Student Life at the University of Bath

Live in a UNESCO World Heritage city

Bath is a vibrant and welcoming UNESCO World Heritage city, rich in history, set among beautiful countryside, and well connected to destinations across the country - just 1 hour and 20 minutes from London by train.

Discover the Best of Bath

With a wide variety of restaurants and cafés available, you can enjoy everything from popular chains to independent spots, with cuisines from around the world. Also, Bath offers many museums, galleries, cinemas, theatres, and historic sites, including the Roman Baths and its famous Georgian streets, plus cultural events year-round.

There are lots of relaxing outdoor spaces in the city, including squares with kerbside cafés and leafy parks and gardens. The city and surrounding countryside are perfect for walking, running and cycling, with access to local National Cycle Network routes.

Ranked 2nd

safest university town or city in England and Wales

^{(Complete University Guide 2025)}

Bath city skyline

University of Bath campus

Getting around Bath

Getting around Bath is easy and convenient, especially since the city is compact and very pedestrian-friendly. Walking or cycling are popular ways to move around the city, with bike hire services readily available and bike lanes around the city, these are healthy and accessible options.

For trips within the city or to nearby towns, buses operated by First Bus run frequently and cover key routes, including the University of Bath and the city centre. Buses from the campus into Bath take around 20 minutes during term time. Bath is also well-connected by train through Bath Spa Station, providing direct services to London, Bristol, and beyond. You can search for tickets and journeys on National Rail.

Student life on campus

University of Bath has a diverse and welcoming student community with more than 21,000 students from 152 nationalities, 27% from outside the UK (numbers are based on statistics for the 2024/25 academic year). The spacious campus offers lots of places to meet with friends, relax in green spaces, buy food and drink, and study.

In the last decade, the University has invested over £450 million in the campus - this includes new accommodation, academic buildings, and excellent sports facilities such as the Olympic Legacy swimming pool.

Teaching facilities

The University of Bath is continually investing in teaching buildings, informal learning spaces, and laboratories, which you’ll have access to throughout your course. Depending on your course, you’ll also be able to use specialist facilities like:

acoustics lab
motion capture system
Virtual Learning Environment with course materials
quizzes
recorded lectures.

Sport facilities

Named Sport University of the Year 2026 by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026, the University offers first-class facilities help improve fitness, health and sporting techniques for people around the world, including:

£35 million Sports Training Village on campus: the multi‑sport complex supports more than 50 different sports, from recreational play to elite training, regularly hosts international competitions and is used by Olympic, Paralympic and other world‑class athletes
a 50-metre Olympic‑sized swimming pool: a London 2012 Legacy pool available for training, lane swimming and competitions
extensive indoor and outdoor facilities: tennis courts, a large sports hall for netball, volleyball, badminton, basketball, an indoor athletics hall with a long sprint track and a 400m floodlit outdoor athletics track, multi‑purpose games area, 3G floodlit pitches and grass pitches for football, rugby, lacrosse and more
Gym & Fitness Centre with nearly 200 stations across three zones which hosts dozens of group exercise classes each week
over 50 student sports clubs, run by the Students’ Union, covering a huge range of sports, including hockey, ultimate frisbee, cycling and water polo

Library

The Library sits at the heart of the campus and is a major hub for study, research and academic support. It’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for students, with more than 1,400 study spaces spread over several floors, including areas for silent individual study, group work, and collaborative projects.

Restaurants, cafés and shops

On campus, there are various restaurants, bars, cafés and shops for students. You can go to:
Fountain Canteen - a food court home to a variety of different food counters
Sports Café – a café in the Sports Training Village
Fresh – a small supermarket with Post Office
The Market – a small store selling fresh food and drink, stationery, University memorabilia and clothing.

The SU (Student’s Union)

University life is filled with memorable experiences that last a lifetime with so many opportunities to have fun and make new friends along the way. The SU has more than 200 groups based on interests, activities, and culture to help everyone find somewhere they belong. There are a number of faith, cultural and country-specific societies where you can meet and socialise with the same nationality or religion as you.

The SU and their groups host events all through the year, from music events, food fairs and cultural trips, through to the biggest and best club nights in Bath. They also help students find volunteer activities and part-time jobs, and share helpful advice and support to all students.

Explore the campus

Step inside the University of Bath with this virtual 360 tour.

Find out more

Fountain Canteen

Parade

Lime Tree

4W Café

Sports Café

Pavilion Café

Become a Student Ambassador

We have an exciting opportunity available at the International Study Centre to develop your social media skills and contribute to our social channels!

Get involved in taking over our social media, writing fun blogs, hosting Q&A sessions, shining bright at events, starring in our marketing materials, sharing your daily activities, and creating engaging content through photos and videos.

Of course, this would also be an impressive experience worth adding to your CV. Once your Student Ambassador role comes to a finish, you will receive a LinkedIn recommendation from us based on your performance.

“Choosing to apply to the Student Ambassador position was way out of my comfort zone, I can just be honest about that. But I'm grateful for the opportunity and it made me get more skills and apply them in my daily life. It made me more open to speaking to different people and getting different perspectives from other ambassadors.”
– Awrad, a previous Student Ambassador

Programmes

Prepare for undergraduate or postgraduate study in the UK with university preparation courses designed for international students.

How to apply

Apply to the International Study Centre online or through your local agent. Explore your application options and start your journey today.

What to do next

Our Student Enrolment Advisors are available to answer any questions you may have and help you with your application.