High five for St Andrews

The University of St Andrews has been named among the top five in the UK by the latest league table. The ranking once again positions St Andrews, which shares the top five with Oxbridge, Bath and Durham, top university in Scotland.

The new guide, published by the Sunday Times over the weekend, rates 126 universities in the UK across a range of factors. Institutions are ranked by levels of student satisfaction, teaching and research quality, entrance qualifications held by new students, degree results achieved, student/staff ratios, graduate unemployment levels and university dropout rates.

The top five position follows a steady climb in the University’s placing in the Sunday Times University Guide rankings; last year’s 6^th spot followed 2010’s placing at 7^th best in the UK.

In individual subject rankings, St Andrews was rated second in the UK for Management, Chemistry, Physics and Geology and International Relations and third for Arabic and Anthropology.

Nine other subjects were ranked in the top ten: Physical Geography and Sustainable Development, History, Art History & Archaeology, Medicine, Philosophy & Divinity (5^th) and Economics, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, German, Classics, Geography and Mathematics & Statistics (6^th).

In other special mentions, St Andrews was ranked in the top ten for lowest dropout rate (3rd) and for ‘best degrees’ (students gaining firsts or 2:1s – joint 6^th). The University was also placed joint 14^th in the UK for having the fewest unemployed graduates, six months after completing their degrees.

This year’s success is attributed to the University’s high calibre of entrant students, low dropout rates and continued high levels of student satisfaction (as rated in the National Student Survey).

Now in its fifteenth year, the guide placed greater emphasis this year on student satisfaction with teaching quality, academic support, assessment and feedback.

The league table is the latest in a series of independent guides that have placed St Andrews amongst the top ten in the UK. This year’s results so far include 4^th best in the UK in the Guardian University Guide, 6^th in The Times Good University Guide and Complete University Guide and 93^rd best in the world by the QS World University rankings.

ENDS

Issued by the Press Office
Contact Gayle Cook, Senior Communications Manager on Tel: +44 1334 467227, Mobile: 07900 050 103 or Email: [email protected]
Ref: Sunday Times Guide 011012
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