There are warnings of a lack of “ethnic mixing” in the UK’s universities, in a study from the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath.
Ethnic minority students are more likely to be concentrated in new universities in London and big cities. But white students are more likely to attend predominantly white institutions, says the study.
The report warns of “segregation” as a result of students’ choices of university. There are also ethnic divisions within subjects, with only 25 black Caribbean students entering medicine or dentistry courses in 2014-15.
“If we are to create a more tolerant UK society, where people are aware and respectful of cultural and ethnic difference, it is vital that greater mixing happens,” said leader of the research project, Dr Michael Donnelly.
Feeling uncomfortable
The study, Diverse Places of Learning?, shows that black and Asian students are not spread evenly within the university system, but tend to be concentrated in big, multicultural cities.
Almost two-thirds of students in the UK from Bangladeshi families go to a relatively small number of “super-diverse” London universities.
There are some universities where almost three-quarters of UK students are from ethnic minorities – and there are others where more than 95% of students are white.
There are about 20 universities where a majority of undergraduate students are from ethnic minorities – with these figures not including overseas students. Read more
