De Montfort University

By ALASTAIR MCCALL, DAILY MAIL UNIVERSITY GUIDE EDITOR Published: 13:07, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 13:07, 12 August 2026 Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Leicester-based De Montfort University (DMU) has switched to a block teaching model in which students learn one module at a time over a seven-week period. DMU was the first university to adopt this approach across nearly its entire curriculum, a move which is now spreading steadily through the sector. Its aim is to better allow students to balance their studies and other commitments - be that work or family - and it reflects the changing face of the student population. With the first cohort of entirely block-taught students now graduated, the university says the switch is yielding wider benefits, including increased student confidence, improved sense of belonging, ability to better manage workloads and reduced stress. Student satisfaction scores measured in the National Student Survey have been pushing up. DMU is the latest university to open a London outpost, offering a number of postgraduate business and data analytics courses delivered two days a week. Students here benefit from DMU's Edge programme, a six-week professional development module focussed on employability, digital skills, sustainability and enterprise. The university is growing the number of international students, helping to offset a decline in domestic applications that hit a ten-year low for September 2025. UCAS admissions were also down 7% on the year before, tumbling to below 5,000 for the first time in that period. The university is aiming to grow the 580 degree apprentices enrolled, with three new programmes in finance, housing and secondary education teaching in the offing. A suite of new law degrees will also be offered from September 2027, alone or with criminology, criminal justice and business law both at LLB and Masters level. Your browser does not support iframes. Financial support is targeted at a relatively small number of students in the most need. A total of 59 scholarships are available - among them the Ian and Clare Mattioli Scholarship, the Marjorie Blouet Scholarship, and the Stoneygate Scholarships - pay students up to £3,000 per academic year (or £4,000 per year for Stoneygate scholars). Eligibility criteria include various indicators of disadvantage and low annual household income. Care leavers and students who are estranged from their families receive a bursary of £1,000 per year for the duration of their studies. The three Stephen Lawrence Professional scholarships offer half-price tuition fees and a £3,500 cash bursary for each year of study. Named in honour of the black teenager murdered in south east London in 1993, it is open to talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds studying architecture, architectural technology, criminology, education studies, health and wellbeing in society, journalism, law or psychology. An Opportunities Fund offers grants between £100 and £500 to help students overcome immediate financial barriers to study, which is part of a wider hardship support package that paid out £930,000 in 2024-25. DMU also has about 90 annual academic awards across a range of subject areas, typically worth between £100 and £500 as a one-off payment. There are a relatively small number of places in university-owned accommodation - just 422 - but they are competitively priced with the cost of the cheapest rooms frozen (for a third successive year) in 2026-27 at £3,909 for a 41-week contract on a Bede Hall standard room. Private accommodation providers - United, Homes for Students and Now Students - also have plenty of rooms, the most expensive being four studios in Newarke Point costing £7,740 for a 43-week let. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Admissions, teaching and student support DMU's contextual offer scheme makes a 96-UCAS point offer (equivalent to BCD or CCC at A-level) to eligible applicants for courses where the standard entry requirement is in the range of 104-128 points (BCC to ABB). Applicants can qualify for these offers in a number of ways - and a third of admissions last year received one - which include living in a postcode among the 40% with the lowest rates of progression to higher education, having received free school meals, being care experienced or being a young carer, being estranged from parents or having a parent in the Armed Forces. Applicants who have completed the DMU Aspire four-day on-campus outreach programme also qualify. The university's success in widening participation and improving outcomes for students traditionally under-represented on campus has been recognised in becoming the first university to be awarded a Silver Race Equality Charter for removing barriers to study and improving degree outcomes for black, Asian and minority ethnic students. DMU also won a clutch of honours at last year's University Mental Health Advisers Network awards, which recognised outstanding contributions from members of its mental health team. Students in need of support can access it through the Healthy DMU Hub, with one-to-one support available from wellbeing professionals, practical guidance given on managing mental health challenges and advice available on reasonable adjustments that can be made to support academic success. The university's Autism Team was also shortlisted for Outstanding Student Support at last year's Times Higher Education awards. Weekly social groups, drop-in sessions, university transition support and an on-campus therapy dog are among the assistance available to autistic students. All DMU staff have mandatory training on student wellbeing and safeguarding, while those in student-facing roles must take a course on keeping students safe and supported.