St Mary's University, Twickenham

About St Mary's University

St Mary's University, Twickenham was established in 1850 and boasts a long and proud history of providing high-quality education to students from all over the world. The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023 ranks the university in the top five institutions in the UK in the ‘Teaching Quality’ category. St Mary’s University’s training programmes have received an ‘Outstanding’ rating from Ofsted, the education inspector of the UK government and the university is ranked to be top two in London for academic support by the NSS 2025.

St Mary's prides itself on being an inclusive institution and has a welcoming community on campus, with close to 17 percent of students being from overseas representing more than 90 nationalities. Plenty of historic buildings dot the campus, alongside newer additions such as a modern library, state-of-the-art laboratories and other facilities. The university offers international students safe and comfortable on-campus accommodation. The St Mary’s University Students Union (SMSU) coordinates clubs and societies and organises weekly social events as well as other events throughout the year.

St Mary’s University offers courses in a wide range of subject areas, from Business Management and accounting, creative arts and computer science to humanities, health sciences and psychology. In line with the university’s belief that sports participation is an important part of university life, it is also one of London's high-performing sports institutions and is home to world-class sports facilities. 

St Mary’s campus is located in the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames, a green and safe area of London. The towns of Teddington and Twickenham, with their mix of shops and restaurants, are within walking distance, while the towns of Richmond and Kingston are a short bus ride away.

Graduate outcomes

Students who graduate from St Mary’s University are well-positioned to succeed in their next steps. According to the latest statistics, 96 percent of graduates are either employed, in a vocation or undertaking further study within 15 months of completing their degree.

The university compares favourably against other universities with London and across the rest of the UK as well. St Mary’s is rated Gold in student experience (2023 Teaching Excellence Framework).

There’s also the extensive support of the university’s careers team, who are able to help students with advice on their potential options upon graduation, as well as preparing them through one-to-one mentoring and skills workshops that focus on CV building, interview techniques and more.

The university works closely with employers who regularly visit campus to offer internships, placements, career guidance, and industry insights. Many vocational programmes, such as physiotherapy and teaching, include built-in placements to help students gain practical, professional experience.

To further support employability, the university runs a range of initiatives. Students can apply for the internship scheme, which provides paid, relevant work experience, or take part in Start-Up St Mary’s, an eight-week entrepreneurship programme designed to help students develop business ideas and pitch for funding.

In addition, professional development programmes such as Be SMART support students from ethnic minority backgrounds through mentoring, internships, and leadership workshops.

The university also collaborates with organisations that work directly with employers who are willing to hire international students. Offer holders can further benefit from a dedicated Jump Start service, which allows them to begin their career development journey even before arriving in the UK.

What’s new

The university is always working on new developments and exciting projects that engage students and help to improve the quality of degree offered. St Mary’s University is not an institution that stands still – it is constantly evolving, improving and helping to shape the next generation of leaders across a wide range of fields.

The university is dedicated to widening access to higher education, and in July 2023 it again won four awards at the Aimhigher London Practitioner Awards, recognising the university’s determination to help more students from various backgrounds achieve the success of a university education.

The university has also made the top 10 for student satisfaction in the 2024 edition of the Complete University Guide, whilst also seeing its rankings in various other guides (Guardian University Guide, Sunday Times Good University Guide) improve significantly compared to the prior year’s rankings.