Your Birmingham offer
The University of Birmingham make a range of different offers to applicants and your offer will depend on a range of factors. This includes your GCSE results, the subjects you’re studying, your predicted grades, any other qualifications you may hold, your reference, and your personal circumstances.
Undergraduate entry requirements
The University has general entry requirements that you need to meet, as well as the specific entry requirements for the course you’re applying to. You can find more information on our Undergraduate entry requirements page.
You can also find the specific entry requirements for our programmes on our course finder page.
Recognising your educational context
We have a range of different offer schemes that recognise both your educational context and previous results, and additional achievements outside of your core studies.
Contextual offers
Contextual offers
We recognise that not all students have had the same opportunities during their education. Our contextual offer scheme recognises the potential of those students who meet one of three criteria:
- Those who have been in receipt of Free School Meals in the last six years
- Those who have spent time in local authority care
- Those who attend one of our identified schools
This contextual offer scheme allows the University of Birmingham to consider these additional socio-economic data alongside the other information on your UCAS application to make an informed decision about your application to study at Birmingham.
If you are eligible for a contextual offer, you will receive an offer that is typically one grade lower than the standard offer, which is only applicable if you make Birmingham your firm choice. Any grade reduction may vary by subject as the course you’re applying for may have certain criteria you need to meet. This will all be detailed in your offer contract.
Pathways to Birmingham programmes
Pathways to Birmingham programmes
Students who successfully complete a Pathways to Birmingham programme and apply to the University of Birmingham will receive special consideration from admissions tutors. If your application is successful, you will receive two offers from the University of Birmingham - the standard offer and a Pathways to Birmingham offer.
The Pathways to Birmingham offer is typically two grades below the standard offer. You may also be eligible to receive the Pathways to Birmingham Scholarship and Bursary. All Pathways to Birmingham programmes have the same eligibility criteria, and you are required to meet these criteria to be considered for the programmes. The Pathways to Birmingham offer is applicable if you make Birmingham your firm choice.
Recognising your additional achievements
At the University of Birmingham, we recognise the dedication and ambition demonstrated through activities such as independent research, extended mathematical study, sport and music. You can find details about how we recognise these below.
Where we apply reductions to our standard entry requirements, we will only apply one reduction to your offer (i.e. these are not stackable, except for EDCAP). If your offer specifies a grade requirement in a particular subject, then any reduction will not be applied to that subject.
Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
At the University of Birmingham, applicants who take the EPQ and meet our offer criteria will be made the typical offer for their programme of choice, plus an alternative offer which will be one grade lower plus a grade B in the EPQ. For example, where our standard offer is AAA, the offer would be AAA; or AAB plus B in the EPQ (though please note that this excludes our Medicine (A100) and Dentistry (A200) programmes). This is applicable if you make Birmingham your firm choice, and subject specific requirements will still apply.
Core Maths qualification
Core Maths qualification
For selected programmes*, applicants who take the Core Maths qualification and meet our offer criteria will be made the typical offer for their programme of choice, plus an alternative offer which will be one grade lower plus a grade B in Core Maths. If you are taking A level Maths, you will not be eligible for an alternative offer through studying Core Maths. Programmes that require an A level in Mathematics are also excluded. This offer would apply if you make Birmingham your firm choice.
*Some programmes are excluded from this scheme. Check course finder pages on our website to find out whether your programme is eligible.
Music performance at grade 8 or above
Music performance at grade 8 or above
If you have achieved any level 3 graded examination in music performance at grade 8 or above (e.g. ABRSM, Rockschool, Trinity College London) and have outlined this on your UCAS application, you will be eligible for a one grade reduction on our standard offer. Students applying for any of our Music programmes are not eligible for this type of offer.
Sport
Sport
Playing sport at county level
If you have played sport at county level or above, then you will be eligible for a one grade reduction on your standard offer.
You can inform us of your eligibility when completing your UCAS application form. When adding your choice at University of Birmingham, please enter ‘County sport’ into the Further details field. This will then save against your UCAS application to us.
You will also need to notify us by completing our Sport Scholarship application form. If you have already submitted your application via UCAS and did not include county sport, completing the Sport Scholarship application form will be sufficient to notify us.
Elite Dual Career Athlete Pathway (EDCAP)
The Elite Dual Career Athlete Pathway (EDCAP) is our highest tier of Sport Scholarship and provides sector-leading support for exceptional student-athletes pursuing a dual career in high-performance sport and academic study. If you want to find out more, you can visit our EDCAP page.
How to apply for an additional achievements offer
If you possess one of the additional achievements including EPQ, Core Maths or Music performance, you can let us know via your UCAS application. You can add details to the Education section of your application – these will then be visible to us when your application is received.
