University of Winchester - Winchester

Rae L.

Open day was amazing here! Was my first choice of university and still is!! Brilliant information from students and teachers, nice big smiles and friendly attitudes. EVERY STUDENT ON THE OPEN DAYS HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTE ⭐️’s thank you for such a lovely first impression of the university, you all ought to be proud of yourselves

Cassidy R. Y.

The University of Winchester has been the best place to go for my degree and eagerness to learn. The support systems they had in place were so well thought out. You could see that everyone wanted to support each other. The campus was always immaculate and well-maintained. There was always somewhere that you could get a cold drink or hot drink from various locations, allowing you to fill up your water bottles and rinse reusable cups out. Access to learning resources was always permitted with an on-site book shop, the library could be used both outside of hours such as after lectures finish and in hours between lectures and support sessions. You had access to printers which also made the biggest difference for me. I cannot fault them for anything at all.

Roger -.

We visited Winchester University on its open day, truly an amazing experience, you instantly feel at home, that's the best way to discribe it. Everyone is very friendly the atmosphere is vibrant and modern. When you arrive there is people there to guide you where to park then you will be greeted with a pleasent student helper who log you in. As soon as you enter the main building you will be greeted handed a welcome pack and invited to have some coffee or tea. Everyone is very helpful from lecturers to students.

Kim L.

Was able to stay in dorm room over the summer. Clean, complete - including access to kitchen facility. Central to transportation and walking distance to city center and cathedral.

Sarah ?. H.

I was a student here nearly 20 years ago and now a family member works there so I pop in to visit occasionally. The staff are always friendly and it is a beautiful campus only a short walk from the city centre. I will only have good things to say about this university.

Dion S.

I would honestly rate this uni zero if I could.

This University is a massive Scam, im from the literature department and here is my experience.

First impressions were okay, Some of the teachers were amazing, But I do notice some teachers are extremely unsupporting and give the worst feedback you could imagine, They will say something so vague and refuse to elaborate, So don't expect to ever improve on your essays since you literally have no way to know how. And the lessons can be quite draining, some People in my class had to pass the time by crocheting or playing games on their laptops. Also the Uni is now very low on money, The greta statue probably did not help, To sort this they took away decent teachers.

I am quite dyslexic, I had notes from the doctors AND from a qualified specialist. It took them 2 YEARS to actually listen and to just say "Sorry, No Help can be given" even though I recieved help for it in College and school. So please do not expect to recieve any help from the disability team which the Uni apparently 'Prides themselves on', Because of this issue my grades are never the best they could be, And it has destroyed my mental health.

Also do not bother ever complaining to the Uni, As they will either send you on a massive goose chase to deter you, Or they wont listen to you and will shutdown your complaints, I even had a friend who was harrassed by someone in the Uni, And it took their parents AND about 10 witnesses for it to actually be taken seriously.

As for the english department, All of our modules kept getting taken away, And I was forced to take modules I did not want to take, I am currently made to do creative writing, Which I did not pay 27K for by the way.....Also they will take your money first THEN change your modules. Essays were fine but the feedback was abyssmal in some cases. Do not come here once again, If you struggle with Mental health and/Or learning difficulties, Which is a shame because some teachers did actually go above and beyond to help and cater to students.

Im going into my third year and Im honestly dreading it, Iv had the modules I wanted to do taken away, I did mid in the 2nd year without being told how to improve, At this point I do not care what happens as long as I get out of this uni with some form of degree.

Ilana J.

Not to bash the actual university but particularly the musical theatre course. On paper and the socials it seems amazing but behind closed doors if you have any sort of mental health problems or struggling with peers they won’t do anything to help or check in on you. I was going into my third year when end of second year was faced with bullying and harassment that wasn’t sorted with uni leading me to drop out. Obviously different experiences for people but I wouldn’t recommend the musical theatre course and some of their staff behaviours. (been to drama schools better than this)

Tom B.

Let's be real, UoW does not rank well on the university league table. If a “university” is almost undetectable on the league table they really should not be charging £9,000 per year, no way.

The modern architecture isn't very appealing to look at, they really could have made an effort in designing a more traditional style to coordinate with the old university building at the heart of the site. They need to tear down the modernist buildings and rebuild it. Other universities have invested in heritage and timeless architecture, so why can't this one? Winchester town is absolutely stunning though, which is a redeeming factor. And did I mention this campus is built into the side of a hill! Not great.

Universities sell many useless degrees with diminishing value; and this place is no exception. The annual tuition fee is far too high and the bog standard 3-year course length isn't always necessary, depending on what you study. They should charge their league table standing and based on the degree itself. STEM degrees have a better return on investment but this isn't exactly the place to get one.

Stop taking advantage of 18-year-olds who don't necessarily know better about choosing a good field of study! Charge them less for their obvious naivete. Change the fee structure to reflect the real value of the degrees studied. Be progressive. 2-year graduate courses must be offered if we are to progress as a society and slash student debt and reduce wasted time. We need to support getting young people into the workforce earlier, not prolonging courses to make money for the for-profit university giants.

Many lecturers lack pedagogical skills to inspire and engage their students, there's also a lack of PhDs and solid credentials in their lecturing staff, where's the value for money?

As for nightlife, other universities do better with bigger on-site venues doing bigger numbers and attracting better live acts. You'd have to go to Southampton for a reasonably sized nightlife venue. UoW's Vault venue should be expanded as they grow their student base. Winchester is a charming town full of history, nature, and pensioners, so expect that rather than flashy top-drawer nightlife. But that doesn't excuse the actions they could take to improve and invest into the on-site student nightlife.

It's a female-majority university due to the prominence of UoW's primary education course. So there's a gender imbalance which is worth noting. The gender ratio is 2:1.