Where it ranks in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, what it’s really like to study there, and what halls and living costs look like.
Liverpool Hope is a small university with a strong Christian heritage, formed when Catholic and Anglican colleges came together. Most teaching happens at Hope Park, a leafy campus in Childwall in south Liverpool, while creative and performing arts students are based at the Creative Campus, a short walk from the city centre.
With around 5,300 students, it feels close-knit, and halls are some of the cheapest you'll find in a big city: £100 to £145 a week for 2026/27, bills included. The trade-off is that Hope Park is a bus ride from the city centre, and the social scene is smaller than at Liverpool's bigger universities.
Known for
Liverpool Hope University is 55th out of 124 UK universities in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, with an overall score of 49.7, above the UK median of 48.5. Our rankings are built around the student experience, combining employability, freshers experience, happiness, nightlife, sustainability, inclusion, innovation and societies. That means big research names don’t automatically top the table. See how we score universities.
Marker shows the UK median across all ranked universities.
| Rank | University | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 53 | University of Salford | 50.4 |
| 54 | Oxford Brookes University | 49.8 |
| 55 | Liverpool Hope University | 49.7 |
| 56 | University of Birmingham | 49.7 |
| 57 | University of Buckingham | 49.5 |
Each award ranks all 124 universities on one part of student life. Click through for the full table.
16th of 124 · Nightlife Score 66.1
20th of 124 · Freshers Score 64.4
20th of 124 · Social Score 65.3
27th of 123 · Happiness Score 56.9
31st of 124 · Wellbeing Score 57.6
43rd of 124 · Affordability Score 58.9
51st of 122 · Careers Score 32.9
53rd of 124 · Societies Score 52.6
64th of 124 · Employability Score 30.6
64th of 124 · Balance Score 42.2
70th of 124 · Safety Score 40.9
74th of 124 · Sustainability Score 47.2
75th of 124 · Value Score 42.1
82nd of 124 · Innovation Score 50.8
113th of 124 · Inclusion Score 32.7
Liverpool as a student city
Ranked 3rd of 72 UK university cities in our Best University Cities 2027 ranking, with a score of 64.8.
Liverpool Hope University appears in 31 of our subject league tables. Here’s where it places in each, best first.
| Subject | Rank | Table size | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | 7th | of 21 | 62 |
| Artificial Intelligence | 23rd | of 66 | 97 |
| Social Work | 24th | of 67 | 141 |
| Fine Art | 22nd | of 58 | 125 |
| Graphic Design | 26th | of 68 | 127 |
| Drama, Theatre and Performance | 25th | of 60 | 107 |
| Primary Education | 26th | of 59 | 119 |
| Sports Science | 35th | of 78 | 125 |
| Psychology | 50th | of 108 | 135 |
| Criminology | 44th | of 94 | 127 |
| Subject | Rank | Table size | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion Design | 24th | of 49 | 96 |
| Biology | 25th | of 51 | 89 |
| English Language and Literature | 27th | of 54 | 92 |
| Marketing | 44th | of 88 | 120 |
| Business and Management | 59th | of 114 | 138 |
| Media and Communication | 41st | of 79 | 120 |
| Teaching | 41st | of 79 | 118 |
| Journalism | 31st | of 59 | 93 |
| Music | 30th | of 56 | 92 |
| International Relations | 39th | of 71 | 98 |
| Computer Science | 57th | of 102 | 129 |
| Economics | 48th | of 85 | 109 |
| Software Engineering | 34th | of 58 | 86 |
| Film Production | 51st | of 87 | 124 |
| History | 45th | of 76 | 98 |
| Philosophy | 32nd | of 54 | 85 |
| Environmental Science | 28th | of 47 | 83 |
| Politics | 49th | of 78 | 98 |
| Sociology | 58th | of 86 | 102 |
| Law | 66th | of 97 | 88 |
| Geography | 44th | of 63 | 87 |
Subject tables compare universities on graduate earnings, student satisfaction, teaching quality and academic support. Scores aren’t comparable between subjects.
Social life is more campus-based and low-key than at Liverpool's big universities. The Students' Union, based at Hope Park, runs sports clubs, societies and Welcome Week, including the Freshers' Fair. Hope Social puts on something most nights across the campuses, from quiz and bingo nights to live bands and themed parties, plus day trips. Hope Park Sports has a gym, sports hall, 3G pitches and courts for a £35 yearly fee. For bigger nights out, Smithdown Road, Lark Lane and the city centre are close by.
University halls cost £100–£145 per week (2026/27, bills and internet included, mostly 40-week contracts) (2026/27 prices).
