St Andrews’ league table success

The University of St Andrews has been named best in Scotland and 4th in the UK in a leading higher education league table.

St Andrews is the only Scottish university to be ranked among the top 20 institutions in the UK in The Complete University Guide 2015 published today (Monday 12 May). It moves up two places from last year’s rank of 6th.

The independent guide to the strengths and weaknesses of UK universities produces a detailed annual ranking based on nine key indicators – Student Satisfaction, Research Assessment, Entry Standards, Student: Staff Ratio, Spending on Academic Services, Spending on Student Facilities, Good Honours degrees achieved, Graduate Prospects and Completion.

St Andrews was recognised in particular for high levels of student satisfaction, its international research strengths and the quality of degrees achieved by its students.

Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Louise Richardson said:

“Every university is only as good as the people who research, teach and study there, so this ranking is essentially a reflection of the dedication and talent of St Andrews students and staff.

“It is particularly encouraging that we have been able to improve our position in this national league table despite the increased financial pressures which we – along with all Scottish universities – face. The challenge for us is to secure the resources to match our potential and ensure that we can continue to compete at the highest levels, both nationally and internationally.”

The Guide’s authors state “What is beyond dispute is that the Top Ten includes some of the world’s finest higher education institutions.”

Dr Bernard Kingston, principal author of TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk, said: “The league tables, taken with the rankings for specific subjects, offer would-be students an accurate and independent guide to the UK university system.

“They should not be used in isolation but alongside all the other advice and information in the Guide. Its tables are recognised for their stability and consistency, and this year once again demonstrates this.”

The league table, full methodology and other information are available at www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.