely great facilities in there; from the award winning Engineering building, to the solid, high-quality Faculty of Business and Law.

Leicester itself is an under-rated gem of a city to be a student. It's affordable, with one of the lowest costs of living in the country, and yet it has a lively social scene with music, pubs and clubs aplenty. Student accommodation is plentiful in the area, so most students can live within a short walking distance of the main campus. And of course, being right in the centre of England, it's easily accessible from pretty much anywhere.

Around a decade ago, the university hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Their then Vice-Chancellor initially became notorious for his ego-centric charity efforts, before finally being forced to resign over financial misconduct allegations. With all that behind them, it's good to see DMU under what looks like sensible leadership!

In summary

De Montfort University could be for you if…

• You are looking for practical, career-focused study, with straightforward entry requirements.

• You like the idea of a lively student city, but one where everything is pretty close together.

• You are on a budget, so want somewhere affordable.

And if you like De Montfort, you might also like…

• Birmingham City University

• Leeds Beckett University

• Liverpool John Moores University

• Manchester Metropolitan University

• Nottingham Trent University

• Northumbria University

• Sheffield Hallam University

• University of West of England