Stirling among the top 30 universities in the UK

The University of Stirling has ranked among the UK’s 30 best universities in the latest Guardian University Guide.

Stirling now ranks 28^th in the prestigious league table – up 17 places on last year – which uses nine measures of performance covering all aspects of the student cycle.

Metrics used include: entry standards, student-staff ratios, expenditure per student, continuation, student satisfaction, teaching quality, overall satisfaction, value-added scores, and career prospects.

Significantly, the Guardian University Guide is the first league table to use new data which gauges graduate jobs 15 months after graduation rather than after six months, and is thought to more accurately capture graduate employability. The data is collected centrally by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, rather than by individual universities.

Highly rated subjects

Stirling is ranked 1st in Scotland and 3rd in the UK for Criminology, while Economics is rated as 3rd in Scotland and top 5 in the UK.

Other courses which ranked highly include: Journalism, Publishing & Public Relations, which appears at the number 2 spot in Scotland and in the top 10 in the UK; and Business, Management & Marketing, which is ranked 3rd in Scotland and in the top 15 in the UK.

Law also performed particularly well and now appears in the top 20 in the UK, while English & Creative Writing is listed in the top 5 in Scotland and top 20 in the UK.

Student satisfaction

It comes just weeks after Stirling ranked among the UK’s top 20 universities for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey. Excluding colleges, Stirling ranked 18^th in the UK for overall satisfaction, scoring highly in all areas: teaching, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, academic support, organisation and management, learning resources, the learning community, and the student voice.

The accolades take the University of Stirling a significant step closer towards its strategic objective to be ranked among the top 25 universities in the UK.

Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Stirling, Professor Gerry McCormac, said: “We are delighted to be among the 30 best universities, in the UK in the latest Guardian University Guide. This accolade – along with our recent performance in the National Student Survey – reflects the hard work by both staff and students to create an excellent student experience here at Stirling.

“We will continue to enhance our offering at Stirling – illustrated by the multi-million-pound Sports Centre and Campus Central developments, set to complete in the not-so-distant future – to ensure our students continue to enjoy the best possible experience for years to come.”