When looking at universities in the UK, one of the most popular institutions is University College London.
UCL is currently the biggest individual university in the UK, housing over 50,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. With its wide variety of courses and international acclaim, it’s no wonder that over 100,000 people send applications to the university each year.
We can see that demand is high for places at UCL, but does the university have the supply to meet it? In this guide, we will explore the admissions statistics for the 2023/24 admissions cycle at UCL, including the offer and acceptance rates, to see how difficult it is to get a place at the UK’s biggest university.
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University College London Acceptance Rate - overall
Before we dig into the data, let’s understand what metrics we will be measuring. In UCL’s official admissions report for the 2023/24 admissions cycle, three figures are reported for each department: Applications, offers and places. While the first two are self-explanatory, UCL’s reporting of places is somewhat unclear, as there is no indication that all places were filled. For this guide, we will assume that places represented the number of accepted students in each department.
With these figures, we can calculate two crucial pieces of information; the offer rate and acceptance rate. These represent the percentage of applicants that were given an offer or ultimately enrolled on to a course. We would calculate these statistics like so:
Number of offer-holders/admitted applicants/Total number of applicants
Both sets of statistics are useful to consider, but for applicants, offer rates tend to be more critical. Securing an offer is often the most challenging part of the process and requires the most effort. While many factors can influence your chances during the application stage, once you’ve received an offer, the main hurdle that remains is meeting the required exam grades.
Firstly, let’s look at the undergraduate admissions statistics for UCL as a whole (postgraduate admissions will not be included in this guide). We’ll examine data from the past five years to see how admissions have evolved. Keep in mind that the year listed refers to the year of entry, not the year the application cycle started.
University College London Acceptance Rates (2020 - 2024)
2024
Applicants: 79,082
Offers: 19,676
Success Rate: 7,001
Offer Rate: 24.8%
Acceptance Rate: 8.9%
2023
Applicants: 73,994
Offers: 21,221
Acceptances: 6,288
Offer Rate: 28.7%
Acceptance Rate: 8.5%
2022
Applicants: 58,362
Offers: 19,724
Acceptances: 6,049
Offer Rate: 33.8%
Acceptance Rate: 10.4%
2021
Applicants: 69,002
Offers: 23,908
Acceptances: 6,043
Offer Rate: 34.6%
Acceptance Rate: 8.8%
2020
Applicants: 50,628
Offers: 25,021
Acceptances: NA
Offer Rate: 49.4%
Acceptance Rate: NA
Bear in mind that some of these figures may not be accurate, as UCL’s admissions reporting didn’t maintain a consistent format until 2023.
From these figures, we can see that offer rates have been getting consistently lower since 2020, in line with the continual increase of applicants (excluding a drop in 2022, which may be misreported). However, the acceptance rate for applicants has been more inconsistent during this period, rising in 2022 before dropping in 2023 and rising again in 2024.
UCL vs Oxbridge - Acceptance Rates
As one of the UK’s top universities and a member of the G5 Universities, UCL is frequently compared to the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, together known as Oxbridge. These are two of the most prestigious universities in the world, meaning they are also popular choices for applicants.
They’re also known for their highly competitive and rigorous admissions processes, but how do they compared to UCL?
Oxford Acceptance Rates 2023
Applicants: 23,211
Offers: 3,721
Acceptances: 3,219
Offer Rate: 16.0%
Acceptance Rate: 13.9%
Cambridge Acceptance Rates 2024
Applicants: 22,503
Offers: 4,813
Acceptances: 3,681
Offer Rate: 21.4%
Acceptance Rate: 16.4%
As you can see, both universities combined received fewer undergraduate applications than UCL and have far smaller cohort. Oxford and Cambridge’s course selection is much smaller than UCL, so these figures make sense considering how the universities each operate.
The offer and acceptance rates at Oxford and Cambridge are also very close, meaning a higher proportion of successful applicants end up confirming their place at the university when compared to UCL.
Speaking of success rates, we can see that UCL is actually much more difficult to be accepted into compared to Oxford and Cambridge. While the offer rate was higher than either university, the final acceptance rate of 8.9% in 2024, which is roughly 6% lower than Oxford and over 8% lower than Cambridge.
However, this doesn’t mean Oxford or Cambridge are easy to get into, so you need to ensure you effectively prepare if you’re planning to apply to both Oxford and Cambridge. UCL has a more comparable acceptance rate to Imperial College London, though it is still lower by around 2%.
You can learn more about the acceptance rates at Oxford and Cambridge in our dedicated guides:
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UCL Acceptance Rates - A-Z
Now that we’ve seen the overall admissions statistics for UCL, let’s dive into the statistics for each individual department. We don’t have data for individual courses, so the following figures combine the admissions statistics for all courses under each department.
