Bishop Grosseteste University

Overview

Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) has teaching roots that go back 160 years, although it didn’t achieve its official university status until 2012. The uni has one campus, a pleasant green site in the heart of the city of Lincoln, a short walk away from the Cathedral, Caste and Old Roman city. If you’re wondering about the name, it’s taken from the scientist, philosopher and educator, Robert Grosseteste, who was Bishop of Lincoln in the thirteenth century.

On campus, you’ll find a mix of historic buildings and modern facilities, surrounded by green spaces. Food and drink outlets, like the Alice in Wonderland-themed Curiositea, are there for students to enjoy, and membership for the gym and sports facilities is discounted. There’s also free counselling available, as well as wellbeing events and sessions.

The uni is a 25-minute walk away from Lincoln’s city centre. With 2,000 years of history, the city is unique with a student-friendly feel. There’s a diverse nightlife, including pubs, bars, clubs and music and comedy venues. You’re also never far from parks, nature trails and other green spaces, providing good opportunities to get out of the city.

As a student at Lincoln, you’ll be well connected to the rest of the UK, through train services and road links to the M1 and A1. 

There’s a diverse range of undergraduate degree programmes on offer at BGU, across subject areas including history, music, sport, sociology and psychology. Currently, all courses are only available on a full-time basis, other than the BA Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship, which can be studied part-time over a longer time period.

Typically, full-time undergraduate degrees at BGU take three years to study, but a number of courses include foundation years or placements. These courses can take four years to complete.

Most degrees include optional modules, as well as core modules, meaning you can study the degree topics you’re most interested in.

It's also possible to combine more than one subject within an undergraduate degree in what’s called a combined honours degree. For example, at BGU you could look to enrol on BA Archaeology and History.

BGU accepts a variety of qualifications, like A-levels, BTECs and Cambridge Pre-U qualifications for entry onto its undergraduate courses. Each course will ask for a certain amount of UCAS Tariff points, which can be made up from the various qualifications that are accepted by the uni.

You’ll be able to see each degree programme’s specific entry requirements online on the uni’s course search pages, but we’ve also given you an idea of the amount of UCAS points you’ll need for various subjects below.

For instance, to get onto a degree in business, accounting or finance, you’ll likely be asked for UCAS points ranging from 112–96, and for health & medicine degrees, you’ll need the same. 112–96 points are also needed for courses in the humanities, education and maths.

If you’re unable to meet the required UCAS points, you may be able to do a foundation year before first year, to bring you up to speed before starting the undergraduate course.

It should be noted that entry requirements can change so you should always confirm these with the university before applying.

There’s a variety of uni accommodation available at BGU, both on and off-campus. A dedicated accommodation team is on hand to help you settle in and answer any questions you may have.

Most of the places in halls are offered to first-year UK and EU undergraduate students who have firmly accepted an offer from BGU and applied for accommodation before the relevant deadline. All places in halls are allocated on a first come first served basis and priority is given to students who are joining the uni from outside the local area.

Constance Stewart Hall is the uni’s largest on-campus accommodation block, with 91 bedrooms over four floors. Each floor has communal kitchens and shared bathroom facilities. Wickham Hall is also on-campus and is made up of modern en suite cluster flats, all of which have communal kitchen living areas. Finally, Longdales Lodge is just a five-minute walk away from campus and is 38 en suite rooms inside six suites. If you stay here, you’ll have access to a communal living space, as well as laundry facilities and bicycle storage.

Rent prices range from around £115 to £138 per week, and include your bills and WiFi costs. Tenancies last for 40 weeks of the academic year but can be increased to 50 weeks upon request.

There’s a dedicated careers and employability service at BGU that gives students careers education, guidance and information through different services, tools and activities. Full access to careers support is available for up to five years after graduating. You can get help and advice both one-to-one and in group sessions.

Areas you can find support in include writing your CV, being successful with job applications, working on interview technique, exploring different career paths, and more. You’ll also be able to upload documents onto the careers platform for review, as well as access mock interview tools.

BGU’s Social Economy Hub and online job vacancy service will help you find job opportunities through the uni’s partnerships with employers. Industry experts and employers will also visit campus to give information about different sectors and provide the opportunity for you to start making professional connections. Careers fairs are also held each year and provide a great opportunity for students to increase their job prospects.

Additionally, most undergraduate courses have placement opportunities, giving students the chance to get work experience.

Scholarships and bursaries are extra funding for students who meet certain eligibility criteria. This extra funding can go towards the cost of living and studying while at uni and doesn’t need to be repaid.

The BGU Bursary is for full-time BGU students who come from a household with a total annual income of £30,000 or less and who fit into one of a number of specific groups.

For example, student parents who come from a household with an income of less than £30,000 per year are entitled to up to £1,000 per year through the BGU Bursary. Also, any student who has left the care system to go to uni is entitled to up to £3,600 per year, while students who are estranged from their parents can receive up to £1,000 per year.

The bursary is also open to mature students (over the age of 21-years old), students from a low participation area and student carers. It should be noted that you can only apply for one of these bursaries, even if you identify with more than one of the groups.

You can find out about all the scholarships and bursaries available, as well as their eligibility criteria, by visiting the uni’s online funding pages.