Considering university?

If you are considering the University of Southampton and you have a disability, long-term health condition, mental health condition or specific learning difference such as dyslexia, you will benefit from finding out about the support available to you.

Specialist practitioners and advisors are here to support students during their time at University. The professionalism and commitment of everyone here is recognised across the University and beyond. We have years of experience supporting students with a variety of disabilities.

Areas of support

• Disabilities , including physical disability, sensory impairment, and long-term health and mental health conditions.
• Specific learning differences , including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Condition.
• Mental health conditions , including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and psychiatric disorders.

Support available

• Specialist support, including exam arrangements and assistive technology software is available for students with a specific learning difference (SpLD) such as dyslexia. Send your pre-16 or post-16 diagnostic assessment report to [email protected] to arrange a meeting with an SpLD practitioner to discuss your support recommendations. Please be aware that a pre-16 or post-16 diagnostic assessment report is required if you would like to access exam arrangements such as extra time. If you do not have a pre-16 or post-16 diagnostic assessment report and would like to be tested for a specific learning difference, please refer to our How to access web page.
• Specialist Study Skills Support : meet 1:1 with a specialist practitioner for practical study advice and support.
• Disability specialists provide support as needed when a problem arises in study or student life.
• Experienced mentors are there to help those experiencing difficulties in life and study.
• We have excellent working arrangements with local NHS services, for example on-campus GP practices, the Southampton eating disorders service, and secondary mental health care teams.
• We can provide information about accessing funding from Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) .
• The Student Wellbeing Team has advice about looking after yourself, common mental health conditions and other difficulties of student life , allowing completely private access to information and guidance, including who to contact.

Tell us about your needs

Disclosing a need for support will not affect your application to study at the University of Southampton.

Please let us know as soon as you can about your support needs. When you enrol, you agree to share information with relevant University departments. If you would prefer information not to be shared, please contact us to discuss this.

The easiest way to disclose is to enter a code in the Disability box on your UCAS application form. We will know you have applied and will send you a questionnaire asking about your support needs, so we can put support in place before you start University.

If you have not ticked the Disability box on the UCAS form, contact us at any time to explore your options and get advice.