We’ll explore the figures for the past two years of admissions, and all of the data is sorted by the 11 faculties at UCL, so we’ll also see which faculty is the most competitive. Let’s begin:
UCL Arts and Humanities Acceptance Rates
UCL’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities teaches a variety of subjects relating to culture, language and art. It’s a fairly popular faculty, so let’s explore its acceptance rates:
UCL Arts and Sciences BASc Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 920
Offers: 485
Acceptances: 198
Offer Rate: 52.7%
Acceptance Rate: 21.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 642
Offers: 425
Acceptances: 148
Offer Rate: 66.2%
Acceptance Rate: 23.1%
UCL SELCS Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,106
Offers: 804
Acceptances: 195
Offer Rate: 72.7%
Acceptance Rate: 17.6%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,270
Offers: 999
Acceptances: 195
Offer Rate: 78.7%
Acceptance Rate: 15.4%
SELCS stands for the School of European Language, Culture and Society. The department has some of the highest offer rates in the whole university, but acceptances are far lower, indicating that many students either do not select UCL as their main choice or do not meet the required grades for entry.
UCL SSEES Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,819
Offers: 580
Acceptances: 228
Offer Rate: 31.9%
Acceptance Rate: 12.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,624
Offers: 600
Acceptances: 218
Offer Rate: 36.9%
Acceptance Rate: 13.4%
SSEES stands for the School of Slavic & Eastern European Studies. Although far more popular with applicants than the SELCS, this department has a far lower offer rate (less than half of SELCS). However, the acceptance rates are very close to each other.
UCL English Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,052
Offers: 288
Acceptances: 103
Offer Rate: 27.4%
Acceptance Rate: 9.8%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 834
Offers: 294
Acceptances: 90
Offer Rate: 35.3%
Acceptance Rate: 10.8%
UCL European Social and Political Studies BA Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 668
Offers: 256
Acceptances: 90
Offer Rate: 27.4%
Acceptance Rate: 9.8%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 658
Offers: 254
Acceptances: 92
Offer Rate: 38.6%
Acceptance Rate: 14.0%
UCL Slade School of Fine Art Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,128
Offers: 70
Acceptances: 45
Offer Rate: 6.2%
Acceptance Rate: 4.0%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,197
Offers: 48
Acceptances: 30
Offer Rate: 4.0%
Acceptance Rate: 2.5%
Slade teaches both Fine Art and Fine Art & Technology at UCL, but the department is one of the most competitive in the entire university. With an acceptance rate of just 4%, there are only 2 other courses at UCL that are more competitive, so be prepared for a challenging application if you wish to study Fine Art at UCL.
UCL Greek and Latin Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 359
Offers: 278
Acceptances: 65
Offer Rate: 77.4%
Acceptance Rate: 18.1%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 279
Offers: 241
Acceptances: 50
Offer Rate: 87.3%
Acceptance Rate: 18.1%
In both 2023 and 2024, Greek & Latin was the least competitive undergraduate department in the whole of UCL. Although the offer rate was exceedingly high, this didn’t translate to many actual places filled, as the acceptance rate was far more average each year.
UCL Hebrew and Jewish Studies Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 85
Offers: 50
Acceptances: 11
Offer Rate: 58.8%
Acceptance Rate: 12.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 74
Offers: 49
Acceptances: 10
Offer Rate: 66.2%
Acceptance Rate: 13.5%
In 2024, Hebrew & Jewish Studies was the least popular department at UCL, receiving just 85 applications across its five courses. Only 11 students were ultimately enrolled, making it the smallest cohort in the university. It was the only department to receive under 100 applications.
UCL Philosophy Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 723
Offers: 308
Acceptances: 90
Offer Rate: 42.6%
Acceptance Rate: 12.4%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 739
Offers: 342
Acceptances: 80
Offer Rate: 46.3%
Acceptance Rate: 10.8%
Be aware that the Information Studies department is also included in this faculty, but the number of applicants and offers was not reported in UCL’s document (presumably because there were fewer than five).
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 7,860
Offers: 3,119
Acceptances: 1,025
Offer Rate: 39.7%
Acceptance Rate: 13.0%
UCL Bartlett (Built Environment) Acceptance Rates
UCL’s Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment specialises in architecture and urban studies. It’s a fairly small faculty, with two of its four subjects only being introduced in 2024.
