A Guide to Student Life in Birmingham

With over 65,000 students in Birmingham you’ll be in good company when you move to this thriving urban environment. Recent investments and cultural initiatives mean that this city is bang on trend and has plenty to offer visiting students.

Birmingham is known for being vibrant, welcoming, and most importantly for students – affordable!

So, what else do you need to know about studying and living in Birmingham?

Where to study

There are five universities and two university colleges in Birmingham, so you have plenty of options. What’s more, all of the universities are within 7 miles of the city centre, so you don’t need to travel far for an excellent education.

Choose from the University of Birmingham, Aston University, Birmingham City University, Newman University, the University of Warwick, and either of the two colleges – University College Birmingham or Solihull College.

How much will it cost you?

For a big city Birmingham is surprisingly affordable for students with a 2014 HSBC survey revealing that students in Birmingham pay around £262 per week for accommodation, food, travel, and entertainment.

As a popular study destination Birmingham has plenty of student offers in its shops, clubs, bars, and attractions that will help keep your expenses down without compromising on your student experience.

Getting around

As the second biggest city in the UK it comes as no surprise that there is a well-integrated travel system that makes it easy for you to get around.

The bus system is excellent, offering cheap fares to any destination in the city, and you can also buy a term pass that makes travelling around Birmingham even cheaper.

If you want to go home or venture outside of the city there are a number of major train stations that will take you to your destination.

Where to live

You’ll find thousands of student houses and flats in the city and a central location is generally recommended so you’ll have everything on your doorstep.

All of the universities offer excellent accommodation for their students and when you decide to move out of halls you’ll be spoilt for choice. Contact individual universities to ask about their accommodation options for freshers.

Expect to pay between £50 - £66 per week depending on your location and the quality of your accommodation. Housing close to your campus will cut down travel costs but these places do come at a premium, so start your accommodation search early.

Party time

Of course, Birmingham has a dynamic nightlife and there really is something for everyone.

There are clubs and bars to suit every taste, restaurants and cafes from every corner of the globe, and plenty of major attractions and entertainment hot spots if you fancy something a bit different.

Check out the Bull Ring for all the shopping you’ll ever need, the O2 Academy for some of the biggest names in music, and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery when you need a culture fix.

Propaganda, Revolutions, and Oceana are all good destinations if you want to go clubbing and head to the “Balti Triangle” when you need a curry to soak up the booze!