Durham University ranked third in the UK in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 — and was named University of the Year. If you are applying to Durham, you are applying to one of the most competitive non-Oxbridge universities in England. This guide gives you the real figures.
The real acceptance rate at Durham
There are two numbers you will see quoted for Durham's acceptance rate, and they mean very different things.
The offer rate is the most useful number for prospective applicants. In the 2023/24 cycle, Durham made 23,657 conditional offers from 32,995 applications — an offer rate of approximately 72%. This is higher than many people expect for a university of Durham's standing.
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Review my statement → From €7.49 · Results in under 10 minThe enrolment rate — the proportion of applicants who actually end up enrolled — is lower, around 41%. This lower figure reflects the fact that most students who receive a Durham offer also hold offers from other universities, and many of those students choose to go elsewhere. The enrolment rate tells you about competition between universities, not about your probability of getting an offer.
The conclusion: your probability of receiving an offer from Durham, given a strong application, is meaningfully higher than at UCL, Bristol, Exeter, or other popular competitors. But "72% offer rate" does not mean Durham is easy to get into — it means Durham makes offers to a large proportion of qualified applicants. The 28% who don't receive offers are mostly below the academic bar for their chosen course.
Source: Durham University Undergraduate Admissions Statistics, 2023/24.
Entry requirements by course
Durham's offers are almost entirely at AAA for the majority of courses, with some subjects requiring one or two A* grades at the top end.
| Course | Typical A-level Offer | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Law | AAA | LNAT required + mandatory interview |
| History | AAA | A-level History required |
| Economics | AAA | A-level Maths required |
| Psychology | AAA | GCSE Maths grade 4/C minimum |
| English Literature | AAA | — |
| Philosophy | AAA | — |
| Computer Science | AAA–A*AA | A-level Maths required |
| Engineering | A*AA–AAA | Maths + Physics/Chemistry/Biology/Geology required |
| Mathematics | A*A*A | TMUA/MAT/STEP strongly recommended |
| Physics | A*AA–AAA | Maths + Physics required |
| Natural Sciences | AAA–A*AA | Relevant science subjects required |
Note: Durham does not offer an undergraduate Medicine degree. The Medical School merged with Newcastle University in 2017. Students interested in medicine from the North East should look at Newcastle instead.
IB requirements: Durham typically offers 34–36 points overall, with Standard Level English at 5 or above required for most courses. The IB diploma is accepted for all undergraduate programmes.
The Law LNAT and interview: Durham's double barrier
If you are applying for Law at Durham, you face two requirements beyond academic grades that most other courses at Durham do not have.
The LNAT (Law National Aptitude Test) is mandatory for Durham Law. It consists of a 42-question multiple choice section and a 40-minute essay. In the 2022 cycle, all LNAT candidates averaged 23.9 on the MCQ section; Durham offer holders averaged 26.0. Durham advises that a score of 29 or above significantly strengthens an application. There is no published minimum cutoff — the LNAT is used holistically alongside academic results and personal statement — but a score below 25 creates a meaningful disadvantage.
The interview is mandatory for all Durham Law shortlisted candidates. Durham Law interviews are academic in nature, focusing on your ability to reason through legal and philosophical problems rather than testing knowledge. Most other Durham courses do not require an interview.
For Law specifically, the combination of AAA grades, a competitive LNAT score (29+), and a strong interview performance creates the most selective process of any Durham undergraduate programme.
Rankings and reputation: what the numbers show
Durham is consistently in the UK top 5 and performs particularly strongly in subject-level rankings.
- Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026: 3rd in the UK overall; University of the Year 2026
- Complete University Guide 2026: 5th in the UK
- QS World University Rankings 2026: 94th globally; 22 subjects in the world's top 100
- Times Higher Education 2025: 174th globally
Durham was named University of the Year for 2026 specifically for its combination of academic performance, student satisfaction, and its collegiate system. The Times cited Durham's student experience as a distinguishing factor versus comparably-ranked universities.
Subject rankings: Durham has particular strength in Philosophy, Theology, Physics, Geography, and Law. Its 22 QS world top-100 subject rankings represent a broad academic profile rather than dominance in one or two areas.
The collegiate system and what it means for applicants
Durham has 17 colleges, and every undergraduate student belongs to one. The college allocates accommodation (particularly in first year), provides pastoral support, and forms the basis of a student's social community.
Students can express a college preference when applying but are not guaranteed their first choice. The college system is not directly relevant to the admissions decision — your college does not affect your academic offer, and all teaching is department-based. But the college structure is central to what makes the Durham experience distinctive, and it is one reason the university scores highly on student satisfaction surveys.
Durham is one of only three universities in the UK with a full collegiate system (alongside Oxford and Cambridge), and this is a genuine selling point in the eyes of both students and employers who value the community structure.
Who gets into Durham?
The typical Durham applicant who receives an offer is:
- Achieving or predicted AAA or above at A-level across strong academic subjects
- Applying for a course that aligns with their A-level profile (e.g. Economics applicants with A-level Maths)
- For Law: submitting a LNAT in the upper third of scores (28+) and performing well at interview
- Writing a personal statement that demonstrates genuine intellectual engagement with the subject, not just achievement
Durham does not rely on super-curricular lists. What distinguishes strong personal statements for Durham courses is evidence that you think about your subject rather than just completing it — critical engagement with books, ideas, or questions that go beyond what the A-level syllabus requires you to do.
Durham's offer rate of 72% means the majority of academically qualified applicants receive an offer. If your grades are at the level and your personal statement is solid, the odds are in your favour. The candidates who don't receive offers typically fall short on academic results, are applying to the most competitive courses (Law, Mathematics, Engineering), or submit personal statements that fail to demonstrate sufficient subject engagement.
Durham vs. comparable universities
Students who apply to Durham typically also apply to Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, and occasionally Leeds, York, or Warwick. A few apply to both Durham and Oxford or Cambridge (though this combination is rare given Durham's own selectivity).
The key advantage Durham offers over Bristol or Edinburgh in terms of applications is a higher offer rate — Durham is more willing to make conditional offers to strong students than Bristol (which has a tighter offer rate of approximately 67% on a much larger application pool). In practice, many students use Durham as an ambitious-but-realistic choice alongside Exeter or Bristol as their firm.
What actually determines whether you get in
For most Durham courses, it comes down to three things in this order:
- Predicted (and actual) A-level grades. The academic bar is the first filter. Without AAA predicted, most Durham departments will not make an offer.
- Personal statement. Durham admissions teams use the personal statement to distinguish between applicants at similar predicted grade levels. The question they are asking is: does this student have the intellectual curiosity and subject engagement to thrive in a Durham department?
- For Law only: LNAT score and interview performance.
References and contextual circumstances are also considered but are not differentiating factors for the majority of applicants from standard backgrounds.
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