UCL Architecture Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 3,152
Offers: 365
Acceptances: 210
Offer Rate: 11.6%
Acceptance Rate: 6.7%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 3,287
Offers: 321
Acceptances: 207
Offer Rate: 9.8%
Acceptance Rate: 6.3%
UCL Environment, Energy and Resources Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 207
Offers: 67
Acceptances: 30
Offer Rate: 32.4%
Acceptance Rate: 14.5%
UCL Planning Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 695
Offers: 158
Acceptances: 55
Offer Rate: 22.7%
Acceptance Rate: 7.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 667
Offers: 142
Acceptances: 50
Offer Rate: 21.3%
Acceptance Rate: 7.5%
UCL Sustainable Construction Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 161
Offers: 67
Acceptances: 30
Offer Rate: 41.6%
Acceptance Rate: 18.6%
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 4,215
Offers: 657
Acceptances: 325
Offer Rate: 15.6%
Acceptance Rate: 7.7%
UCL Brain Sciences Acceptance Rates
The Faculty of Brain Sciences specialise in key areas of research and study relating to the human mind. Its course selection isn’t too extensive but covers vital topics, especially in the field of psychology.
UCL Ear Institute Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 110
Offers: 43
Acceptances: 18
Offer Rate: 39.1%
Acceptance Rate: 16.4%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 81
Offers: 35
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 43.2%
Acceptance Rate: 18.5%
UCL Linguistics Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 277
Offers: 150
Acceptances: 45
Offer Rate: 54.2%
Acceptance Rate: 16.2%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 48
Offers: 38
Acceptances: 45
Offer Rate: 79.2%
Acceptance Rate: 93.8%
UCL’s Linguistics department saw a large rise in applications between 2023 and 2024, increasing by over 500%. However, the admissions statistics for 2023 paint a confusing picture, as this is the only reported case of a subject having more acceptances/places than offers.
Due to how UCL reports its figures, it’s unclear if this figure just represents how many places are available or if the department admitted more applicants than initially intended. However, Linguistics was the least competitive department in 2023 by a wide margin, with less than 10% of its applicants not getting a place
UCL Psychology Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 2,815
Offers: 301
Acceptances: 139
Offer Rate: 10.7%
Acceptance Rate: 4.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 2,693
Offers: 280
Acceptances: 121
Offer Rate: 10.4%
Acceptance Rate: 4.5%
UCL Psychology and Language Sciences Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 297
Offers: 130
Acceptances: 52
Offer Rate: 43.8%
Acceptance Rate: 17.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 489
Offers: 281
Acceptances: 47
Offer Rate: 57.5%
Acceptance Rate: 9.6%
Also included in the Faculty of Brain Sciences is the Queen Square Institute of Neurology. However, the undergraduate offerings for this subject are currently very new. The department features on the undergraduate admissions report, but no figures are included, indicating that the department had fewer than 5 applicants.
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 3,499
Offers: 624
Acceptances: 254
Offer Rate: 17.8%
Acceptance Rate: 7.3%
UCL Engineering Sciences Acceptance Rates
As one of the top subjects in the UK, it’s no surprise that UCL’s Engineering faculty is so large and receives so many applicants per year. But how difficult is it to get into one of the courses there? Let’s find out:
UCL Biochemical Engineering Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 486
Offers: 319
Acceptances: 90
Offer Rate: 65.6%
Acceptance Rate: 18.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 357
Offers: 282
Acceptances: 57
Offer Rate: 79.0%
Acceptance Rate: 16.0%
UCL Chemical Engineering Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,153
Offers: 468
Acceptances: 140
Offer Rate: 40.6%
Acceptance Rate: 12.1%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 960
Offers: 412
Acceptances: 130
Offer Rate: 42.9%
Acceptance Rate: 13.5%
UCL Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 730
Offers: 425
Acceptances: 100
Offer Rate: 58.2%
Acceptance Rate: 13.7%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 715
Offers: 429
Acceptances: 100
Offer Rate: 60.0%
Acceptance Rate: 14.0%
UCL Computer Science Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 5,167
Offers: 575
Acceptances: 200
Offer Rate: 11.1%
Acceptance Rate: 3.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 4,369
Offers: 550
Acceptances: 160
Offer Rate: 12.6%
Acceptance Rate: 3.7%
Computer Science is one of the top degrees in the UK currently, and was UCL’s most popular department in 2024. With over 5,000 applications received, the course is also one of the most competitive, with an acceptance rate of only 3.9%. This is the joint lowest acceptance rate for a standard course at UCL.
The course is notoriously difficult to get into at most UK universities, but UCL will be introducing a brand new admissions test – the Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions – which may bring the offer rate down.
UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,673
Offers: 290
Acceptances: 120
Offer Rate: 17.3%
Acceptance Rate: 7.2%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,981
Offers: 474
Acceptances: 130
Offer Rate: 23.9%
Acceptance Rate: 6.6%
UCL Integrated Foundation Years Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,468
Offers: 33
Acceptances: 32
Offer Rate: 2.2%
Acceptance Rate: 2.2%
UCL offers integrated foundation years in engineering, but getting a place is extremely difficult. There was no data recorded for 2023, but the results for 2024 show that only 2.2% of the applicants for this foundation year actually got a place. This makes this department the most competitive in the whole university.
