Loughborough or Exeter for International Relations

I have received offers from both Loughborough and Exeter. I'm looking to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each since the offers are identical.

Flippant reaction .....
Loughborough - fabulous smaller Uni with excellent sports facilities.
Exeter - popular with Oxbridge rejects and surfers.
Seriously - you should get invitations to Offer Holder visit days - a chance to listen to more focussed course presentations, look around, ask questions, and think about where you will feel happiest. If there are any extras on offer like a work-placement or study abroad, these add enormously to your graduate CV.

I have received offers from both Loughborough and Exeter. I'm looking to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each since the offers are identical.

Flippant reaction .....
Loughborough - fabulous smaller Uni with excellent sports facilities.
Exeter - popular with Oxbridge rejects and surfers.
Seriously - you should get invitations to Offer Holder visit days - a chance to listen to more focussed course presentations, look around, ask questions, and think about where you will feel happiest. If there are any extras on offer like a work-placement or study abroad, these add enormously to your graduate CV.

Exeter also has super newish Sports facilities used by England teams.

This is great to know. I still need to visit them. I will attend the open days for the offer. I love my sport.

I have received offers from both Loughborough and Exeter. I'm looking to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each since the offers are identical.

Hi Anonymous,
Congratulations on your offer from Exeter! I don't study IR myself, but a lot of my friends do, so I hope I can give you some insight:
The International Relations course here is highly flexible. offering a wide range of optional modules that you can take from the moment you arrive. This allows you to study areas that you are really interested in, which makes for a more pleasant experience. You can also apply for course variants when you arrive, so if you decide you want to do a professional placement or a year abroad, this can absolutely happen.
Equally, the university is quite high in the rankings for IR / Politics, coming in at 11th in the Complete University Guide 2025, and is Top 10 in the UK for politics and international studies research. This has put us at Top 100 in the world.
There are also some pretty cool societies related to IR in Exeter. I met a lot of my friends through the Model United Nations Society, but there is also the more general International Relations Society, and the opportunity to talk about global politics on our student radio station. You can see a full list of societies here: https://my.exeterguild.com/
In terms of the city itself, Exeter is small, but green and busy-ish. You can easily get from central campus to the city centre in about 20 minutes, and there is enough to do to keep you occupied. Some of my favourite spots include Reed Hall, the Quay, the Cathedral, and Gandy Street. Also, we have really good transport links so if you fancy a day out, you can get to places such as Plymouth, Bristol, Bath, or anywhere in Cornwall pretty easily. London is only about 2 and a half hours away by train, too, if you fancy a weekend away. Even if you fancy a cheeky trip abroad, Exeter and Bristol airports go to some pretty nice places for reasonable prices - I got some good flights to Venice from Bristol in June, for instance.
Exeter also has a phenomenal reputation in sport. We consistently finish Top 5 in the BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sports) League, and are currently the No. 1 sports university in the South of England and Wales. We therefore have a wide range of sports facilities available, and you can view the full list here: https://sport.exeter.ac.uk/facilities/atozoffacilities/
If you are involved in a sport, you can see our full list of clubs here: https://sport.exeter.ac.uk/studentsport/clubs/
Though, please note that there are some more activities listed as societies on our Guild's webpage listed above.
If you have any queries, please do get in touch.
Best of luck,
Grace
University of Exeter Student Ambassador

I have received offers from both Loughborough and Exeter. I'm looking to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each since the offers are identical.

Hi there,
It's great to hear that you're considering Loughborough for your studies.
Our International Relations programmes have been ranked 4th in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2025 and the University consistently performs well in student satisfaction surveys. The Loughborough student community is inclusive and supportive, with lots of opportunities to meet liked-minded people and try out new things. If you do decide to go there then you are likely to make new friends for life and you will have access to the Careers Network team who can help increase your chances of securing a good job after graduating.
If you do come to one of our open events then you will see our beautiful green campus and meet many of our current students who can tell you all about their experiences of living and studying here. Although you don't have to be sporty to attend the University, if you are in to sports then we have some of the best facilities available. Activities are accessible to students at any level, for fun and socialising, for health and fitness, or elite sports people. Many professional athletes and teams use Loughborough for their training and for support with improving their performance, so you are likely to see some famous faces in the gyms, on the pitches, or at the swimming pool.
The IR programme is provided by the Department of International Relations, Politics and History (IRPH) within the School of Social Sciences and Humanities. If you would like to find out more about this course then please do get in touch with them at [email protected].
I hope this helps. If you would like to ask anything else then do post your questions here 🙂
Best wishes, Imogen
-Loughborough Team