Last updated: 7 August 2025

Durham University: Recruitment and Admissions  

The following Q&A provides detail on Durham University’s undergraduate admissions processes for International and Home students, with a focus on admissions and our International Foundation Programmes   

Key messages:

• Durham University is a leading, high-quality university. We never compromise on our academic standards.
• Our admissions policy is publicly available online. It is rigorous, transparent and equitable and applied at every stage of the recruitment process
• Entry to degree courses is not made available to International students at the expense of Home students. We have separate recruitment streams for Home and International students. International students do not get preferential treatment over Home students. 
• Our admissions decisions are made, first and foremost, on applicant academic qualifications and achievements.  We do not compromise on quality.  
• Admissions decisions are made by Durham University staff.

What is Durham’s admissions policy?  

Our admissions policy is publicly available online. It is rigorous, transparent and equitable and applied at every stage of the recruitment process

Entry to degree courses is not made available to International students at the expense of Home students.  

We have separate recruitment streams for Home and International students. 

In 2024/25, 75% of our new undergraduate students were Home students.

How are admissions decisions made?  

Our admissions decisions are made by Durham University staff.   

Admissions decisions are made by Durham University-trained admissions staff in line with our published admissions criteria.

What are International Foundation Programmes?  

International Foundation Programmes are intensive, year-long courses which offer a route of progression to degree courses.  

Durham University has admitted students from such programmes for the last two decades and from our International Study Centre since the 2017/2018 academic year.  We have always been completely transparent about this.  

Our International Foundation Programme is run by a third-party partner, Study Group.  It provides a one-year foundation programme for students mainly coming from countries that have 12-year school systems (schools in England and Wales have 13-year systems).   

There is also a one-year pre-Masters programme. Students enter full Masters programmes at Durham if they meet all the University’s stringent entry requirements at the end of that programme. 

How do students progress from International Foundation Programmes to Durham University?   

Students undertaking International Foundation Programmes are required to meet challenging progression requirements at the end of the year to transfer to a degree course. These are published on our website.  

There are high standards for admission to our International Foundation Programmes. There are also high standards for progression for degree study at Durham University which are consistently applied.  

How do you ensure high academic standards?  

We do not compromise on quality.

Entry grades to our degree programmes from international foundation programmes are benchmarked against our entry requirements for students applying to the University directly.

We have high entry standards to ensure outstanding students can reach their potential in studying with us. We periodically benchmark performance of our Durham University International Study Centre (DUISC) students against the performance of students coming through direct entry routes.  

How do entry requirements to Durham from International Foundation Programmes compare with other students?  

Durham University entry requirements for International students who have completed International Foundation Years are benchmarked to ensure they are equivalent to those for Home students entering with A-levels or equivalent.   

We require equivalent academic and English language standards, whether students apply to us having completed an International Foundation programme or directly.

We also offer a pathway for Home students through a Foundation Programme, with similar entry requirements to those coming via an international pathway.  

How does Durham University work with recruitment agents?   

Like many higher education institutions, Durham works with several international recruitment agents.  We have robust standards and processes for recruiting and managing our agents.    

The role of recruitment agents is to raise awareness of the Durham University opportunities in international recruitment markets to potential applicants. They also provide potential applicants with guidance on the UK university application process.  

We expect consistently high standards from our agents. We always expect information provided to prospective students to be of high quality. Where an agent falls below those standards, decisive action will be taken.  

Durham signed up to the Agent Quality Framework when it launched in December 2023. 

How does Clearing work for International students and Home students?  

Durham University opened Clearing on Saturday 5 July 2025 for both Home and International students.   

Candidates can apply through Clearing if:

• they achieved higher or lower grades than expected;
• they have changed their mind about what or where they want to study;
• they haven’t yet applied to study at university for September 2025;
• they didn’t meet the conditions of their offer;
• they have used ‘decline your firm place’ in the UCAS Hub. 

Clearing is open to everyone: Home and International students, school leavers and mature students (i.e. over 21 and returning after a break from full-time education).

We have separate recruitment streams for Home and International students, and this also applies to Clearing.

Entry to degree courses is not made available to International students at the expense of Home students. 

International students do not receive preferential treatment over Home students.

In making admissions decisions, we may offer flexibility for special circumstances for both International and Home students. 

However, we never compromise on our minimum acceptable grades for entry to Durham for both International and Home students.   

Does Durham University conduct interviews for entry to undergraduate degrees?  

We only conduct interviews for our BA Primary Education. Interview is compulsory and obligatory for any qualified applicant, regardless of whether they are Home or International, for professional reasons.