UCL School of Management - IMB Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,594
Offers: 235
Acceptances: 125
Offer Rate: 14.7%
Acceptance Rate: 7.8%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,910
Offers: 262
Acceptances: 112
Offer Rate: 13.7%
Acceptance Rate: 5.9%
UCL School of Management - Management Science Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,493
Offers: 191
Acceptances: 90
Offer Rate: 12.8%
Acceptance Rate: 6.0%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,876
Offers: 199
Acceptances: 83
Offer Rate: 10.6%
Acceptance Rate: 4.4%
UCL Mechanical Engineering Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 2,643
Offers: 548
Acceptances: 200
Offer Rate: 20.7%
Acceptance Rate: 7.6%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 2,346
Offers: 684
Acceptances: 175
Offer Rate: 29.2%
Acceptance Rate: 7.5%
UCL Medical Physics Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 115
Offers: 67
Acceptances: 22
Offer Rate: 58.3%
Acceptance Rate: 22.0%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 91
Offers: 73
Acceptances: 16
Offer Rate: 80.2%
Acceptance Rate: 17.6%
UCL Medical Physics - Biomedical Engineering Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 735
Offers: 291
Acceptances: 75
Offer Rate: 39.6%
Acceptance Rate: 10.2%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 602
Offers: 347
Acceptances: 68
Offer Rate: 57.6%
Acceptance Rate: 11.3%
UCL Security and Crime Science Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 266
Offers: 135
Acceptances: 60
Offer Rate: 50.8%
Acceptance Rate: 22.6%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 340
Offers: 149
Acceptances: 52
Offer Rate: 43.8%
Acceptance Rate: 15.3%
UCL Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 157
Offers: 46
Acceptances: 15
Offer Rate: 29.3%
Acceptance Rate: 9.6%
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 17,680
Offers: 3,623
Acceptances: 1,269
Offer Rate: 20.5%
Acceptance Rate: 7.2%
UCL Institute of Education Acceptance Rates
The UCL Institute of Education – or Faculty of Education and Society – covers more than just teaching courses, as you’ll find faculties dedicated to Media, Psychology and Social Science here too. The Department of Learning and Leadership is referenced in the admissions statistics report, but there is no specific data provided for 2024 or 2023.
UCL Culture, Communication and Media Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,158
Offers: 189
Acceptances: 80
Offer Rate: 16.3%
Acceptance Rate: 6.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,261
Offers: 105
Acceptances: 40
Offer Rate: 8.3%
Acceptance Rate: 3.2%
UCL Education, Practice and Society Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 837
Offers: 269
Acceptances: 130
Offer Rate: 32.1%
Acceptance Rate: 16.6%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 916
Offers: 330
Acceptances: 145
Offer Rate: 36.0%
Acceptance Rate: 15.8%
UCL Psychology and Human Development Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 614
Offers: 186
Acceptances: 85
Offer Rate: 30.3%
Acceptance Rate: 13.8%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 584
Offers: 202
Acceptances: 75
Offer Rate: 34.6%
Acceptance Rate: 12.8%
UCL Social and Historical Sciences Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,396
Offers: 367
Acceptances: 135
Offer Rate: 26.3%
Acceptance Rate: 9.7%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,266
Offers: 431
Acceptances: 135
Offer Rate: 34.0%
Acceptance Rate: 10.7%
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 4,005
Offers: 1,011
Acceptances: 430
Offer Rate: 25.2%
Acceptance Rate: 10.7%
UCL Law Acceptance Rates
This faculty primarily manages UCL’s Law (LLB) course, and it happens to be the most competitive course/department at the university.
2024 Entry
Applicants: 5,034
Offers: 407
Acceptances: 195
Offer Rate: 8.1%
Acceptance Rate: 3.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 4,626
Offers: 421
Acceptances: 195
Offer Rate: 9.1%
Acceptance Rate: 4.2%
UCL Life Sciences Acceptance Rates
The Faculty of Life Sciences is another of UCL’s STEM faculties, with this one focusing on biological studies.
