Once again it’s the Complete University Guide which is first to press in 2017. The top 25 is as follows:
| 2018 | 2017 | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Cambridge |
| 2 | 2 | Oxford |
| 3 | 5 | St Andrews |
| 4 | 3 | LSE |
| 5 | 4 | Imperial College London |
| 6 | 6 | Durham |
| 7 | 10 | UCL |
| 8 | 8 | Warwick |
| 9 | 9 | Lancaster |
| 10 | 7 | Loughborough |
| 11 | 11 | Bath |
| 12 | 14 | UEA |
| 13 | 11 | Surrey |
| 14 | 13 | Exeter |
| 14 | 16 | Leeds |
| 16 | 15 | Birmingham |
| 17 | 24 | Bristol |
| 18 | 21 | Nottingham |
| 19 | 18 | Sussex |
| 20 | 20 | York |
| 21 | 21 | King's College London |
| 22 | 25 | Manchester |
| 23 | 19 | Edinburgh |
| 23 | 25 | Newcastle |
| 25 | 23 | Kent |
The new Complete University Guide for 2018 therefore has, yet again, Cambridge at the top of the pile, as it has been since around 1209AD. The top 10 is very much as you were, with just some minor rejigging within it – the top 4, of course, get a spot in Europe.
Overall there is not much movement within the top 25 either, with Bristol once again being the only significant mover; having dropped 9 places last year to 24, it’s climbed back up 7 to 17. Edinburgh and Southampton are relegated from the top 20, to be replaced by Bristol and the University of Nottingham, successfully promoted from the CUG Championship.
There is plenty of other analysis (including by subject, region and mission group) and information on careers, fees, sexual harassment on campus, and much much more on the website.
The main table is based on ten measures: Student Satisfaction, Research Quality, Research Intensity, Entry Standards, Student: Staff Ratio; Spending on Academic Services; Spending on Student Facilities; Good Honours degrees achieved; Graduate Prospects and Completion. It includes 127 institutions (with only a couple not playing ball). The 70 Subject Tables are based on five measures (Student Satisfaction, Research Quality, Research Intensity, Entry Standards and Graduate Prospects) and include 129 universities, university colleges and specialist higher education institutions.
The rankings do remain fairly stable as they have done for some time. Which is somewhat reassuring if not terribly exciting for the headline writers and part-time amateur rankings observers.
One other bonus ranking it’s worth noting here: CUG produce an annual list of crime rates in student towns and cities. The methodology for this ranking is not uncontroversial and is incomplete as it only covers England and Wales. However, it may be of interest to those who like their True Crime on (or indeed off-) Campus.
So there’s the CUG for this year. Enjoy.
