Where it ranks in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, what it’s really like to study there, and what halls and living costs look like.
St Mary's is a small Catholic university on a leafy campus at Strawberry Hill in Twickenham, south-west London. With about 6,000 students, it has a close-knit feel, and university halls are on campus and catered. Sport is a big part of the place, from sport science degrees to elite athletes training on site.
You get the benefits of London (the Thames, Richmond and central London are all within reach) without living in the middle of it. The flip side is the London price tag: halls cost about £196–£303 a week for 2026/27, although meals, bills and internet are included.
Known for
St Mary's University, Twickenham is 70th out of 124 UK universities in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, with an overall score of 46.9, below 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 68 | University of Derby | 47.2 |
| 69 | Edinburgh Napier University | 47 |
| 70 | St Mary's University, Twickenham | 46.9 |
| 71 | University of Gloucestershire | 46.7 |
| 72 | Aston University | 46.5 |
Each award ranks all 124 universities on one part of student life. Click through for the full table.
25th of 124 · Safety Score 56.9
26th of 123 · Happiness Score 58.3
28th of 122 · Careers Score 39.8
31st of 124 · Employability Score 38.2
46th of 124 · Wellbeing Score 54.1
70th of 124 · Sustainability Score 48.5
71st of 124 · Value Score 43.3
74th of 124 · Balance Score 39.9
79th of 124 · Freshers Score 51.9
79th of 124 · Nightlife Score 45.7
81st of 124 · Social Score 45.4
85th of 124 · Affordability Score 51.1
94th of 124 · Societies Score 42.5
98th of 124 · Inclusion Score 45.1
108th of 124 · Innovation Score 41
Twickenham as a student city
Ranked 45th of 72 UK university cities in our Best University Cities 2027 ranking, with a score of 49.7.
St Mary's University, Twickenham appears in 16 of our subject league tables. Here’s where it places in each, best first.
| Subject | Rank | Table size | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Writing | 7th | of 34 | 84 |
| Primary Education | 14th | of 59 | 139 |
| Marketing | 28th | of 88 | 151 |
| Physiotherapy | 16th | of 49 | 113 |
| Sports Science | 27th | of 78 | 136 |
| Psychology | 39th | of 108 | 154 |
| Teaching | 34th | of 79 | 135 |
| History | 33rd | of 76 | 121 |
| Criminology | 41st | of 94 | 141 |
| Sociology | 44th | of 86 | 130 |
| Subject | Rank | Table size | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| International Relations | 38th | of 71 | 99 |
| Business and Management | 63rd | of 114 | 134 |
| Politics | 45th | of 78 | 106 |
| Law | 56th | of 97 | 108 |
| Film Production | 53rd | of 87 | 121 |
| English Language and Literature | 33rd | of 54 | 82 |
Subject tables compare universities on graduate earnings, student satisfaction, teaching quality and academic support. Scores aren’t comparable between subjects.
St Mary's Students' Union runs the clubs, societies and events. The 1850 Building on campus has a bar and student lounge open to all students. Sport is central to campus life, with high-performance facilities and plenty of teams. Twickenham and nearby Richmond have riverside pubs, cafés and parks along the Thames, and Twickenham Stadium is close by for rugby and gigs. Central London is easily reachable for bigger nights out, shows and days out.
University halls cost £196–£303 per week (2026/27, 36-week catered licences; meals, bills, internet and contents insurance included) (2026/27 prices).
First-year accommodation guarantee
St Mary's guarantees a place in university accommodation to all new, eligible first-year undergraduates who have accepted St Mary's as their firm choice and applied for accommodation by midday (UK time) on Friday 5 June 2026. Applications stay open after that, but rooms are allocated first come, first served from mid-July and aren't guaranteed.
| Hall | Area | Rooms | From | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waldegrave Houses Catered | Campus | shared bathroom (single and twin rooms) | £196/wk | The cheapest option is a large twin shared room (£7,061.04 for 36 weeks). Standard singles cost £8,709.12 (about £242 a week) and large singles £9,303.84. |
| Clive Catered | Campus | shared bathroom | £249/wk | £8,958.60 for a 36-week licence (13 September 2026 to 23 May 2027). |
| Graham, Wiseman & Doyle Catered | Campus | shared bathroom | £249/wk | Wiseman £8,958.60, Doyle and Graham £9,303.84 (about £258 a week), for 36 weeks. Has common rooms. |
| Old House Catered | Campus | shared bathroom | £258/wk | £9,303.84 for 36 weeks for home undergraduates. |
| Cashin and Cronin Catered | Campus | en-suite | £296/wk | £10,652.04 for 36 weeks. En-suite bathrooms are cleaned weekly. |
| De Marillac Catered | Campus | en-suite | £303/wk | The most expensive: modern en-suite rooms over four floors, £10,924.20 for 36 weeks. |
Prices are the university’s published weekly starting prices and can change. Always check the official accommodation site before applying.
Walking distance to campus, leafy and residential, with riverside pubs. Expect London-level rents.
A quiet, villagey area by the Thames, one stop from Strawberry Hill.
Further out but often cheaper, with buses and trains into Twickenham.
Top tip
Make St Mary's your firm choice on UCAS and you'll automatically be invited to apply through the accommodation portal, which opens in spring. Apply by the early-June deadline to be guaranteed a room. Halls are allocated first come, first served, so apply as early as you can for the best chance of your preferred hall. The Accommodation Service also helps with private renting and lodgings.
This is London, so budget carefully. The university's cost guide suggests catered university accommodation costs £735–£1,150 a month, plus food, phone, clothes, transport and socialising, for a total of £885–£2,120 a month. Private renting is pricier, at £1,040–£2,780 a month in total. Catered halls help, because most meals are already paid for.
Getting around
Strawberry Hill station is a short walk from campus, with trains to London Waterloo, and Twickenham station is nearby too. London buses serve the area. The university's cost guide quotes a bus ticket at £1.75 and all-day travel at £13.50.
Weighing up your options? Here’s how nearby universities compare in the Unifresher Rankings 2027.
St Mary's University, Twickenham is 70th out of 124 UK universities in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, with an overall score of 46.9. Its strongest results are for safety (25th), student happiness (26th), career prospects (28th).
Yes. It's in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London. Campus is at Strawberry Hill, with trains from Strawberry Hill station to London Waterloo.
Yes, for new, eligible first-year undergraduates who make St Mary's their firm choice and apply for accommodation by midday on the June deadline (Friday 5 June for 2026/27). After that, rooms are offered first come, first served.
Yes. All university-managed halls are catered, with meals in the Refectory included in the fee. Each hall also has a kitchenette for snacks and light meals.
For 2026/27, 36-week catered licences cost from £7,061.04 (a shared twin room in Waldegrave Houses, about £196 a week) to £10,924.20 (an en-suite in De Marillac, about £303 a week). That includes meals, bills, internet and basic contents insurance.
No. St Mary's halls stay open over Christmas, so you can stay. The Refectory closes briefly at Christmas and Easter, so you'll need to use your hall kitchenette then.
Sport is one of its big strengths. The university says it's internationally renowned for sport-related degrees, and its facilities are used by professional rugby teams, athletes and other elite sports people. It also supports performance athletes alongside their studies.
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.