UCL Biochemistry and Biotechnology Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,051
Offers: 299
Acceptances: 100
Offer Rate: 28.4%
Acceptance Rate: 9.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 958
Offers: 423
Acceptances: 100
Offer Rate: 44.2%
Acceptance Rate: 10.4%
UCL Biological Science Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,191
Offers: 387
Acceptances: 100
Offer Rate: 32.5%
Acceptance Rate: 8.4%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,203
Offers: 454
Acceptances: 90
Offer Rate: 37.7%
Acceptance Rate: 7.5%
UCL Biomedical Science Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 2,075
Offers: 465
Acceptances: 130
Offer Rate: 22.4%
Acceptance Rate: 6.3%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,980
Offers: 533
Acceptances: 130
Offer Rate: 26.9%
Acceptance Rate: 6.6%
UCL Human Sciences Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 239
Offers: 125
Acceptances: 35
Offer Rate: 52.3%
Acceptance Rate: 14.6%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 224
Offers: 93
Acceptances: 35
Offer Rate: 41.5%
Acceptance Rate: 15.6%
UCL Neuroscience Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 832
Offers: 144
Acceptances: 60
Offer Rate: 52.3%
Acceptance Rate: 14.6%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 640
Offers: 142
Acceptances: 61
Offer Rate: 22.2%
Acceptance Rate: 9.5%
UCL Pharmacology Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 612
Offers: 100
Acceptances: 40
Offer Rate: 16.3%
Acceptance Rate: 6.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 526
Offers: 117
Acceptances: 40
Offer Rate: 22.2%
Acceptance Rate: 7.6%
UCL School of Pharmacy Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 2,202
Offers: 480
Acceptances: 200
Offer Rate: 21.8%
Acceptance Rate: 9.1%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,558
Offers: 535
Acceptances: 200
Offer Rate: 34.3%
Acceptance Rate: 12.8%
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 8,202
Offers: 2,000
Acceptances: 665
Offer Rate: 24.4%
Acceptance Rate: 8.1%
UCL Mathematical and Physical Sciences Acceptance Rates
The Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences teaches the subjects featured in its name, as well as Chemistry and a variety of more specialised STEM subjects. UCL’s Natural Sciences courses are also housed in this faculty, although there is some content overlap with the Faculty of Life Sciences.
UCL Chemistry Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,695
Offers: 532
Acceptances: 170
Offer Rate: 31.4%
Acceptance Rate: 10.0%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,472
Offers: 785
Acceptances: 170
Offer Rate: 53.3%
Acceptance Rate: 11.5%
UCL Earth Sciences Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 644
Offers: 334
Acceptances: 90
Offer Rate: 32.5%
Acceptance Rate: 8.4%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 599
Offers: 497
Acceptances: 68
Offer Rate: 83.0%
Acceptance Rate: 11.4%
UCL Mathematics Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 3,061
Offers: 896
Acceptances: 253
Offer Rate: 29.3%
Acceptance Rate: 8.3%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 3,171
Offers: 1,193
Acceptances: 250
Offer Rate: 37.6%
Acceptance Rate: 7.9%
UCL Natural Sciences Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 904
Offers: 467
Acceptances: 125
Offer Rate: 51.7%
Acceptance Rate: 13.8%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 800
Offers: 597
Acceptances: 130
Offer Rate: 74.6%
Acceptance Rate: 16.3%
UCL’s Natural Sciences course is far less popular than the degree taught at Cambridge, which has consistently been the most popular course at the university. However, Cambridge only offers Natural Sciences, while UCL teaches individual sciences as well.
UCL Physics and Astronomy Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,925
Offers: 649
Acceptances: 201
Offer Rate: 33.7%
Acceptance Rate: 10.4%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 2,029
Offers: 672
Acceptances: 181
Offer Rate: 33.1%
Acceptance Rate: 8.9%
UCL Risk and Disaster Reduction Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 265
Offers: 174
Acceptances: 74
Offer Rate: 65.7%
Acceptance Rate: 27.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 258
Offers: 185
Acceptances: 63
Offer Rate: 71.7%
Acceptance Rate: 24.4%
UCL Science and Technology Studies Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 239
Offers: 166
Acceptances: 55
Offer Rate: 69.5%
Acceptance Rate: 23.0%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 261
Offers: 121
Acceptances: 27
Offer Rate: 46.6%
Acceptance Rate: 10.3%
UCL Statistical Studies Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 3,346
Offers: 461
Acceptances: 161
Offer Rate: 13.8%
Acceptance Rate: 4.8%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 3,234
Offers: 480
Acceptances: 148
Offer Rate: 14.8%
Acceptance Rate: 4.6%
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 12,079
Offers: 3,679
Acceptances: 1,129
Offer Rate: 30.5%
Acceptance Rate: 9.3%
UCL Medical Sciences Acceptance Rates
The Faculty of Medical Sciences houses UCL’s Medical School, which is one of the university’s most popular departments due to its Medicine degree. The faculty also contains departments dedicated to the study of infection, surgery and cancer.