If you have already submitted your UCAS application, you can notify us by completing our additional qualifications form.
Please be aware that some programmes are excluded from our additional achievements offers. You can find the list of excluded programmes in the FAQs section below.
Frequently asked questions
How do I apply to the University of Birmingham?
How do I apply to the University of Birmingham?
Whatever your journey to university looks like, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Find out more about how to apply and discover our resources to help you during your current studies by visiting our webpage.
How do I apply for the Access to Birmingham scheme?
How do I apply for the Access to Birmingham scheme?
If you live within the West Midlands region and you're the first in your family to go to university, you might want to consider applying through our Access to Birmingham (A2B) scheme. The scheme offers a full package of support in Year 13, the chance to receive an A2B scholarship worth £1,500 per year of study and an alternative offer.
What is a conditional offer?
What is a conditional offer?
A conditional offer is typically based on the entry requirements as defined on the course page for the course you’re interested in. This type of offer is made to students if you still have examinations to take, we need verification of your qualifications, or if you have to meet other non-academic entry requirements.
The University makes conditional offers based on grades and not based on UCAS points (e.g. AAB). Some programmes may also require a particular grade in a particular subject, or specify particular GCSE subject requirements too.
The details for individual programmes can all be found on the relevant course page. There may also be other conditions of your offer such as fitness to practise, or a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
What is a contextual offer?
What is a contextual offer?
A contextual offer is a reduced entry offer made to students whose educational opportunities may have been affected by their personal circumstances. At the University of Birmingham, our contextual offers recognise that not all students have had the same opportunities during their education. The University considers additional socio-economic information alongside the rest of a student's UCAS application and may make a reduced offer to applicants who meet certain criteria.
If an applicant is eligible, they will typically receive an offer that is one grade lower than the standard entry requirements. This reduced offer is usually only applicable if the applicant chooses Birmingham as their firm choice. The exact grade reduction may vary depending on the course and any subject-specific requirements, which will be detailed in the offer conditions.
The purpose of contextual offers is to support fair access to higher education by recognising academic potential in the context of a student's individual circumstances and educational background. This helps ensure that talented students who may have faced barriers to achievement are given appropriate consideration during the admissions process.
How do I know if I’m eligible for a contextual offer?
How do I know if I’m eligible for a contextual offer?
You can find out whether you're eligible for a contextual offer by checking if you meet any of the University of Birmingham's contextual offer criteria. You may be eligible if you:
- Have received Free School Meals at any point during the last six years
- Have spent time in local authority care
- Attend one of the schools identified by the University as part of its contextual offer scheme
The University uses this information, alongside the details in your UCAS application, to make a more informed assessment of your application. If you meet one of the eligibility criteria, you may receive a contextual offer. This is typically one grade lower than the standard entry requirements, depending on the course and any specific subject requirements.
How do I let you know I have additional achievements?
How do I let you know I have additional achievements?
If you have additional achievements including EPQ, Core Maths or Music performance at grade 8 or above, you can let us know via your UCAS application. You can add details to the Education section of your application – these will then be visible to us when your application is received.
If you have already submitted your UCAS application, you can notify us by completing our additional qualifications form.
If you have played sport at county level or above, you can inform us of your eligibility when completing your UCAS application form. When adding your choice at University of Birmingham, please enter ‘County sport’ into the Further details field. This will then save against your UCAS application to us.
You will also need to notify us by completing our Sport Scholarship application form. If you have already submitted your application via UCAS and did not include county sport, completing the Sport Scholarship application form will be sufficient to notify us.
Are any programmes excluded from your additional achievements offers?
Are any programmes excluded from your additional achievements offers?
The following programmes are excluded from our additional achievements offers where we apply reductions to our standard entry requirements:
Excluded from EPQ, Core Maths, Music and Sport:
- Medicine - A100
- Dentistry - A200
Excluded from Music and Sport:
- Midwifery - B710
- Dental Hygiene and Therapy - B750
- Biomedical Sciences (BSc and MSc) - B900, B902
- Physio - B160
- Nursing (all) - B702, B703, B704
- Pharmacy - B230
Excluded from Music only:
- Music - W302
- Mathematics and Music - GW13
Excluded from Core Maths
- Any programme with a Mathematics A level subject requirement
Do you accept UCAS points?
Do you accept UCAS points?
UCAS operate a tariff points system and although we will use this to help assess qualifications, we do not make offers based on tariff points. Please note that in addition to tariff information, all qualifications are assessed on the basis of their suitability for your programme of study.