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This briefing discusses suicide, which some readers may find distressing.

Prevalence of mental health issues among university students

The proportion students who disclosed a mental health condition to their university increased rapidly from under 1% in 2010/11 to 5.8% in 2022/23. The chart below represents this trend.

However, surveys of students where responses are confidential have found much higher rates of poor mental health than disclosed to universities. In a 2022 survey by the mental health charity Student Minds, 57% of respondents self-reported a mental health issue (PDF) and 27% said they had a diagnosed mental health condition.

The consequences of mental health issues for students range from poor academic performance and dropping out of university to self-harm and suicide.

While there is some evidence the overall suicide rate for students increased in the decade to 2017/18, it fell in 2018/19 and 2019/20. However, the Office for National Statistics has warned the small annual numbers mean it is difficult to identify statistically significant differences over time. Suicide rates among students are lower than for other young people and the general population, as the chart below shows.

Factors contributing to poor mental health among students

According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, factors that contribute to students having poor mental health include moving away from home, academic and financial pressures, and the absence of familiar social and emotional support networks.

Certain groups of students have been identified by as being more likely to experience mental health issues, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and international, mature, neurodiverse, and LGBTQ+ students.

Do universities have a duty of care to students?

It has often been asserted that universities have a duty of care to their students, including by the previous Conservative government in response to a petition on the subject. In March 2023, however, the then-government also acknowledged “the existence and application of a duty of care between HE [higher education] providers and students has not been widely tested in the courts”.

This acknowledgement followed the May 2022 court judgment in the case of Abrahart v University of Bristol (PDF). The judge found there is “no statute or precedent” concerning a duty of care owed by a university to a student to take reasonable steps to avoid and not to cause injury, including psychiatric injury, and harm. Nevertheless, some sector bodies and legal firms maintain that a general legal duty of care not to cause harm by careless acts or omissions does exist in certain circumstances. However, they say that this cannot reasonably be expected to apply to all aspects of a university’s relationships with its students.

In January 2025, the current Labour government set out its position on the matter, emphasising that the circumstances where a duty of care might arise would be determined by the courts and based on the specific facts and context of the case being considered.

Universities must adhere to laws established by legislation on health and safety, safeguarding, and equalities. This includes the the Equality Act 2010 and the duty to provide reasonable adjustments for students where relevant. This duty was clarified during the Abrahart v University of Bristol case, with the judge making clear that its anticipatory nature meant the duty arose when a student’s disability is evident to at least one member of staff at a university, including student-facing staff such as tutors and lecturers (see guidance published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for more information).

Government policy on students’ mental health

The 2022 Sunak government said it believed the most effective way to support student mental health in higher education was by funding and resourcing vital services, spreading and implementing best practice, and ensuring clear responsibilities for providers and protection for students. This is an approach that has been continued by the current Labour government.

In recent years, the government’s work in this area has included:

Guidance and support from universities

In September 2018, Universities UK and PAPYRUS, a national charity for preventing young suicide, published Suicide-safer universities, a framework to help university staff understand student suicide, mitigate risk, and intervene when students get into difficulties. In October 2022, Universities UK added guidance on sharing information with trusted contacts, supporting placement students, and what to do after a student dies by suicide. 

In December 2019, the University Mental Health Charter was published. It is a set of principles universities can adopt to improve the mental health and wellbeing of their communities.

Universities UK’s Stepchange Framework was introduced in 2017 and relaunched in 2020 as Stepchange: Mentally healthy universities. It is a strategic framework for a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing.

University support for students’ mental health

Universities are autonomous institutions, and the way mental health support is provided varies across the sector. The most common model of mental health provision involves three services:

  • wellbeing services to deliver low-intensity support and signpost to non-medical services
  • counselling services for students with moderate mental distress
  • disability services for students who receive disabled students’ allowances and have a diagnosed mental illness

A 2023 survey of 4,000 UK students by the Tab, a student news site, and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), a suicide prevention charity, found just 12% of respondents think their university handles the issue of mental health well.

Further information

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