United Kingdom

The University of Oxford has named its first female vice-chancellor in its 900-year-plus history, but in January Louise Richardson will join only a small number of female leaders.

University courses are traditionally accused of favouring “male, stale and pale” in the texts they choose. But radical changes in the past few decades mean that universities are now spaces where diversity is celebrated – even if it still remains more difficult for black and ethnic minority students to get into top universities.

Rank yourself as one of the great minds of your generation? Stanford might be the university of choice for you, after it topped a list of institutions with the most Nobel prizewinners this century.

A trip to the US might be in order because the country is home to the top eight institutions on the list, which collates prizewinners since 2000. A total of 71 Nobel prizes – nearly half the 146 awarded – have gone to staff or students affiliated with universities in the States.

The capital’s universities top the rankings of graduates in employment or further study 12 months after leaving university, with the usual suspects not far behind.

Imperial College London in second place with 91.1 per cent.

Northern Ireland’s capital, home to Ulster University’s Belfast campus, boasts a buzzing nightlife and high-quality attractions such as Titanic Belfast, while its low rental prices make it the cheapest city in which to study in the UK.

The average rent in Belfast is £46 a week, compared with £105 in London and £112 in Oxford, while grocery shopping is cheapest there, too – the average spend is £16.13 in the city, compared with a whopping £29.35 in Dundee.

The cheapest region of the UK for students has been named as the East of England, according to research by a money-saving website.

Students in the East, which includes Cambridge, Norwich and Essex, get the best deal, say the money-saving team at PromotionalCodes.org.uk.

Eleven regions were judged on the cost of catered student accommodation, nights out, alcoholic drinks and public transport, all of which drain the bank accounts of many a student.

Studying abroad can be an eye-opening experience wherever you go. But if you want to maximise your opportunities and get the most out of your experience, it is crucial to make an informed decision about where to study.

Luckily, there are plenty of resources to help you make a good decision, and I’ll take you through all the factors you should consider.

University rankings

Rankings should not be the sole basis of your decision, but there are many good reasons to use them as a starting point.

Studying far from home is an exciting prospect, full of new places, people and adventures in an unfamiliar land.

But what if your desire to go abroad is more strategic? Securing that sought-after graduate job is a worthwhile aspiration to keep in mind, and a study abroad experience can be important for your future career.

Whether or not you hope to use multiple languages in the workplace, international experience gives you precisely the skills that employers are looking for in a global business environment.