UCL Cancer Institute Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 356
Offers: 106
Acceptances: 30
Offer Rate: 29.8%
Acceptance Rate: 8.4%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 257
Offers: 132
Acceptances: 31
Offer Rate: 51.4%
Acceptance Rate: 12.1%
UCL Division of Infection and Immunity Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 98
Offers: 58
Acceptances: 22
Offer Rate: 59.2%
Acceptance Rate: 22.4%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 97
Offers: 60
Acceptances: 19
Offer Rate: 61.9%
Acceptance Rate: 19.6%
UCL Division of Medicine Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 745
Offers: 432
Acceptances: 145
Offer Rate: 58.0%
Acceptance Rate: 19.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 553
Offers: 395
Acceptances: 111
Offer Rate: 71.4%
Acceptance Rate: 20.1%
UCL Medical School Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 3,585
Offers: 503
Acceptances: 334
Offer Rate: 14.0%
Acceptance Rate: 9.3%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 3,841
Offers: 439
Acceptances: 334
Offer Rate: 11.4%
Acceptance Rate: 8.7%
UCL Surgery and Interventional Medicine Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 389
Offers: 220
Acceptances: 68
Offer Rate: 56.6%
Acceptance Rate: 17.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 369
Offers: 255
Acceptances: 54
Offer Rate: 69.1%
Acceptance Rate: 14.6%
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 5,182
Offers: 1,319
Acceptances: 599
Offer Rate: 25.5%
Acceptance Rate: 11.6%
UCL Population Health Sciences Acceptance Rates
UCL’s Faculty of Population Health Sciences is by far the smallest faculty in the University, being the only one to have under 1,000 applications in 2024. There are two separate undergraduate degrees taught within this faculty, and neither saw very many applications, which naturally led to the faculty also giving the fewest offers and the lowest number of places.
2024 Entry
Applicants: 202
Offers: 102
Acceptances: 30
Offer Rate: 50.5%
Acceptance Rate: 14.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 148
Offers: 105
Acceptances: 30
Offer Rate: 70.9%
Acceptance Rate: 20.3%
UCL Social and Historical Sciences Acceptance Rates
The last faculty at UCL is the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences. This faculty is somewhat similar to the Arts and Humanities faculty, but this one covers History, Economics, Geography and more.
UCL Institute of Americas Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 198
Offers: 119
Acceptances: 60
Offer Rate: 60.1%
Acceptance Rate: 30.3%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 195
Offers: 147
Acceptances: 38
Offer Rate: 75.4%
Acceptance Rate: 19.5%
UCL Anthropology Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 424
Offers: 212
Acceptances: 65
Offer Rate: 50.0%
Acceptance Rate: 15.3%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 333
Offers: 210
Acceptances: 65
Offer Rate: 63.1%
Acceptance Rate: 19.5%
UCL Institute of Archaeology Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 454
Offers: 277
Acceptances: 75
Offer Rate: 61.0%
Acceptance Rate: 16.5%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 378
Offers: 231
Acceptances: 53
Offer Rate: 61.1%
Acceptance Rate: 14.0%
UCL Economics Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 4,124
Offers: 697
Acceptances: 297
Offer Rate: 16.9%
Acceptance Rate: 7.2%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 4,647
Offers: 657
Acceptances: 257
Offer Rate: 14.1%
Acceptance Rate: 5.5%
UCL Geography Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,060
Offers: 398
Acceptances: 145
Offer Rate: 37.5%
Acceptance Rate: 13.7%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 901
Offers: 618
Acceptances: 120
Offer Rate: 68.6%
Acceptance Rate: 13.3%
UCL History Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 1,241
Offers: 694
Acceptances: 145
Offer Rate: 55.9%
Acceptance Rate: 16.0%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 1,227
Offers: 597
Acceptances: 197
Offer Rate: 48.7%
Acceptance Rate: 16.1%
UCL History of Art Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 333
Offers: 158
Acceptances: 63
Offer Rate: 47.4%
Acceptance Rate: 18.9%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 326
Offers: 204
Acceptances: 55
Offer Rate: 62.6%
Acceptance Rate: 16.9%
UCL Political Science Acceptance Rate
2024 Entry
Applicants: 3,290
Offers: 580
Acceptances: 170
Offer Rate: 17.6%
Acceptance Rate: 5.2%
2023 Entry
Applicants: 3,030
Offers: 645
Acceptances: 160
Offer Rate: 21.3%
Acceptance Rate: 5.3%
Overall Acceptance Rate 2024
Applicants: 11,124
Offers: 3,135
Acceptances: 1,080
Offer Rate: 28.2%
Acceptance Rate: 9.7%
That covers the admissions statistics for every department within UCL. As we can see, a common theme is departments giving out far more offers than available spaces, so it’s important to know that an offer from UCL is far from a guarantee of a place on your chosen course.
With so much data to unpack, you will likely have some questions about the different departments, so let’s review these statistics to highlight some crucial information next.
