diversity at uni of southampton

How diverse is the uni? Im a south asian (nepali) offer holder and I went to an open day and didn’t see many south asian/poc students 😭 Coming from a multicultural city like London it was defo quite a different experience. I am a bit anxious about moving to a city that is predominantly white so id like some advice from those who’ve also maybe had a similar experience

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

In my experience it was moderately diverse relative to a lot of other unis in the south. Also worth bearing in mind as Southampton itself is reasonably diverse, and also as a major port city has a lot of people of different backgrounds and ethnicities coming through the city for a day (i.e. the seafarers from the ships, who may end up taking shore leave in the city).

I think comparing to London is a bit challenging because there really are few cities as diverse as London in the UK outside of other major metropolitan areas like Birmingham/Manchester etc. Smaller cities invariably end up somewhat less diverse, but compared to others I've lived in (e.g. Exeter, Cambridge) I find Southampton seems somewhat more diverse on average relative to its size.

In terms of the census, Southampton is 10.6% Asian or Asian British (compare with London 16.8%, Cambridge 14.8% or Exeter 4.9%), 3.3% Black, Black British, Caribbean or African (compare with London 2.7%, Cambridge 2.5%, or Exeter 0.9%) and 3.3% mixed or multiple ethnic groups (compare with London 5.5%, Cambridge 5.1%, or Exeter 2.5%). Notably also in terms of the white population, 12.6% are white other (i.e. not white British).

So I'd not consider it to be a not multicultural city - compared to places like London or Cambridge which are considered quite multicultural it is not far off, and considerably more diverse than some other small regional southern cities like Exeter. As I recall the university itself also has some pretty active Asian and Afro-Caribbean societies too?

Reply 2

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

Hey there!

Congratulations on getting an offer from us! Speaking from my background I’m a student from China and I can say University of Southampton is a very diverse university. I studied my alevel in London and I thought I could never find a city that is more diverse. However when I start to study in UOS I find I can actually managed to make deeper connections with people from different backgrounds than I’m at London.

For open days is hard for lots of international students to make it as they are in a different countries. Once uni has started you might find many many international students in your course (such as business🤣). If not, you can met people through societies or school events. I known three Nepali students from public school event they are all so amazing!

I know coming to study in an unfamiliar city is stressful. Don’t worry too much, UOS will support you as much as they can😘. Hopefully you will enjoy your time as much as possible!

Best wishes
Junfan Student ambassador