University of Portsmouth

The University of Portsmouth is located in the heart of an island city on the UK’s south coast. A place of pretty beaches and vivid street art, rich in naval history and home to all kinds of independent start-up businesses. The campus is close to all amenities and just a short walk from the seafront, with London just 90 minutes away by train, and ferries that regularly cross to continental Europe.

Originally founded in 1908, the university received its official status in 1992 to become the University of Portsmouth. Over the past 30 years, the University has invested heavily in its campus, including an £11 million extension to its library, £14 million investment in new facilities for the creative arts, £12 million Future Technology Centre, and its new £57 million Ravelin Sports Centre, which has been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating from BREEAM UK - the world’s leading sustainability assessment for buildings. The University will be investing £400 million over 10 years into the campus in Portsmouth’s city centre to create world-class facilities to enable innovation in learning, teaching and research. 

The University of Portsmouth welcomes 5,700 international students from around 150 countries, with outstanding teaching, facilities and support services, and has been awarded the full five-star rating for excellence in the QS World University Rankings 2022. The University boast’s hundreds of degrees, spanning business, creativity and culture, humanities and social sciences, science and health. Students benefit from state-of-the-art facilities like a replica courtroom, virtual reality labs and a crime scene simulation facility. With courses designed to meet the challenges of the competitive global jobs market, 94 per cent of graduates are in work and/or further study according to the HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20.  The University of Portsmouth has been recognised by Times Higher Education as one of the Top 10 Young Universities in the UK and one of the Top 150 Young Universities anywhere in the world (Times Higher Education 2022).

Portsmouth is the great waterfront city situated within the South Hampshire/Solent region of the South East of England – the economic powerhouse of the UK.

Portsmouth has fantastic local, independent businesses from art galleries, bars, restaurants and delicatessens. There’s beaches, music venues, cultural and artistic hotspots, and plenty of green open spaces. Portsmouth is one of the most picturesque, welcoming and interesting places to live in the UK, and was voted the No. 2 best places to live in the UK (Nomad Nation 2022).

England is a country within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK). It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north, and is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The island of Great Britain is however easily traversed by the Channel Tunnel as well as via rail, air, or sea.

England’s population of 55.6 million people comprises 84% of the population of the UK. The country has a density of 407 people per square km overall, however London (the capital of England and the UK), has a population at 8.8 million people alone at a density of 5,177 people per square km, more than ten times that of any other British region. Depending upon where you go, you can experience one of the most populated cities in the world, or wander alone on the moors. England is renowned for many reasons, and is a very popular exchange location. With a well-documented and turbulent history, England offers you the opportunity to visit structures from the Neolithic era, see Roman artefacts, or visit some of the greatest museums and galleries in the world. The massive variety of locations, interesting cultures, career opportunities, ease of travel, diverse cuisine, and thrilling history make England a prime location for exchange.

Did you know…..?

• Nowhere in England is more than 113km from the sea.
• English people consume more tea per capita than anybody else in the world (2.5 times more than the Japanese and 22 times more than the Americans or the French).
• French was the official language of England for about 300 years, from 1066 until 1362.

All students must meet standard exchange selection criteria and any host institution restrictions.

• UniSA academic transcript
• Passport
• Evidence of English language proficiency (if applicable)

Students must take 60 credits per semester (minimum and maximum), which is equivalent to 18 UniSA units.
Most modules at Portsmouth are worth 10 or 20 credits.

All applicants must provide the English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5 or an approved equivalent - please see a full list of accepted English language tests on the Portsmouth website.

Find courses at University of Portsmouth.

Portsmouth has great links with all of London's major airports. Portsmouth run an airport pick-up from Heathrow.

Information on how to get to Portsmouth can be found here.

The University of Portsmouth offers students the opportunity to live in halls of residence during their exchange.

Information regarding accommodation can be found here.

As an exchange partner with the University of South Australia, you do not have to pay tuition fees to the University of Portsmouth, instead you will pay tuition as you would normally at UniSA. Travel and living expenses are at your own cost. The table below gives an indication of costs you will incur:

You may be eligible to receive additional grants or scholarships to fund your experience. For more information please see funding and scholarships website.

UniSA offers travel insurance as part of your exchange for up to 270 days (can be extended up to 365 days). For more information please see travel insurance website.

You will also need to read the Travel Policy Information. 

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions and if you have any further questions about travel insurance, please contact the UniSA Insurance Office on 08 8302 1678.