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UCL Admissions Statistics - What Can We Learn?
With so much data, it can be hard to determine which departments are the largest, the most popular or the most competitive. Let’s answer these questions now!
UCL's Most Popular & Least Popular Departments
When considering the most and least popular departments at UCL, we will be looking at which ones had the most and least applications in 2024. This will typically influence the size of the faculty in general, but there are cases where demand for a course will far outweight the available places, so looking at applications gives us a better idea of which ones applicants are more interested in.
Most Popular UCL Departments
Firstly, let’s look at the departments with the most applications:
Most Applications UCL 2024
| Departments | Applications |
|---|---|
| Computer Science | 5,167 |
| Law | 5,034 |
| Economics | 4,124 |
| UCL Medical School | 3,585 |
| Statistical Sciences | 3,346 |
For the most part, these are all very self-explanatory and unsurprising, as Computer Science, Law and Economics are three of the most popular degrees in the UK currently. UCL Medical School teaches Medicine, which is another of the most in-demand subjects.
UCL’s Statistical Sciences department primarily teaches Data Science and Statistics, alongside combinations with Economics, Management and more. While these two subjects are typically two of the most popular in the UK, there is a growing demand for them, as well as lots of different variants to help boost the application rate further.
Least Popular UCL Departments
Now let’s look at the inverse and see which departments were less popular at UCL in 2024.
Least Applications UCL 2024
| Departments | Applications |
|---|---|
| Hebrew & Jewish Studies | 85 |
| Division of Infection & Immunity | 98 |
| Ear Institute | 110 |
| Medical Physics | 115 |
| Sciences, Technology, Engineering & Public Policy | 157 |
None of these departments are surprising to see as the least popular at UCL, as they mostly focus on niche subjects that are spun-off from more popular degrees like Medicine, History and Languages. All of these departments also had the smallest final cohorts, meaning they accepted the least amount of applicants (though the order is slightly different to the list above).
Science, Technology, Engineering & Public Policy, or STEaPP, teaches just one undergraduate degree of the same name. Considering how broad its scope is and its overlap with more popular degrees, its placement here is fairly expected.
UCL's Most Competitive & Least Competitive Courses
Next, let’s consider how competitive these departments are. Since we don’t have data for individual courses, it’s important to remember that some of this data may have been influenced by a specific course with an abnormally low or high offer/acceptance rate. However, it’s still valuable to know roughly what you should expect from your department.
Hardest UCL Courses To Get Into
Let’s start with the most competitive departments. We’ll look at both offer and acceptance rate, as these figures can sometimes be wildly different within a department if it gives out far more offers than it has places for:
Lowest Offer Rates At UCL 2024
| Departments | Applications | Offers | Offer Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slade School of Fine Art | 1,128 | 70 | 6.2% |
| Law | 5,034 | 407 | 8.1% |
| Psychology | 2,815 | 301 | 10.7% |
| Computer Science | 5,167 | 575 | 11.1% |
| Architecture | 3,152 | 365 | 11.6% |
Lowest Acceptance Rates At UCL 2024
| Departments | Applications | Acceptances | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | 5,167 | 200 | 3.9% |
| Law | 5,034 | 195 | 3.9% |
| Slade School of Fine Art | 1,128 | 45 | 4.0% |
| Statistical Sciences | 3,346 | 161 | 4.8% |
| Psychology | 2,815 | 139 | 4.9% |
For these lists, we excluded UCL’s Foundation Year department, as the entry requirements for these courses differ from standard departments. In 2024, they had both an offer and acceptance rate of 2.2%.
As we can see, the departments featured here remain fairly consistent, with only one entry changing between lists (Architecture and Statistical Sciences). While the offer rates are fairly inline with a typical course at Oxford or Cambridge, the lowest acceptance rates are extremely low, with none of the top five being over 5%.
In terms of the departments featured here, there are some surprising entries, especially the Slade School of Fine Art. Despite having less than 1/4 of the applicants for Law or Computer Science, it has the lowest offer rate across the whole university for an undergraduate department. Psychology and Architecture are also somewhat surprising entries here, but it seems there was a lot of demand for these subjects in 2024.
Many of these departments focus on one subject and teach only a handful of courses and course variants for undergraduates. Statistical Sciences is an exception to this, offering seven unique courses. Computer Science and Law each teach just one Bachelor’s degree, suggesting that these could be the most competitive courses in the entire university. Since Law is a full faculty, this also makes it the most competitive faculty in the entire university.
These are all popular degrees, so you’ll need to ensure you’ve properly prepared your application to be competitive within the top 5% of applicants to be successful
Easiest UCL Courses To Get Into
If you’re applying to any of the departments above, you’re going to have a very difficult application process. However, if you’re applying for one of the following departments, you’ll have a much better chance of getting your offer, though you’ll still need to put the work in to ensure you’re considered appropriate for your course.
