Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for academic experience

By seeta.bhardwa@…, 22 March, 2018

View the overall results of the 2018 Student Experience Survey

One of the first things that a prospective student will look at is the academic offerings of the university. After all, a primary aim of most students is to come out of university feeling more educated than when they went in and to achieve their degree. 

Participants in the 2018 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey were asked to provide a rating between “strongly agree” and “strongly disagree” on whether their university has: 

  • High-quality staff / lectures
  • Helpful / interested staff
  • Well-structured courses
  • Good personal relationship with teaching staff
  • Tuition in small groups
  • Fair workload

These responses were then combined to provide a table that reveals the top universities for “academic experience”. University of Oxford coming in second. 


More from the Student Experience Survey 2018

Student Experience Survey 2018: the safest UK universities
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for student welfare
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for accommodation
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for student social life
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for industry connections
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for facilities
 


The best UK universities for academic experience 2018

Rank University name Academic experience score
1 Harper Adams University 86.2
2 University of Oxford 84.9
3 University of St Andrews 84.1
4 University of Cambridge 83.8
5 University of Chichester 83.6
6 Royal Veterinary College 83.5
7 University of Wales Trinity Saint David 82.0
8 University of York 81.4
9 Falmouth University 81.3
10 Bangor University 81.1
11 Newcastle University 80.8
12 Aberystwyth University 80.6
=13 University of Bath 80.5
=13 University of Surrey 80.5
=13 University of Worcester 80.5
=13 Royal Holloway, University of London 80.5
17 University of Derby 80.3
18 Loughborough University 80.2
=19 Edge Hill University 80.1
=19 Durham University 80.1
=19 University of Gloucestershire 80.1
=22 University of Leeds 80.0
=22 University of Dundee 80.0
=24 University of Sheffield 79.8
=24 University of Exeter 79.8
26 York St John University 79.6
27 Keele University 79.5
=28 University of Nottingham 79.3
=28 Teesside University 79.3
=28 Robert Gordon University 79.3
=28 Coventry University 79.3
32 University of Bristol 79.2
33 University of Aberdeen 79.1
=34 University of Lincoln 79.0
=34 University of Manchester 79.0
=34 Norwich University of the Arts 79.0
37 University of Stirling 78.8
=38 Canterbury Christ Church University 78.7
=38 University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) 78.7
=40 Lancaster University 78.6
=40 University of East Anglia (UEA) 78.6
42 University of Cumbria 78.4
=43 University of Birmingham 78.3
=43 University of Chester 78.3
=45 University of Glasgow 77.9
=45 University of Warwick 77.9
=47 Swansea University 77.8
=47 Staffordshire University 77.8
=49 Queen's University Belfast 77.7
=49 University of Winchester 77.7
=51 Birkbeck, University of London 77.6
=51 Cardiff Metropolitan University 77.6
=53 Manchester Metropolitan University 77.5
=53 University of Sussex 77.5
=53 Liverpool John Moores University 77.5
=56 Trent University 77.4
=56 Northumbria University 77.4
=56 University of Strathclyde 77.4
=56 Sheffield Hallam University 77.4
=56 University of Sunderland 77.4
61 University of Southampton 77.2
=62 University of Huddersfield 77.0
=62 University of the West of England 77.0
=64 University of Hull 76.8
=64 University of Edinburgh 76.8
=64 University of Salford 76.8
67 Glasgow Caledonian University 76.7
68 De Montfort University 76.6
=69 Cardiff University 76.5
=69 University of Essex 76.5
=69 King's College London 76.5
=72 Buckinghamshire New University 76.4
=72 Ulster University 76.4
=74 University of Liverpool 76.3
=74 University of Portsmouth 76.3
=74 Anglia Ruskin University 76.3
=77 Heriot-Watt University 76.2
=77 University of East London 76.2
79 UCL 76.1
=80 University of Reading 76.0
=80 St George's, University of London 76.0
=80 University of Kent 76.0
83 Aston University 75.9
=84 Imperial College London 75.7
=84 University of Leicester 75.7
=84 University of Central Lancashire 75.7
=84 University of Brighton 75.7
=84 London Metropolitan University 75.7
89 Bath Spa University 75.5
=90 Plymouth University 75.4
=90 Goldsmiths, University of London 75.4
92 University of South Wales 75.1
93 Birmingham City University 75.0
94 Edinburgh Napier University 74.7
95 University of Northampton 74.6
=96 Queen Mary University of London 74.4
=96 Kingston University 74.4
=96 University of the Arts London 74.4
99 City, University of London 74.2
100 University of Hertfordshire 74.1
101 Bournemouth University 73.8
102 Middlesex University 73.6
=103 Southampton Solent University 73.3
=103 Oxford Brookes University 73.3
105 University of Bradford 73.1
106 University of Greenwich 73.0
107 Leeds Beckett University 72.7
=108 University of West London 72.3
=108 University of Wolverhampton 72.3
=108 University of Bedfordshire 72.3
=111 University of Westminster 72.2
=111 University of the West of Scotland 72.2
113 London School of Economics and Political Science 71.8
114 London South Bank University 71.0
115 University of Roehampton 70.7
116 Brunel University London 69.7

Read more: Top 10 university hacks from some of the UK’s most successful students and graduates

Standfirst

The best universities in the UK for academic experience – as decided by current students – have been revealed

Display TAP Popcard?
On

Comments