The Times ranks Lancaster in top ten universities in the UK

08/24/2010 09:54:59

Lancaster has broken into the elite group of top ten universities in the UK for the first time in The Times Good University Guide. The University shot up from 23rd place last year to 10th in this year’s Guide, ranking in the same group as Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and the London School of Economics.

The Guide ranks 113 universities in the UK by eight criteria including research quality, degree results, student satisfaction and student/staff ratio. Lancaster improved on seven of the eight benchmarks, enjoying a rise in graduate employment at a time when this has declined for other universities.

Over three quarters of Lancaster graduates found graduate employment or went on to other courses last year, up from 64 per cent last year. Spending on facilities also increased by more than £300 per student to £1,746.

The Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Wellings said: “This is the first time that Lancaster has entered the top ten group of universities in The Times Good University Guide, which reflects not only Lancaster’s leading research and innovative teaching, but also the great overall experience that we offer students.

“Lancaster is committed to giving students the very best education and to equipping them well to compete and stand out in the jobs market.”

Lancaster University also excelled in the Guide’s individual subject rankings:

3^rd for American Studies
4^th for subjects allied to Medicine
5^th for Art and Design
6^th for Social Work, Accounting and Finance, Theatre Studies and Film Studies
8^th for Iberian Languages, Business Studies, Geography and Environmental Sciences, Linguistics
9^th for Mathematics
10^th for French, Biological Sciences, Physics and Astronomy
11^th for Sociology
13^th for Communication and Media Studies
19^th for English and Economics

Lancaster University is also ranked the 8th best university in the UK in The Independent’s Complete University Guide 2011, which also rated Lancaster the top university in the North West and ranked 6th overall and top university in the North in the Guardian University Guide 2011 – a rise of ten places.