Highest Offer Rates At UCL 2024
| Departments | Applications | Offers | Offer Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greek & Latin | 359 | 278 | 77.4% |
| SELCS | 1,106 | 804 | 72.7% |
| Science and Technology Studies | 239 | 166 | 69.5% |
| Risk and Disaster Reduction | 265 | 174 | 65.7% |
| Biochemical Engineering | 486 | 319 | 65.6% |
Highest Acceptance Rates At UCL 2024
| Departments | Applications | Acceptances | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Institute of Americas | 198 | 60 | 30.3% |
| Risk and Disaster Reduction | 265 | 74 | 27.9% |
| Science and Technology Studies | 239 | 55 | 23.0% |
| Security and Crime Science | 266 | 60 | 22.6% |
| Division of Infection and Immunity | 98 | 22 | 22.4% |
Compared to the most competitive UCL departments, there’s a lot more variance between the offer and acceptance rates here, with only two departments appearing on both lists.
As for the departments here, one of the most notable is SELCS (School of European Languages, Culture and Society), which gave out more offers than every other department except Mathematics (which only had an offer rate of 29.3%). Most of the departments here received under 500 applications, which likely contributes to their placement here.
Looking at the faculties, Arts and Humanities had the highest offer rate at 39.7%, while the highest acceptance rate was achieved by Population Health Sciences. The Arts and Humanities Faculty hosts both the most and least competitive departments for offers (Fine Art and Greek & Latin), while the Population Health Science Faculty teaches just one course that isn’t very competitive.
The biggest observation to make here is the difference between the offer and acceptance rates on display here. Even in departments that award offers to over 70% of their applicants, the acceptance rate typically falls below 20% (only 6 departments had acceptance rates above this). There are multiple potential factors that cause this, but let’s consider the departments with the biggest divide between offer and acceptance rate to get a better understanding of why this may happen.
Offer and Acceptance Divide
As we’ve seen, there can often be a large difference between the number of offers given and the number of available places, both in percentages and in real terms. Which departments have the largest divides? Let’s find out:
| Departments | Applications | Offers | Offer Rate | Acceptances | Acceptance Rate | % Divide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greek and Latin | 359 | 278 | 77.4% | 65 | 18.1% | 59.3% |
| SELCS | 1,106 | 804 | 72.7% | 195 | 17.6% | 55.1% |
| Biochemical Engineering | 486 | 319 | 65.6% | 90 | 18.5% | 47.1% |
| Science and Technology Studies | 239 | 166 | 69.5% | 55 | 23.0% | 46.4% |
| Hebrew and Jewish Studies | 85 | 50 | 58.8% | 11 | 12.9% | 45.9% |
We can see that the departments with the largest divides are typically the ones that are the least competitive for both offers and places. However, over a third of UCL departments have a divide of over 20%, showing that it’s fairly standard practice to give more offers than needed at the university.
As for why this may be happening, there are several options. Firstly, applicants may just not be getting the grades that they need to be admitted. It’s not uncommon, and UCL mostly provides conditional offers with fairly high entry requirements.
However, another key factor is the alternative options available for applicants. UCL is one of the most popular and prestigious universities in the UK, but it’s not the only option in many cases. The other G5 Universities in the UK are equally as recognised (if not more so), so UCL may not be every applicant’s first choice.
Applicants who are able to get an offer from Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial or LSE will very likely be given an offer from UCL as well, based on the strength of their application. However, when looking at the divide between offers and acceptances at these universities, the gaps are usually less extreme, especially at Oxbridge.
While these divides are also not extreme for every UCL course, there is generally a higher proportion of offers that don’t lead to a place versus its G5 counterparts. These universities have equally strict grade requirements, so this could indicate that many applicants view UCL as a second choice.
Despite this, UCL is still the largest university in the UK and seems to have no difficulty filling places on each of it’s courses.
We hope this guide has helped you to understand the chances of success that an average applicant has at UCL. Remember that UCL is a member of the Russell Group, which are universities that are notorious for being more competitive than a standard university, so be sure to check out the other acceptance rates in the group.
While these statistics indicate how the previous cohorts did, remember that this data isn’t a prediction for your admissions cycle. Things can change at any time, so the only way to ensure you have the best chances of success is to build your application and become as competitive as possible for your course.
This is tough to do alone, but our UCL Programme is available to help you get through the Personal Statement, admissions test and interviews like a pro. We’ve spent over ten years getting students into Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and more, so you can trust that our techniques work! Book a free consultation to learn more about the enrolment process today.
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