The University of Westminster is a London-based university with institutional roots extending to the Polytechnic Institution, which opened at 309 Regent Street in 1838. The institution later became Regent Street Polytechnic and then the Polytechnic of Central London before gaining university status in 1992 and adopting its present name.
Today, the University operates through four campus groupings: Cavendish, Harrow, Marylebone and Regent. Its academic structure consists of the College of Creative Arts & Technologies, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Westminster Business School. Teaching spans science, computing, engineering, architecture, business, law, humanities, social sciences, media, fashion, film, music and related fields. Westminster also has an educational connection with Nepal through The Westminster College in Lalitpur.
| Field | University details |
|---|---|
| Institutional origin | Polytechnic Institution opened at 309 Regent Street in 1838 |
| University status | Polytechnic of Central London gained university status in 1992 |
| Legal form | Private company limited by guarantee without share capital and an exempt charity |
| Correspondence address | 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2HW |
| Campus groupings | Cavendish, Harrow, Marylebone and Regent |
| Academic colleges | College of Creative Arts & Technologies; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Westminster Business School |
| Study levels | Undergraduate, postgraduate, professional, short-course and research study |
| TEF 2023 | Silver overall; Silver for Student Experience; Silver for Student Outcomes |
The University's history is closely connected with 309 Regent Street, a site that remains part of Westminster today.
The Polytechnic Institution opened there on 6 August 1838 under the chairmanship of Sir George Cayley. Its early work focused on presenting technologies, inventions and scientific developments to the public. Practical and technical education therefore formed an important part of the institution from its earliest period.
The Regent Street site also became associated with developments in photography and moving images. A public photographic studio opened on the roof in 1841. In 1896, the Polytechnic Theatre hosted the first public presentation of moving pictures in the United Kingdom.
The institutional line that led to the present University passed through several changes in name and organisation. The Royal Polytechnic Institution closed in 1881. In the same year, Quintin Hogg purchased 309 Regent Street and moved his Young Men's Christian Institute into the building.
The institution later received public funding and became Regent Street Polytechnic in 1891. Its academic activity widened through the twentieth century as technical, commercial and degree-level education developed.
A further change came with the formation of the Polytechnic of Central London. Regent Street Polytechnic merged with Holborn College of Law and Commerce, creating the institution widely known as PCL.
Expansion was already visible through sites at Marylebone Road and New Cavendish Street. Harrow College of Higher Education joined PCL in 1990, adding another major location to the institution.
In 1992, the Polytechnic of Central London gained university status and the right to award its own degrees. It then adopted the University of Westminster name.
Several stages of this development remain visible across the present University:
309 Regent Street continues as an institutional and teaching site.
Marylebone remains one of the University's main teaching locations.
New Cavendish Street continues to support science, computing and related subjects.
Harrow remains part of the University following its earlier merger with PCL.
Little Titchfield Street is home to Westminster Law School.
Regent Street Cinema retains its connection with the Polytechnic Theatre's moving-picture history and reopened after restoration in 2015.
The University's current estate therefore reflects different periods of its development rather than a move from one historical site to an entirely separate modern campus.
The institution's legal name is University of Westminster. It is incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital and is also an exempt charity.
Its correspondence address is:
309 Regent Street
London W1B 2HW
The Office for Students is identified as the principal regulator for the University's charitable status.
Governance is led by the Court of Governors. The University's constitutional arrangements include the Memorandum and Articles of Association, standing orders and committee terms of reference.
Responsibilities are distributed among the Court of Governors, Academic Council, the Vice-Chancellor and other university bodies. The Court of Governors carries institutional governance responsibilities, while Academic Council forms part of the University's academic governance structure.
This arrangement separates major corporate and institutional responsibilities from academic decision-making while placing both within the University's formal governance system.
The University of Westminster does not operate from one single campus. Teaching is distributed across four campus groupings in London, with particular subjects associated with particular locations.
The four campus groupings are:
Cavendish
Harrow
Marylebone
Regent
Regent Campus consists of two sites: 309 Regent Street and Little Titchfield Street.
| Campus | Main academic areas |
|---|---|
| Cavendish | Biological and biomedical sciences, computer science and engineering, data science and informatics, nutrition and public health, psychology |
| Harrow | Art, design and visual culture, fashion, film and television, media and communication, music |
| Marylebone | Accounting and finance, architecture, business, construction and real estate, economics, marketing, tourism, events, transport |
| Regent | Humanities, social sciences, languages, politics, international relations and law |
Cavendish Campus is located at 115 New Cavendish Street in central London. Its academic activity is concentrated mainly in science, computing, engineering, health-related subjects and psychology.
