Lancaster in top ten of UK universities in 2012 guide

Lancaster University is in the top ten of UK universities in The Complete University Guide 2012.

The online rankings place Lancaster 9th in the UK out of more than a hundred universities. Lancaster is also ranked top in the North West.

The Guide aims to help prospective students choose a course for 2012, and looks at everything from student satisfaction to student staff ratio and employment prospects after graduation.

The University also scored highly in the Guide’s individual subject rankings: Linguistics ranked 1st in the UK; Social Work 2nd; Accounting and Finance 4th; Art and Design, Physics and Astronomy and Drama, Dance and Cinematics 6th; Sociology, Business Studies, and Theology and Religious Studies 7th.

Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Amanda Chetwynd said: “We’re delighted that Lancaster’s excellence is being recognised yet again with another strong showing in national league tables. Students who apply to Lancaster can do so confident in the knowledge that they are applying to one of the best universities in the UK, where they will receive an excellent education which will equip them for life.”

Lancaster University is also rated highly by its own students after it was ranked top in the North West and 15th in the UK in a recent annual survey.

The Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey asked more than 13,000 undergraduates from over 100 institutions about everything from the quality of teaching to the social life on campus. The students themselves chose the 21 aspects of university life which they wanted included in the survey. These ranged from good accommodation to high quality staff, well structured courses, high quality facilities, a good library and good industry connections.

Lancaster University is also in the top band of UK Universities with a high proportion of its research rated ‘world leading’ in the latest Research Assessment Exercise published in 2008.

The RAE measures the quality of research conducted in universities and other higher education institutions in the UK against international standards of excellence.

Overall, 92% of research at Lancaster is recognised as being of an international standard and all units of assessment included world leading research. 13 departments are in the top 20 of UK institutions for their individual disciplines. This equates to 73% of staff.

Lancaster is ranked joint 15th out of 147 UK institutions for the amount of research judged to be of world leading importance.

Lancaster is a member of the 1994 group of research led universities. The Times Good University Guide has placed 1994 Group universities top in six regions of the UK with Lancaster being the most highly rated in the NW.