First-year accommodation guarantee
The university says that "as a first year student you are guaranteed a room". Hope Park's 525 rooms are reserved for first-year undergraduates. Students who study all of their course at the Creative Campus get priority for Gerard Manley Hopkins Hall there. Room offers are made from late May or early June, once you've firmly accepted a course offer.
| Hall | Area | Rooms | From | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Julie's Hall | Aigburth Park | shared bathroom (with basin) | £100/wk | The cheapest option: 207 rooms in flats of seven to nine, sharing two showers and toilets per flat. Contracts are 40–51 weeks depending on course. |
| Hilda Constance Allen Building halls (Oscar Romero, Kitty Wilkinson, Josephine Bakhita, Catherine Booth) | Hope Park (Childwall) | shared bathroom (with basin) | £120/wk | The Grade II-listed 'Harry Potter Halls', with clusters of 11–14 rooms sharing kitchens and bathrooms. First-year undergraduates only, 40-week contract. |
| Josephine Butler Hall | Aigburth Park | en-suite | £120/wk | 220 en-suite rooms in flats of four to six, near Lark Lane and Sefton Park. Contracts are 40–51 weeks depending on course. |
| Gerard Manley Hopkins Hall | Creative Campus (near the city centre) | en-suite | £125/wk | 188 en-suite rooms in landscaped Angel Field. Open to first years and returning undergraduates, with priority for students taught at the Creative Campus. 40-week contract. |
| Angela Hall | Hope Park (Childwall) | shared bathroom (with basin, queen bed) | £135/wk | 51 rooms in purpose-built accommodation close to the main eating and drinking venues. First-year undergraduates only, 40-week contract. |
| Newman, Teresa and Wesley Halls | Hope Park (Childwall) | en-suite | £145/wk | 110 en-suite rooms in each hall, in flats of five sharing a kitchen. First-year undergraduates only. 40-week contract; optional Flexi Dining Package costs extra. |
Prices are the university’s published weekly starting prices and can change. Always check the official accommodation site before applying.
Liverpool's classic student strip of terraced house shares, cafés and bars, a couple of miles from Hope Park.
Quiet, leafy suburb around Hope Park. Handy for lectures, but further from the nightlife.
Leafy and relaxed, near Sefton Park, with Lark Lane's bars and restaurants and a train station for the city centre.
Lots of private purpose-built student blocks. Convenient for city life and the Creative Campus, but usually pricier.
Top tip
Apply through the university's Accommodation Services website as soon as you have an offer (applications for 2026/27 opened on 28 February 2026). It doesn't matter if the offer is conditional or insurance. You pick five properties in order, and the date you apply counts when rooms are allocated, so apply early. Use a personal email, not a school one. A £200 advance rent payment secures your room.
Liverpool is one of the cheaper big student cities, and Hope's halls are good value: 2026/27 rooms run from £100 to £145 a week with bills and internet included, or about £4,000–£5,800 for a 40-week contract. There's a £200 advance rent payment. Gym access is £35 a year, and bus fares are capped at £2. The university doesn't publish an overall living-cost estimate, so budget for food, travel and course costs on top.
Getting around
The university runs a free weekday daytime shuttle bus between Hope Park, the Creative Campus and Aigburth Park during term. Hope Park is on Taggart Avenue in Childwall, served by the 86C and other buses from the city centre. Broad Green station is just over a mile away. The Creative Campus is under a mile from Lime Street. Aigburth Park is under 500 metres from St Michael's station. Adult bus singles across Merseyside are capped at £2.
Weighing up your options? Here’s how nearby universities compare in the Unifresher Rankings 2027.
Liverpool Hope University is 55th out of 124 UK universities in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, with an overall score of 49.7. Its strongest results are for nightlife (16th), freshers experience (20th), social life (20th).
Yes. The university says first-year students are guaranteed a room. Hope Park's 525 rooms are reserved for first-year undergraduates. Apply as soon as you have an offer, because the date you apply counts when rooms are allocated. Offers go out from late May or early June.
For 2026/27, rooms cost £100 to £145 a week, with bills and internet included. The cheapest is St Julie's at Aigburth Park (£100, shared bathroom) and the dearest is a Hope Park en-suite (£145). Most contracts are 40 weeks, and you pay a £200 advance rent payment to secure your room.
Not the main campus. Hope Park is in Childwall, a leafy suburb in south Liverpool, a bus ride from the centre. The Creative Campus, home to creative and performing arts courses, is near the city centre, less than a mile from Lime Street station.
The university funds a free shuttle bus on weekdays during the daytime in term, linking Hope Park, the Creative Campus and Aigburth Park. Otherwise, local buses are capped at £2 a journey, and Aigburth Park is near St Michael's station.
No. Hope is an ecumenical Christian foundation, formed from Catholic and Anglican colleges, and it has an active chaplaincy. The chaplaincy says it supports students of all faiths and none, and you don't need to be religious to apply or fit in.
Hope Park Sports, on the main campus, has a gym, a six-court sports hall, squash and tennis courts, 3G, rugby and hockey pitches, and a dance studio. A £35 yearly registration fee covers the gym, courts and fitness classes. The Students' Union also runs sports clubs.
About this guide. Rankings data comes from the Unifresher Rankings 2027 (methodology). Facts, hall prices and costs come from the university and official sources listed below. Last updated 23 October 2026.
