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It’s that time of year again when universities around the globe eagerly await the decisions of a variety of awards, rankings and league table updates. Many universities, but it is important to note that not all, are assessed on specific criteria developed by each individual publisher of rankings and league tables. I have included a few of these publishers below.
Important note: Please be aware that all league tables have their own systems and criteria for assessing universities. Be consumer savvy and check out the finer details of these! It’s always worth comparing a few of them to see the variations. And remember, not everything is covered in these tables so research wisely and choose your university on what your criteria are (location, cost, course, size, distance from home, quality of teaching, value for money, etc). For more information on choosing wisely see the university blog titled: Which one is the one for me? (October 2015)
UK University of the Year Awards 2017/18
The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide UK University of the Year Award 2018: University of Lancaster
What Uni University of the Year 2017: Harper Adams University Loughborough University remains in 2nd. Bangor University is again moving up the charts and reaches 3rd place.
Times Higher Education Awards 2017: Coming soon!!!! The celebration takes place on November 30 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. Tickets are available if you want to go! Shortlist for University of the Year: City, University of London; University of Dundee; Liverpool John Moores University; Northumbria University; Nottingham Trent University; University of Winchester. Take a look at all the shortlist categories and shortlisted universities here
Other UK Awards
Guardian Awards 2017: Winners in the 15 categories: University of Wolverhampton, Nottingham Trent University, The Open University, University of Central Lancashire, University of Nottingham, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Falmouth University, University of Sheffield, Queen Mary University of London, Heriot-Watt University, University of East London, Imperial College London, Cardiff University, Kingston University, University of Oxford
What Uni Awards 2017: Winners in the 11 categories (click on the category box to select each individual award): Harper Adams, University of Sheffield, Edge Hill University, Loughborough University, University of Edinburgh, Bangor University, Swansea University, University of Exeter
UK League Tables 2018
The Complete University Guide Cambridge, Oxford lead the way with St Andrews climbing 2 places into 3rd position. What you really need to look out for are the universities climbing up the charts.
The Guardian Cambridge, Oxford and St Andrews lead the way maintaining their places in 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.
The People and Planet University League Table 2017: Ranking by environmental and ethical performance. Topping the charts are Nottingham Trent University, University of Brighton and Manchester Metropolitan University.
US, EU and ASIA
US News Best National University: Princeton
US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges: Williams
US News Best Undergraduate Business programs: U Penn
US News Best Engineering programs: Depending on the specialty, there are a range of institutions that top the charts.
Times Higher Education Best Universities in Europe: The top 10 places are taken by UK, Swiss, German and Swedish universities
QS Top Universities in Europe: Listing the top universities in each European country
QS Top Universities in Asia 2016: Singapore, Hong Kong, China and South Korea all feature in the Top 10.
World Rankings
Times Higher Education: Oxford holds on to 1st position with Cambridge snapping at its heels on a rise to 2nd place. It’s the first time in the ranking’s history that 2 UK institutions lead the way! Countries featured in the Top 20 are UK, US and Switzerland. See the full list here
QS World University rankings: MIT tops the bill again! All the usual suspects follow behind with some very slight changes in ranking position. Countries featured in the Top 20 are: US, UK, Switzerland, Singapore and Australia.
Best Value Institutions around the World
And finally, why not check the rankings against the value for money you will be getting during your studies.
Best value can include so many variants including quality of teaching, university facilities, percentage of students in employment 6 months after graduating, working opportunities whilst studying, cost of tuition fees, availability of scholarships/loans/grants, cost of accommodation, average student debt etc. Many countries have funding opportunities for nationals so it is always worth checking with your embassy, consulate, careers office, local education office, local education NGO, school or directly with universities. So check these carefully, take a look at the following ideas and then investigate further.
