Abertay University

Abertay University is located in the diverse city of Dundee, Scotland, where one in five residents is a student. 11 percent of the student body is made up of international students, with 60 nationalities represented on campus.

With only 4,000 students enrolled across all programmes, Abertay University is small and friendly, and able to offer a personalised learning experience. It's currently the top modern university in Scotland for student satisfaction (Complete University Guide (CUG), 2026 and NSS, 2024) and has high teaching quality ratings, ranking as the best UK university for teaching quality in 2021 (The Times).

The university offers an expansive selection of undergraduate and postgraduate study programmes and boasts extensive industry contacts in both business and research. These are used to design industry-relevant courses and to provide students with specialised work experience and industry placements across a range of disciplines.

As the first university in the world to launch computer games and ethical hacking programmes, Abertay University is internationally renowned for video games education and research and is a UK leader in cybersecurity. The university is a National Centre for Excellence in both areas and hosts several specialist facilities, including one of Europe's largest PlayStation 5 labs, an emergent technology centre, a Visual Production Research Environment (ViPRE), and a hacking laboratory.

Dundee is an important hub for Scotland's games industry, and is the birthplace of many hugely influential titles including Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings, with the creator of both games being an Abertay University alumnus.

Dundee is the UK's only UNESCO City of Design and has been ranked the best place to live in Scotland by the Sunday Times. Dundee is vibrant, affordable, and well-connected by transport links. Students can easily access Scotland's stunning natural landscape, with world-famous mountains and breathtaking coastlines near the city.

Abertay University excels in applied courses that are ideal for students who want to receive an education in a specialist subject area and build their education towards a future career.

Abertay is a small and friendly university. Its size allows the university to provide its international students with a level of personal and academic support they wouldn't find at a larger institution. Small class sizes mean that students voices are heard, and they receive good contact time with lecturers.

Staff are leaders in their specialised fields and are actively involved with innovative individual and collaborative research as part of wider national research projects. Lecturers come from a range of academic, commercial, and professional backgrounds. Staff members have well-established links with businesses and industry, and students benefit from their expertise via cutting-edge teaching in a state-of-the-art learning environment.

Postgraduate researchers are supervised by attentive and experienced academics who are experts in their field. The Graduate School facilitates an interdisciplinary environment in which students can collaborate with leading professionals on well-structured research projects.

Courses at Abertay University are structured across two academic faculties. Both are home to specialist divisions which house subject-specific teaching and research centres.

The Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences is where industry and research meet to solve meaningful modern challenges:

• Department of Built Environment and Life Sciences
• Department of Health, Sport and Wellbeing
• Department of Sociological and Psychological Sciences

The Faculty of Design, Informatics and Business gives students the expertise, aptitude and confidence to succeed in their chosen field, be that in business or in the world of games and computing:

• Department of Games Technology and Mathematics
• Department of Games and Arts
• Department of Cybersecurity and Computing
• Dundee Business School

Abertay University's Graduate School dedicates itself to providing professional development, support, and training to the university's vibrant research and postgraduate community. The interdisciplinary facility has been specially designed to promote creativity, discovery, and innovative thinking across a diverse range of subject areas.

Academic

Abertay University provides a detailed qualification guide for international students on their respective country pages.

The country pages allow students to see the entry requirements needed to study at Abertay University in terms of equivalent qualifications from their home countries. Students whose home country is not listed in the guide are encouraged to contact the international admissions department to discuss entry requirements.

English language

International students are required to provide documentation of English language proficiency to study at Abertay University if English is not their first language. Accepted English language qualifications include:

• IELTS: an overall score of 6.0, with no band lower than a score of 5.5
• TOEFL: an overall score of 78 (required individual elements: L-17, R-18, S-20, W-17)
• IGCSE or GCSE in English Language: grade C or above
• Cambridge FCE/CAE/CPE: a minimum score of 169 on the Cambridge Grading Scale
• Skills for English (SQA/PSI): a minimum B2 with Pass with Merit
• European Baccalaureate: a minimum of English Language 1 at grade 6 or English Language 2 at grade 7
• International Baccalaureate: English B at S5 or H4, or English A (no specific grade required)

A full range of English language qualifications can be found in detail in the university's English language requirements guide. If students require further assistance navigating the university's English language requirements, they are encouraged to contact Abertay University's admissions university office.

Accommodation

Abertay University offers its international students places in three accommodation halls provided by private agents. Parker House provides ensuite rooms in various sizes, from single rooms to studios. All Parker House flats have a communal kitchen, and feature social spaces with pool tables, laundry facilities and a gym. The halls are close to the city centre and a five-minute walk from the university campus.

Meadowside Court is situated on the edge of the university's campus and offers self-catered flats. Places are available within six- or nine-bedroom flats. All flats come with a living room area and a communal kitchen.

Lyon Street Terrace provides 126 recently refurbished flats, available with one-, two-, or three-bedroom occupancies. Lyon Street is located a 10-minute walk from campus and is served by good public transport links.

Campus facilities

The university's state-of-the-art learning facilities on campus include subject-specific studios and labs. The Bernard King Library provides four floors of study spaces and fantastic access to specialist books, journals, and eBooks. There is also a gym on campus, as well as cafes where students can eat, relax, and socialise with their peers.

Abertay University offers a range of scholarships and funding opportunities for international students studying at the university.

Undergraduate:

• The Abertay International Scholarship is a funding award of up to GBP 12,000 to new international undergraduate students. Students awarded the scholarship receive GBP 3,000 per year for up to four years of study. International students granted the award have these payments deducted from their annual tuition fees.

To receive the international scholarship, recipients need to be classified as overseas students by Abertay University and attend their studies in person as a registered full-time undergraduate student in the first year of their degree. Students must meet all the entry requirements detailed in their admissions offer.

Postgraduate:

• The Abertay International Postgraduate Scholarship is a funding award of up to GBP 3,000 to new international postgraduate students. International students granted the award have this payment deducted from their tuition fees.

A range of subject-specific scholarships are also available to international students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Prospective students are encouraged to visit the university's scholarships page for full details of the financial awards available and their relevant terms and conditions.

InGAME catalyses industry growth

Established in 2018 at Abertay University, InGAME (Innovation for Games and Media Enterprise) has been at the forefront of significant growth in the UK's video game industry. InGAME is at the heart of Dundee's video game cluster and represents a collaboration between Abertay University, the University of Dundee, the University of St Andrews, and a wealth of industry partners.

As national testbed for innovation, a recent report from BiGGAR Economics highlighted the positive economic and social impact of the ambitious project. The report concluded that companies collaborating with InGAME are projected to generate an estimated GBP 84.7 million gross value added in the next 10 years.

The success of InGAME has been instrumental in the university securing a preferred bidder status to host a new UK virtual production lab. The new lab will specialise in innovation and research for virtual production, presenting an exciting opportunity for researchers at the university's School of Design and Informatics.

Complete University Guide rankings (2026)

Abertay University ranks as the top Scottish modern university for student satisfaction, research intensity and facilities investment. The rankings show an 81 percent student satisfaction score, building on a strong performance in the 2024 National Student Survey.

Abertay University received a score of 64 percent in the research intensity metric, demonstrating a strong emphasis on research performance.

Furthermore, it ranked first among Scottish modern universities for facilities expenditure, reflecting recent investments in campus infrastructure. Notable developments include the refurbishment of the ground floor of the library, the addition of the Competitive Games Lab and Wacom Cintiq Lab to Abertay's National Centre for Excellence in Computer Games Education, a new Interpersonal Skills Lab for mental health nursing and counselling students, and the introduction of a new Wellbeing Clinic.