Modern movers
It’s not just the dreaming spires of ancient institutions that top the guide – modern universities are catching up. The University of Essex has climbed to 23rd overall after four years of improvement, especially around ensuring there are more teachers per student, resulting in a big increase in grades. City, University of London, meanwhile, has reached joint 38th thanks to satisfying students with its teaching and assessment. The University of East London has also improved in these areas, particularly in psychology and nursing, which propelled its institutional position from 96th to 56th. Sunderland University, too, only entered the top 50 two years, ago, but has now powered up to 33rd thanks to improving the student experience on its courses.
Subject stars
Even the universities that come lower in our overall rankings are stars in certain subjects – so make sure you compare both. For example, the University of Greenwich comes 117th overall yet ranks 3rd in biology, while Birmingham City University is one of the top places to study drama and dance, in 4th place, yet 102nd overall. Likewise, if you plan to study law, it’s worth considering Solent University (86th overall) or Leeds Trinity (105th) – they claim the 5th and 9th places in the subject ranking, respectively.
The right IT course
The growth in popularity of computer science courses is unstoppable. Our rankings put usual suspects Cambridge, St Andrews, Oxford and Imperial College London in the top four spots, but Aston University in Birmingham comes in 12th, thanks in part to a strong value-added score, meaning that it’s doing a good job at getting students better grades than might have been expected. Meanwhile, Surrey University only comes 22nd but its graduate outcomes score rivals those at the top – so pay close attention to all the metrics.