University of York UCAS Points: 2026 Entry Requirements

Quick answer: No — the University of York publishes its 2026 entry requirements in grades, not UCAS Tariff points. Its offers run from AAA for Law LLB and Computer Science BSc down to BBB for Education BA, with reduced offers stated in grades too.

What makes York worth reading closely is not whether it uses the Tariff — most research-intensive universities do not — but how many offers it publishes for the same course. A single York course page can carry four grade profiles: the typical offer, a contextual offer, a widening participation offer and an alternative offer for an EPQ or a fourth A level. Which one you are eligible for can change your target by up to three grades. Every figure below comes from York's own 2026/27 course pages and its contextual admissions guidance.

Does the University of York use UCAS points?

No. York's course pages for 2026 entry express every requirement as grades or as a named qualification profile — an IB total, a BTEC grade string, an Access to HE credit split — and the three checked for this page quote no Tariff figure anywhere. A York conditional offer asks you to achieve the grades named on it, not to reach a score.

The practical consequence: if your predicted total is built from four or five smaller qualifications that add up impressively on the Tariff, that total is invisible to York admissions unless the qualifications appear on the course page in their own right. If the Tariff itself is new to you, start with what UCAS points are before comparing York with points-based universities.

Three verified 2026 courses, several offers each

The table below shows how far the published offers on a single York course page can range. All three are 2026/27 entry.

The widening participation figure is conditional on completing an approved programme, not on your background alone. York names Next Step York, the Black Access Programme and Realising Opportunities, and its course pages tie the reduced offer to finishing the programme, including the YorJourney module where that applies.

Subject conditions survive every reduction. Computer Science requires A level Maths at all three levels, so a contextual ABB still has to include it.

What York's grades come to on the Tariff

Use these only for lining York up against universities that do publish points. AAA is worth 144 points, ABB 128, BBB 120, BBC 112 and BCC 104, on a Tariff that scores an A at 48 and a B at 40. The routes that reach the top of that range are set out on the AAA UCAS points and 144 UCAS points pages, and how many UCAS points you need puts the whole range in context.

The gap between York's typical and widening participation offers is worth quantifying: for Law LLB it is 24 Tariff points, the difference between 144 and 120. That is a larger swing than most contextual schemes in the sector deliver, which is why checking your eligibility is worth more than another revision session. Law applicants can also compare York's position with the wider picture in UCAS points for law.

The alternative offer: EPQ, Core Maths and a fourth A level

York's fourth offer type is the one applicants most often miss, and it is decided course by course:

• Computer Science BSc — "If you achieve A or higher in the EPQ, you may be eligible for an alternative offer up to one A level grade (or equivalent) below our typical offer." The same page adds a fourth-A-level route: AABB including Maths in place of AAA.
• Education BA — an alternative offer up to one grade below the typical BBB for an EPQ at grade C or higher, or Core Maths at grade B or higher.
• Law LLB — the EPQ is recognised but not made a condition of entry, and may be taken into account when results arrive.

Note what York is doing here. Elsewhere an EPQ adds points to your total — 24 at grade A, 16 at grade C. At York it does something different and usually more valuable: it takes a grade off the requirement. Computer Science's four-A-level alternative shows the same logic in reverse, since AABB is worth 176 Tariff points against 144 for AAA, yet it is the easier offer to hold. How the EPQ works covers the qualification itself.

Calculate your UCAS points now

Qualifications York accepts instead of A levels

Each course page lists its own profiles rather than applying a single university-wide table, and the three verified courses show how much they differ:

• BTEC National Extended Diploma — D*DD for Law, DDD plus grade B in A level Maths for Computer Science, DDM for Education.
• International Baccalaureate — 36 points for Law, 36 including 5 in Higher Level Maths for Computer Science, 31 points for Education.
• Access to HE Diploma — 39 credits at Distinction and 6 at Merit or higher for Law; 21 at Distinction and 24 at Merit or higher for Education.
• Scottish Highers — AAABB for Law, BBBBB for Education; Computer Science asks for an A in Advanced Higher Maths plus BBBB at Higher.
• T Levels — Distinction overall including grade A* in the core for Law, and Distinction or Merit depending on the subject for Education. Computer Science does not accept a T Level unless it comes with A level Maths.

Law also sets a GCSE English Language requirement at grade 4/C. Beyond that, GCSE conditions at York are set by the individual course.

Contextual admissions at York, route by route

York runs several routes and they stack differently, so it is worth knowing which one applies to you:

• Contextual offer — up to two grades below the standard offer, based on postcode data drawn from your UCAS application, or on refugee or humanitarian protection status. York assesses this automatically; you must have attended a UK state-funded school, college or sixth form and pay home fees.
• Additional information form — up to two grades below for applicants with care experience or estrangement from family, declared directly to the university.
• Access and outreach programmes — up to three grades below for those completing Next Step York, Black Access or Realising Opportunities.
• Alternative offer — one grade below for an EPQ, Core Maths or a free York short course, on the courses that offer it.

How reductions like these work across the sector is covered in contextual offers explained.

Your next step at York

Open your course page and write down all four numbers: the typical offer, the contextual offer, the widening participation offer and any alternative offer. Work out which you can realistically hold, then check the deadlines on the routes that need action from you — the outreach programmes and the additional information form both close well before results day. Convert the grades to points only when you are weighing York against a university that recruits on the Tariff.

University of York UCAS points: FAQ

Does the University of York use UCAS points?

No. York states its 2026 entry requirements in grades — AAA for Law LLB, BBB for Education BA — and none of the course pages checked here quotes a UCAS Tariff total. Offers are conditional on the grades themselves, not on a points score.

How many UCAS points do you need for the University of York?

York sets no points target. For comparison only, its 2026 offers run from AAA, worth 144 Tariff points, for Law LLB and Computer Science BSc, down to BBB, worth 120 points, for Education BA. Contextual offers land 8 to 16 points below those figures.

What is a contextual offer at the University of York?

Applicants from UK state-funded schools who pay home fees can receive an offer up to two grades below the standard one, assessed automatically from postcode data. Law LLB drops from AAA to ABB, and Education BA from BBB to BBC.

Does York give a lower offer for an EPQ?

On some courses. Computer Science BSc offers an alternative up to one A level grade below its AAA for an EPQ at grade A, and Education BA does the same for an EPQ at grade C or Core Maths at grade B. Law LLB recognises the EPQ but sets no condition.

Does the University of York accept BTECs?

Yes, on a course-by-course basis. Law LLB asks for a BTEC National Extended Diploma at D*DD, worth 152 Tariff points; Computer Science BSc asks for DDD plus grade B in A level Maths; Education BA asks for DDM, worth 128 points.