Is De Montfort University a good university to attend? I may be biassed as a student currently studying there but I think it’s top notch. I am also a local Leicester gal who has a lot of pride for her home city. So let me guide you through De Montfort University, and let the statistics and rankings do the talking.
De Montfort University, dubbed DMU by students, is located at Gateway House in Leicester City. The university specialises in art and design and their faculty of business and law. Founded in 1870, originally known as Leicester School of Art, it has evolved many times through the years with many titles. From the Leicester Colleges of Art and Technology, to Leicester Polytechnic, the university became De Montfort University in 1992. Named after the Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort, who established the first parliament in 1265.
History of De Montfort University
Seeped in its history and the culture of the city, De Montfort University definitely stands out. In 1947, The School of Corestry was founded, now known as Contour Fashion, one of DMU’s most celebrated courses. De Montfort University also has its connections with the Royals, as in 1993 Queen Elizabeth II opened the Queen’s Building in her honour, as well as a visit 19 years later in 2012 for her Diamond Jubilee tour.
De Montfort University’s awards
In the next decade, DMU went on to get ranked Gold for the Teaching Excellence Framework in 2017, becoming the first higher education to have the assessment by the UK government. 2018 brought DMU to be the Global Hub to support the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 16, to promote peace, justice and strong institutions. As a university with many historical firsts, DMU also became the first university to be awarded University of the Year for Social Inclusion by The Sunday Times Good University Guide in 2019. Very on brand for Leicester, the city of culture.
So, that’s DMU’s history. But what about the present? How does De Montfort University look after a global pandemic, and many successes in the decade prior? When assessing universities, covid-19 still needs to be taken into account, as many of them have failed to get back to their pre-pandemic standards. Despite it being nearly five years since then, the long term impacts are still seen today.
Student life at De Montfort University
De Montfort University itself has announced that 92% of its students surveyed said they would recommend DMU to others. Coming out with an average rating of ⅘. Alongside Student Crowd reviews stating it as ‘a fantastic choice for students seeking quality education and a vibrant campus life.’
As well as many other students saying it is good and adequate but could be better. From a current student’s perspective, I can agree with this statement. It is good, there are opportunities around, it does the job when it comes to getting a degree. However, in terms of university life— there’s not as much on offer. As a local, I know all of Leicester’s quirks and culture, but I can imagine for someone coming from somewhere like London, Manchester or even Nottingham it could feel quite lack lustre.
When I see what the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent are doing with their students, as well as the life Nottingham offers for students – there is a part of me that wishes I had gone there. As much as that pains me to say as a Leicester local. However, I think that this issue has more to do with the local council and community as it doesn’t seem to invest in students or appeal to them to come to Leicester. Speaking to friends who graduated in the late 2010’s, they often talk fondly of studying in Leicester. From bars that have now closed down, to the once thriving student union and the part time jobs that Highcross Leicester once had on offer. What I’m saying is, it all feels a bit quieter now. Which is fine, if that’s what you want.
How does De Montfort University rank?
In terms of ranking, for University Guides in 2024 De Montfort University is ranked;
119th in the Times University Guide 2024.
117th in the Guardian University Guide 2024.
711-720th in the QS World University Rankings 2025.
From a Leicester Mercury article published in 2021, it was reported that De Montfort University has slipped to the bottom 10 in university rankings. Which is a dramatic decline considering the opportunities and alliances they were making just three years before in 2018. This was largely due to rates of student satisfaction with teaching quality declining. Including wider undergraduate experiences were negatively impacted too. Graduate prospects were weaker, reporting 65% of DMU graduates in high skilled jobs or in further study within 15 months of finishing their degree.
Block Teaching and Education 2030
In 2022, De Montfort University introduced Block teaching. An initiative to help manage student workload using Education 2030. In essence, block teaching is where you only study one module at a time as opposed to all of them at once. It allows for a simpler timetable, giving students the ability to work around studying.
From my personal experience, I have found Block Teaching very beneficial. I have been able to work full time hours around my university timetable. Unfortunately, my timetable for 3rd year seems so chaotic. Which defeats the purpose. Many students I know decided not to rent in their 2nd or 3rd year, reliant on the two day timetable. However, now we have been hit with an ever changing timetable for 3rd year. It was to be expected in the final year that things would be taken up a notch. However, this seems unfair with no warning. Whereas, if we had had a regular university timetable from the beginning we could have seen these changes coming.
Disability friendly timetabling
As someone who has ADHD, I have found that this format has worked very well for me. I’ve been able to hit deadlines and prepare all my work in advance. Allowing for resources to be given out earlier, like reading lists making the experience more manageable. However, speaking to other students on my course; they have said that it ‘limits their creative freedoms’. It does not allow the time for an idea or a theory to mull over before the assignment is due. I can sort of agree with this, as I finish an assignment and find I still have things I want to go back to. Other students taking more creative, group led courses complained that Block Teaching was great in theory. However, a reduced timetable leads to more people missing classes, therefore impacting others’ work.
De Montfort Uni? Or University of Leicester? Or Maybe Loughborough?
In 2023, The Guardian’s university league tables published that the University of Leicester was ranked higher than De Montfort. UoL was placed 35th out of 121, whereas DMU was placed 120th… ouch. It is important to note that both universities specialise in different fields and it is important to focus on the course as opposed to rankings for the university.
Unfortunately for the universities in Leicestershire, they will always be in competition with Loughborough University. Still sitting in the top ten universities in the country, even during Covid.
Having said this, De Montfort University is coming back fighting. Scoring an acceptance rate of 45% it is among the 15 universities in the UK which have been granted the 5-star accolade by QS. It has been home to 25,812 students and 2,700 staff (2018).As of 2024, De Montfort University has an employability rate of 97.3%. Which is a jump from 65% three years prior. De Montfort University has been named one of the top 10 universities for student and graduate start ups.
Is De Montfort University good?
I think that it is fair to say that despite its lull in recent years, De Montfort University is ready for its academic comeback. I am a student going into my third year, from the strikes and difficulties of first year to now, it feels like a new page is turning for De Montfort. From my perspective, most of these setbacks are not directly linked to De Montfort University themselves. It seems to be the knock on effect of the changing cityscape of Leicester.
After the refurbishments of much of Leicester’s iconography in the late 2000’s and 2010’s the city is waiting for its next big boom. From the refurb HighCross Shopping Centre in 2008 to the discovery of Richard III in the car park (not far from DMU campus) in 2012 – the city has had an exciting decade. It is now waiting for the post Covid boom of investment, which feels very necessary and well on its way.
Overall, I think when picking a university, you must consider what is important to you and the course you are taking. If De Montfort University is offering what you want, I would 100% go for it. I, for one, know that I will earnestly miss the campus this time next year when I am no longer there. If you are heading to Leicester this year, why not check out our list of top ten places to have brunch!
