De Montfort University’s campus sits in the western edge of Leicester city centre, which means most of the private student accommodation near DMU is also close to the city’s shops, restaurants, and nightlife. The majority of the options listed here are within a short walk of both the campus and the city centre, making it easy to get to lectures without sacrificing convenience.
For the closest options to campus, Queens Court on Jarrom Street is just a one-minute walk from DMU and offers some of the most affordable rooms on the page, with shared flats and studios available. The Grange sits directly on the DMU campus with en-suite rooms and studios, and Primus Place and Edge Apartments are right on the corner of the campus, also convenient for medical students given their proximity to Leicester Royal Infirmary. 41 Castle Street is around an eight-minute walk from DMU with a range of room types, communal areas, games space, and an outdoor courtyard.
A little further out but still well connected, iQ Grosvenor House on Newarke Street offers en-suite rooms and studios at one of the most competitive price points on the page. Study Inn Reynard House on Welford Road offers a wide range of room types with strong on-site facilities. Dover Street Apartments and 73 Princess Road East both provide modern en-suite options with good city access. The Summit on Eastern Boulevard and The Aspen on Millstone Lane are both within easy reach of the DMU campus and the city centre, as is Lumis Leicester on Southgates, which sits between the city centre and Castle Park. St Georges Tower and Regents Court round out the options for students wanting a central base.
De Montfort University ranks consistently across the major UK league tables, appearing in the top 120 in both the Complete University Guide and the Guardian University Guide. It holds a Silver rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework and has been rated among the top 200 young universities in the world by Times Higher Education. DMU is also ranked in the top 35 UK universities for facilities spend, reflecting significant investment in its campus and student experience.
De Montfort University’s campus is located in the city centre of Leicester, in the historic Newarke area adjacent to Leicester Castle. The campus is modern and compact, with lecture halls, studios, the QEII Leisure Centre, the library, student services, and the Students’ Union all within easy walking distance of one another. Leicester city centre is just a few minutes’ walk from the campus entrance, and Leicester railway station is around a 15-minute walk away, with direct services to London St Pancras in approximately an hour.
Employability sits at the heart of what DMU does. The university has been ranked the best in the UK for work experience by RateMyPlacement for two years running (2024 and 2025), and a high proportion of graduates go on to work or further study after completing their degree. Students have access to work experience opportunities through the university’s careers service, whether through the Frontrunners paid internship scheme for current students, the Graduate Champions programme for recent graduates, the Enterprise Placement Year for those who want to develop their own business idea, or a full-year industry placement in their chosen field. The careers team also offers lifelong support to alumni after graduation.
From August 2025, home students at De Montfort University pay £9,535 per year for full-time undergraduate courses. Part-time courses are charged at a lower rate. Full details of fees for all course types are available on the DMU fees and funding pages.
DMU offers a range of financial support for UK students. The Access Scholarship is automatically assessed based on your household income, with no separate application required. The Care Leavers’ Bursary and Estranged Students’ Bursary each provide £1,000 per year for eligible students, and the Unite Foundation Scholarship offers eligible care leavers and estranged students a free student bedroom for up to three years of study. The Stephen Lawrence Professional Scholarship provides a tuition fee reduction and a cash bursary for eligible students on specific courses. The Opportunities Fund can help with costs related to enrichment, wellbeing, and personal development. Full details of all available support are on the DMU scholarships and bursaries page.
One of the things that genuinely sets DMU apart is its approach to teaching. Rather than following multiple modules at once and sitting exams at the end of the year, DMU uses a block teaching model, where students focus on one subject at a time with regular assessments and more frequent feedback. Students consistently report that this makes for a more manageable and less stressful academic experience, and it also means you get to know the people on your course much more quickly.
Beyond the classroom, the campus has strong facilities. The QEII Leisure Centre includes a 25-metre swimming pool, a climbing wall, an eight-court sports arena, and a dance studio, making it one of the better campus sports facilities in the East Midlands. There are over 90 student societies and clubs through the De Montfort Students’ Union, ranging from subject-specific groups to cultural societies and creative communities, and the union itself is an active part of campus life.
DMU has two distinctive programmes that take student experience beyond the campus. DMU Global funds international trips for students, with recent destinations including Los Angeles, Seoul, and Fiji, giving students the chance to develop global awareness and cultural understanding as part of their degree. DMU Local connects students with community projects across Leicester, offering real-world experience while contributing to the city. Both reflect DMU’s wider commitment to social impact and sustainability, which includes chairing the United Nations’ academic hub for Sustainable Development Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities.
The campus is surrounded by some of Leicester’s most interesting spaces. Castle Park runs along the River Soar directly behind the DMU buildings and is one of the city’s most pleasant green areas, perfect for a lunchtime walk between lectures. The Newarke area immediately surrounding the campus has genuine historical depth, sitting adjacent to Leicester Castle and the old medieval town walls. The city centre is just minutes away, with The Lanes shopping district, Leicester Market, and a wide range of independent cafes and restaurants all within easy reach.
For food, the Golden Mile on Belgrave Road is one of the UK’s finest curry destinations and a genuine Leicester institution. The city’s Diwali celebrations, the largest outside India, take place annually and draw hundreds of thousands of people. The Curve Theatre in the Cultural Quarter and the Phoenix Cinema and Art Centre on Midland Street both offer strong programmes throughout the academic year and are particularly popular with students in creative and media-related subjects.
Notable DMU alumni include actor Charles Dance, best known for Game of Thrones, and ski jumper Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards, both of whom studied at the university before it gained full university status.
De Montfort University guarantees accommodation for all first-year undergraduate students who apply by the relevant deadline and meet the eligibility criteria. University accommodation applications are processed in the order they are received once places open, so it is worth applying promptly after accepting your offer. For private student accommodation near DMU, there is no guarantee, and rooms are typically allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
First-year students at DMU typically live in university-managed accommodation on or very close to campus. In subsequent years, students tend to move into private student accommodation or shared houses in areas including the city centre, Highfields, Clarendon Park, and Westcotes. Given that DMU’s campus is in the city centre, many students find that staying centrally gives them the best combination of proximity to lectures and access to everything Leicester has to offer.
DMU has a strong reputation for vocational and creative courses, particularly in art and design, fashion, media, law, health sciences, and engineering. It offers some genuinely distinctive programmes that are hard to find elsewhere in the UK, including Footwear Design and Contour Fashion. The university is also well known for its focus on employability, its block teaching approach, and its work experience opportunities for students.
For university-managed accommodation, applications typically open in the new year ahead of the September intake. For private student accommodation near DMU, the letting season in Leicester generally gets going from October or November, with demand peaking around November and most students having secured somewhere by February. If you are searching after an offer or through clearing, rooms are still available later in the cycle and it is always worth checking what is currently listed.
The private student accommodation listed on Mystudenthalls.com near DMU includes en-suite rooms in shared flats, self-contained studios, and shared apartments. En-suite rooms offer a private bedroom and bathroom with a shared kitchen and communal spaces, while studios are fully self-contained with your own kitchen and bathroom. Most private accommodation near De Montfort University includes all bills in the rent, covering electricity, gas, water, and broadband. Shared student houses are also widely available across the surrounding neighbourhoods for students in their second year and beyond.
Leicester is consistently rated among the better student cities in the UK, particularly for affordability. The combination of low accommodation costs relative to many other UK cities, a diverse and welcoming city, excellent food options, a reasonable nightlife, and good transport links makes it a practical and enjoyable place to live. DMU’s city centre campus means students are immediately embedded in the life of the city from day one, rather than being tucked away on an out-of-town campus, which many students find makes settling in considerably easier.
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