The university is renowned for its science programs; in 2002, Psychology was ranked among the top ten in the nation, while Molecular Biochemistry and Biosciences received the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education's highest possible rating of "excellent." The majority of the institution, including the Science Faculty, consistently performs well on measures of graduate-level employment following graduation and in the National Student Survey.

The Nelson Research Laboratory of GEC, on the outskirts of Stafford, was where the School of Computing was first located. It provided one of the first BSc computing courses offered in the UK, and its first significant computer was a used DEUCE. The School of Computing has since relocated to a specially constructed structure on the Beaconside campus as well as to the recently renovated Brindley Building in Stoke. A Cisco Networking Academy is the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences (FCES).

A single honors degree in Film, Television, and Radio Studies was originally offered by the university in 1990. Greg Dyke inaugurated a brand-new media center in 2005 that included radio studios, a television news desk, and a broadcast journalist suite. The National Council for the Training of Journalists and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council both grant national accreditation to print, broadcast, and sports journalism programs.

The Forensic Science Society (FSC), one of four institutions whose courses have been recognized for teaching services and high academic quality, authorized the forensic science degrees (forensic science, forensic science and criminology, and forensic science and psychology) in 2007. On the Stafford Campus, the Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology was one of the first university faculties in the UK to offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in the new field of forensic computing. The forensic theme is continued with a specialized Forensic Biology degree.