“We are proud to be an internationally recognised and award winning institution with a heritage of quality education going back more than 100 years.

We appear in the Times Higher Education World University rankings, ranked as one of the top 300 universities in the world under 50 years old in the Young University rankings.

In 2021 we were extremely proud to have received a first class award in the People and Planet University Green League, obtaining 2nd place out of 154 UK institutions. In 2020 we launched our Target Zero campaign with the aim to become carbon neutral by 2050 and our commitment to sustainability has been recognised with an Eco Campus Platinum award for two years running.

At Bedfordshire we have a vibrant and cosmopolitan student population that includes around 20,000 students from over 70 countries. We are a modern university that believes in nurturing our students to become educated, employable and entrepreneurial global citizens.

We lead the way in expanding educational opportunity; with more than 40% of our students coming from families with no history of participation in higher education. Around 70% are mature returners to education and over half are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, under-represented in higher education.

In 2021, we were named in a report by the Sutton Trust as one of England’s Top 25 universities to have successfully contributed to an increase in social mobility amongst disadvantaged young people in England. We have also rated highest in the East of England for ‘access to education’ and are in the Top 10 of this category for the whole country – one of only two universities situated outside of London.

Our Heritage
History and Locations
The University of Bedfordshire was established in August 2006 by order of the Privy Council, following the merger between the University of Luton and De Montfort University’s Bedford campus.

In 1908, the Luton Modern School was established. Luton Technical Institute was founded in 1937 and, after various changes of name, became Luton College of Technology in 1958.
In 1976, the college merged with Putteridge Bury College of Education to become Luton College of Higher Education.
In 1993, the college became the University of Luton after receiving university designation.

The Luton campus is located in the town centre and is home to a magnificent Postgraduate and CPD Centre, a modern student campus centre and other excellent facilities such as the Media Arts Centre, STEM Laboratories and Workshops, a Moot Court, Healthcare Simulation Suites, a state of the art 7 storey Library and our Campus Gym.”