An Ultimate Guide To Student Life In Birmingham 2024

Birmingham offers an amazing student experience apart from the academic opportunities. It is a good place to study and offers a student-friendly environment with world-class universities such as the University of Birmingham, Aston University and Birmingham City University.

With its low cost of living, this makes the rent of your student accommodation in Birmingham also affordable to pay. The city of Birmingham is good for student life and a good place to live for international students. 

Most choose to study in Birmingham as it offers a budget and inexpensive lifestyle accompanied by a high quality of life.

Is Birmingham expensive for students?

No, Birmingham is not an expensive city for students and it’s one of the most affordable cities in the United Kingdom.

Why Should You Study In Birmingham?

Birmingham is one of the largest cities in the United Kingdom, it has become the best student city and home to a large crowd of international students from across the world. Most students come from about 200 nationalities making it a melting point of student hub.

Top Universities For Students In Birmingham

These are some of the top universities in Birmingham that hold a good ranking in the UK and globally in QS World University Rankings. The quality of education in Birmingham is known to be one of the best in the world. Studying abroad in the UK offers more global exposure, diversity, inclusivity, 2 years of graduate courses, cultural experiences, etc.

Low Living Expenses

As compared to many other cities in the UK, this is one student city that offers a cheap cost of living for students. With its low cost, there’s less worry about the rent of Birmingham student housing, food, travel and more to spend on yourself.

On average, the cost of living in Birmingham will come to about £1000/month.

Please remember this will not include the cost of study fees.

Your living expenses will also depend on your lifestyle.

You can check out our detailed guide on the Cost of Living in Birmingham for Students for more information.

• Off-campus Birmingham student accommodation: Starts from £150/week onwards
• Food: £30 – £40 /week
• Internet & mobile phone: £15 – £20 /week
• Dinner at a restaurant: £10 – £15 /week
• Travel (buses, trams, trains): £40 – £60 /month

When you choose to stay in private student accommodation in Birmingham, you get a furnished student home, accompanied by facilities and inclusive of utility bills.

Calculate your living expenses in Birmingham by using our Cost of Living Calculator.

Cheap Student Accommodation Options

Finding a student home can be challenging for students, but thankfully, there are many options for student accommodation in Birmingham. You can find on and off-campus student accommodation near the university. 

The on-campus accommodation is provided by the university.

The off-campus accommodation offers student housing apartments in Birmingham. They are located in the student village within walking distance of the university.

The privately built student accommodation (PBSAs) comes fully furnished and accompanied with modern facilities and inclusive of utility bills,

Easy To Navigate And Get Around

Listed to be one of the “Top 20 Most Walkable Communities”, this makes Birmingham a walkable city. With most of the accommodations Birmingham for students close to the study institutions, you will not be required to use any modes of transport. However, if you need to use them, the city is well-connected by:

Buses: Anywhere within the Birmingham inner ring road: Single fare cost is £1.50 while a day saver ticket will cost £4.50.

If you are 18 or above and in full-time education, you can claim for student discounted prices.

Trams: It is operated by the West Midlands Metro and you will need an Oyster card to use the trams in Birmingham.

It covers Zone 1-4: Cost 11.90/ week; 5.00 (off-peak); 82.10 (monthly)

Trains: The rail connects Birmingham to cities like London, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool, etc. 

Part-Time Work And Internship Opportunities

The best part about studying in Birmingham is the opportunity to work; as a full-time UG student, you can work for 20 hrs per week and full-time during holidays on a student visa. 

Another opportunity is the internship which is offered by many universities in Birmingham. So, while you study, you will get hands-on experience too for more exposure to the real world. 

High Quality of Life With Less Cost

Birmingham is packed with the best amenities like top universities, a healthcare system, cultural assets, shops, restaurants, green spaces, recreational facilities and public amenities. While these are appealing factors to the students are what attract students to come live, and most reside here with full-time jobs. 

Multicultural And Diverse City

With about 40% of the population coming from overseas, they’ve brought in and mixed their culture with this city making it culturally diverse among the many other cities in the United Kingdom. If you look at the average number of students, there are over 80,000 and above of them. So, combining the students and immigrants, this place is now a melting point of cultures in the country. 

Study Spaces and Libraries

Birmingham is surely full of study space and libraries to provide the best study environment and experience for students to thrive and excel in academics. One of the most popular choices among the students is The University of Birmingham’s Main Library. The other free student libraries in Birmingham are The Library of Birmingham, Harborne Library, Bloomsbury Library and Erdington Public Library.

As for study space, these are some of the hot study spots you can head to: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Damascena, JuJu’s Café, Medicine Bakery and Gallery

High Energy NIght And Entertainment Scene

This city has some of the best live music venues, concerts, and festivals that attract not just locals, but even international audiences too. The on-campus activities are already packed with house parties, events, festivals and other activities that run weekly. But, to add to all the fun, Birmingham is brimmed with students making it alive as students attend festivals, concerts, or even just dance away and enjoy their time in the bars and clubs in Birmingham. Check out these Best Party Clubs In Birmingham.

Economic and Innovative Business Hub

As an important engineering and manufacturing centre, many companies employ people and contribute billions of pounds to the UK’s economy. The headquarters of Amazon and Deliveroo are also here giving students many opportunities to practice internships, job opportunities and get work experience in various roles.