Frequently Asked Questions
The Student Recruitment and Admissions Office is responsible for managing the admissions process within Durham University for full and part time undergraduate courses. Academic Departments are responsible for considering each application and making offers and passing successful applications to one of the sixteen colleges for consideration, whilst the Student Recruitment and Admissions Office ensures that this process occurs as fairly and as transparently as possible and that decisions are communicated to UCAS within agreed deadlines.
The questions below have all been asked by our applicants or their parents at one time or another, and are intended to provide further information regarding the application process, some of our requirements, our collegiate system, the University and life as a student.
If you find that your query is not addressed or if you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Student Recruitment and Admissions Team directly. Our email address is admissions@durham.ac.uk.
Does Durham University use contextual information?
Yes. Durham seeks to recruit the most able and most motivated students from all backgrounds who can best benefit from a Durham University education.
The primary assessment method is prior academic achievement. Admissions staff look carefully for evidence of merit and potential in the UCAS application, including an individual assessment of:
- A-Level (or equivalent) grades;
- GCSE (or equivalent) grades;
- the personal statement;
- the reference;
- the development of study skills;
- motivation for the degree programme applied for;
- independence of thought and working;
- skills derived from non-academic extra-curricular activities such as engagement in sport, the arts or voluntary and community work;
- contextual consideration of merit and potential.
In addition to the contextual information provided to us by UCAS, which includes the educational journey since age 11, an indicator of whether the applicant has spent time in care, and contextual information contained in the personal statement and reference, the University also provides our selectors with the following contextual information:
- if an applicant is from a neighbourhood where progression to Higher Education is low;
- if an applicant has participated in a significant outreach activity organised by the University e.g. a Summer School; and
- an indicator of whether the average school performance where the applicant took their GCSEs is above or below the national average.
All information will be presented in a similar format using an alphabetical system and no individual piece of the contextual information will be more important than any other. Durham does not make lower offers on the basis of this contextual or any other information and this will continue to be the case.