Subjects associated with Cavendish include:
Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Computer Science and Engineering
Data Science and Informatics
Nutrition and Public Health
Psychology
Facilities at the campus include a library, computer rooms, student services, a polyclinic and spaces for study and social use.
The concentration of science, computing, engineering, public health and psychology gives Cavendish a clear academic role within the wider University.
Harrow Campus is located in north-west London and is closely associated with Westminster's creative disciplines.
Academic areas based there include:
Art, Design and Visual Culture
Fashion
Film and Television
Media and Communication
Music
University accommodation is also located at Harrow through Harrow Hall.
Harrow differs from the central London campuses in both location and subject concentration. Students in several creative disciplines therefore study primarily at a site away from Regent Street, Marylebone and Cavendish.
Marylebone Campus is located in central London near Regent's Park and Marylebone High Street.
The campus supports a large part of the University's business, architecture, built-environment and related academic activity.
Subject areas associated with Marylebone include:
Accounting and Finance
Architecture, Interiors and Urban Design
Business and Management
Construction, Surveying and Real Estate
Data Science and Informatics
Economics
Marketing
Tourism and Events Management
Transport and Logistics
Marylebone is also closely connected with Westminster Business School.
Its subject mix brings together business disciplines with architecture, property, construction, tourism, events, transport and related areas.
Regent Campus includes both 309 Regent Street and Little Titchfield Street.
Academic areas associated with 309 Regent Street include:
Criminology and Sociology
English and Creative Writing
History
Languages
Politics and International Relations
Little Titchfield Street is home to Westminster Law School.
Regent Campus also has particular historical importance because 309 Regent Street is the site from which the University's institutional history is traced to 1838. It remains a working university location as well as a direct physical link with the institution's early development.
The multi-site campus arrangement means that students studying at Westminster can have different daily academic locations depending on their subject.
Teaching at the University is organised through three academic colleges:
College of Creative Arts & Technologies
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Westminster Business School
Each college contains schools responsible for related subject groups.
The College of Creative Arts & Technologies combines architecture, computing, engineering and creative disciplines.
Its schools are:
School of Architecture and Cities
School of Computer Science and Engineering
Westminster School of Arts
Westminster School of Media and Communications
The college operates across more than one campus. Architecture has a strong association with Marylebone, computing and engineering with Cavendish, and several art, media and communication subjects with Harrow.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences brings together humanities, social sciences, life sciences and law.
Its schools are:
School of Humanities
School of Life Sciences
School of Social Sciences
Westminster Law School
Teaching within the college is distributed across locations including Regent Street, Cavendish and Little Titchfield Street according to academic subject.
Westminster Business School contains:
School of Applied Management
School of Finance and Accounting
School of Management and Marketing
Many business-related subjects are associated with Marylebone Campus, alongside economics, marketing, tourism, events, property and related fields.
The three-college structure provides the main academic organisation of the University, while individual schools give related disciplines a more specific institutional base.
The University offers undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and short-course study. Research degrees follow a separate route from taught postgraduate programmes.
Academic provision spans a broad range of subjects. Major areas represented across the University include:
Architecture and the built environment
Art, design and visual culture
Biological and biomedical sciences
Business and management
Accounting and finance
Economics
Computer science and engineering
Data science and informatics
Law
English and creative writing
History
Languages
Criminology and sociology
Politics and international relations
Psychology
Nutrition and public health
Fashion
Film and television
Media and communication
Music
Marketing
Tourism and events management
Transport and logistics
Individual degree titles, study duration, academic requirements, teaching arrangements and campus locations differ by programme.
The same course-level approach applies to tuition fees, English-language requirements and professional recognition. These matters are attached to individual programmes rather than treated as uniform across the entire University.
Westminster uses different application routes according to study level.
Full-time undergraduate applications are made through UCAS. The University's UCAS institution code is W50, while individual courses have their own course codes.
Most taught postgraduate applications are made directly through the University's online application system from the relevant postgraduate course page. Some programmes use other application arrangements.
Research degree applications follow a separate process from taught postgraduate study.
The University's admissions system also distinguishes between general country guidance and programme-specific requirements. Academic conditions can differ across courses, and international applicants may need to consider both their previous qualification and the requirements of the intended programme.
The University has Nepal-specific admissions guidance for applicants whose previous qualifications were completed in Nepal.
For undergraduate study, recognised routes identified for applicants from Nepal include:
A recognised International Foundation course following a validated UK syllabus
British Board A Levels
The IB Diploma
The University's undergraduate assessment therefore depends on the qualification presented and the entry conditions attached to the chosen programme.
