Keele University

Keele University is a public campus university in Staffordshire. It was founded in 1949 with a distinctive interdisciplinary vision of higher education and received its Royal Charter as Keele University in 1962. The university occupies an estate of around 600 acres of parkland and countryside close to Newcastle-under-Lyme, roughly an hour by road from both Manchester and Birmingham, and nearly all teaching, research and student accommodation is located on the one site.

Keele has more than 15,000 students and organises its provision across three faculties: Medicine and Health Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities and Social Sciences. Health subjects form a significant part of the academic profile, including medicine, nursing and allied health programmes. The university holds a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework, a result it achieved in both the 2017 and 2023 assessments. In the most recent Research Excellence Framework, around 80 per cent of its research was judged world-leading or internationally excellent, with notable work in food security, climate change, smart energy, tropical diseases and global health. Keele is also recognised for its commitment to sustainability across campus operations.

Information for International Students

Keele welcomes international students from many countries and provides dedicated support through its Immigration Compliance and Advice team, which offers specialist guidance on Student visa applications, working during and after study, and related immigration matters. Pre-arrival webinars and individual appointments are available to help students prepare for the move to the UK.

For most undergraduate courses the university typically requires IELTS 6.0 overall with at least 5.5 in each component, although medicine and some other programmes set separate requirements. Students who need to raise their English level can take an online pre-sessional English programme of 6, 12 or 16 weeks, delivered with OI Digital Institute.

Pathway study is available through Keele University International College, operated in partnership with Navitas, which offers foundation, International Year One and pre-master's programmes aligned with the university curriculum and leading to over 150 Keele degrees. The university guarantees on-campus accommodation for September entry applicants who make Keele their firm choice and apply by the published deadline. Graduates may be eligible for the UK Graduate Route after completing their degree.