Postgraduate entry is also considered according to the type and length of the previous qualification and the academic standard required for the intended degree.
English-language requirements are course-specific rather than represented by one score for every Westminster programme. The required standard therefore depends on the particular course.
For Nepalese applicants, this distinction is important because country-level guidance does not replace the academic conditions attached to an individual programme.
The University does not apply one international tuition fee to every degree.
Fees are published at programme level and can differ by subject, study level and study option. A tuition figure attached to one Westminster programme should therefore not be treated as the fee for another course.
The same principle applies to foundation study, postgraduate programmes and other study routes.
International students requiring a Student visa may also face separate financial conditions connected with the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies process and UK immigration requirements. These are separate from the academic tuition fee.
For understanding Westminster as a university, the key point is that tuition charges are course-specific rather than uniform across all academic programmes.
The University of Westminster received Silver in the Teaching Excellence Framework 2023.
Its results were:
Silver overall
Silver for Student Experience
Silver for Student Outcomes
The Teaching Excellence Framework is a teaching-focused assessment administered through the Office for Students.
It is distinct from commercial or international university league tables, which use different measures and assessment methods.
The named TEF result applies to the University's assessed teaching provision and should not be converted into a broad claim about every individual programme or student experience.
The University's careers and enterprise activity includes Zone29, based at 29 Marylebone Road.
Activities and facilities associated with Zone29 include:
Co-working spaces
Employer and mentor connections
Events involving industry professionals
Specialist facilities
Live briefs
Hackathons
Business challenges
These activities form part of Westminster's wider careers and enterprise provision.
Placement, internship and professional-year arrangements depend on the individual programme. A course containing a required or optional work-related element can therefore have its own academic, eligibility and cost conditions.
Institution-wide careers support and course-specific placement arrangements should be understood separately.
Westminster's relationship with Nepal extends beyond direct applications from Nepalese students seeking study in London.
The Westminster College, commonly abbreviated as TWC, is located in Kupondole, Lalitpur, and has a Transnational Education relationship with the University of Westminster.
The partnership includes two undergraduate programmes:
BSc (Honours) Computer Science
BSc (Honours) Cyber Security and Forensics
Students enrolled in these programmes have access to specified University of Westminster electronic resources under the partnership arrangement.
The relationship also includes progression or transfer possibilities for eligible TWC students who wish to continue study at Westminster in London. The applicable course and level depend on the University's progression or transfer arrangements.
Study at TWC in Nepal and study at a Westminster campus in London remain different delivery arrangements. Teaching location, admissions arrangements, costs and the day-to-day student experience are not the same simply because the programmes are connected with the University.
For students in Nepal, Westminster can therefore be encountered in two distinct ways: through direct international study in London and through its transnational education relationship in Lalitpur.
One of Westminster's defining institutional characteristics is the way its history and academic organisation are spread across several parts of London.
Regent Street connects the University directly with its 1838 origins. Marylebone reflects the institution's expansion into business, architecture and related fields. New Cavendish Street is associated with science, computing and health-related study. Harrow provides a major base for creative disciplines.
This multi-campus arrangement means that academic subject has a direct connection with daily location.
A law student based at Little Titchfield Street, a computer science student at Cavendish, a fashion student at Harrow and a business student at Marylebone may study within the same university while using different buildings, facilities and parts of London.
Understanding this campus-by-subject pattern is useful when considering Westminster as an institution. The University functions as one academic organisation, but its teaching is distributed across several distinct locations.
The University is based in London and operates through the Cavendish, Harrow, Marylebone and Regent campus groupings. Its correspondence address is 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2HW.
The Polytechnic of Central London gained university status in 1992 and adopted the University of Westminster name.
Its institutional history is traced to the Polytechnic Institution, which opened at 309 Regent Street on 6 August 1838.
No. It operates through four campus groupings. Regent Campus itself consists of 309 Regent Street and Little Titchfield Street.
They are the College of Creative Arts & Technologies, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Westminster Business School.
Westminster Law School is based at Little Titchfield Street, which forms part of Regent Campus.
Harrow Campus is associated with art, design and visual culture, fashion, film and television, media and communication, and music.
Full-time undergraduate applications are made through UCAS. The University of Westminster's UCAS institution code is W50.
No. Tuition fees are set at programme level rather than as one common fee across the University.
No. English-language requirements are course-specific.
Yes. The Westminster College in Kupondole, Lalitpur, has a Transnational Education relationship with the University. The partnership includes BSc (Honours) Computer Science and BSc (Honours) Cyber Security and Forensics.
