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THE Student Experience Survey 2018 results

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

  • Rankings for Students
  • Student life
March 22 2018
Students

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Get the full results of the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey 2018

This year's Student Experience Survey finds Harper Adams University slips down to second place. 

This is the fifth time that Loughborough has come first in the THE Student Experience Survey since 2009. The university also ranked first for societal experience and university facilities as well as being the top recommended university among students. 

The University of Chichester made its first appearance in the top 10 achieving high scores for teacher relationships, small-group tuition and quality of staff. 

The rest of the top 10 is made up of the University of Chichester and St Andrews rounding off the top 10 at joint tenth. 

Scroll down to see the full results below as well as the top five institutions in each of the composite score categories. 

More on the 2018 Student Experience Survey

Student Experience Survey 2018: methodology 
Student Experience Survey 2018: Higher education sector still raises the bar in a turbulent year  
Student Experience Survey 2018: Protecting free speech while keeping students safe 
Student Experience Survey 2018: Loughborough says its students’ ‘get-up-and-go’ attitude is the key to its success 
Student Experience Survey 2018: Staffordshire’s 24-hour campus that works for all 
Student Experience Survey 2018: Keeping mental health in mind 
Student Experience Survey 2018: the rising stars of higher education 
Student Experience Survey 2018: ‘At over £9K a year, is a degree worth it?’

Overall score

Rank University name Overall score
1 Loughborough University 85.1
2 Harper Adams University 84.9
3 University of Leeds 83.3
4 University of Bath 83.1
5 University of Sheffield 82.7
6 University of Oxford 82.1
=7 University of Surrey 81.3
=7 Newcastle University 81.3
=7 University of Exeter 81.3
=10 University of Chichester 81.2
=10 University of St Andrews 81.2
=12 Royal Veterinary College 81.1
=12 Falmouth University 81.1
14 University of Dundee 80.7
15 Lancaster University 80.5
16 University of Nottingham 80.4
17 Edge Hill University 80.3
=18 University of Cambridge 80.2
=18 University of York 80.2
=18 Durham University 80.2
21 Bangor University 80.1
22 University of East Anglia (UEA) 79.9
23 University of Lincoln 79.5
=24 University of Reading 79.3
=24 Queen's University Belfast 79.3
=26 Aberystwyth University 79.2
=26 Cardiff University 79.2
=26 Trent University 79.2
=29 Swansea University 79.1
=29 University of Southampton 79.1
=29 University of Birmingham 79.1
=32 Northumbria University 79.0
=32 University of Manchester 79.0
=34 York St John University 78.8
=34 Teesside University 78.8
36 University of Glasgow 78.7
37 Keele University 78.2
=38 University of Stirling 78.1
=38 University of Liverpool 78.1
40 University of Warwick 78.0
41 University of Strathclyde 77.9
=42 University of Worcester 77.7
=42 University of Bristol 77.7
44 De Montfort University 77.6
=45 University of Chester 77.3
=45 Sheffield Hallam University 77.3
=45 Manchester Metropolitan University 77.3
=48 University of Sussex 77.2
=48 University of Hull 77.2
50 Robert Gordon University 76.9
51 Canterbury Christ Church University 76.8
=52 University of Essex 76.7
=52 University of Edinburgh 76.7
54 University of Derby 76.6
55 Bournemouth University 76.5
=56 Royal Holloway, University of London 76.3
=56 Coventry University 76.3
=58 Heriot-Watt University 76.1
=58 Aston University 76.1
=60 St George's, University of London 76.0
=60 University of Winchester 76.0
=60 University of Gloucestershire 76.0
=60 King's College London 76.0
64 Imperial College London 75.8
=65 University of Huddersfield 75.7
=65 Plymouth University 75.7
=67 Glasgow Caledonian University 75.6
=67 University of Leicester 75.6
69 University of Hertfordshire 75.5
70 University of Aberdeen 75.4
=71 University of Portsmouth 75.1
=71 University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE) 75.1
73 University of Kent 75.0
74 University of Salford 74.9
75 Staffordshire University 74.7
76 Birkbeck, University of London 74.5
=77 Liverpool John Moores University 74.3
=77 UCL 74.3
79 University of Central Lancashire 74.1
80 University of Sunderland 73.9
=81 Southampton Solent University 73.7
=81 Bath Spa University 73.7
83 Leeds Beckett University 73.5
84 Queen Mary, University of London 73.1
85 University of Wales Trinity Saint David 73
86 University of Bradford 72.9
=87 Bucks New University 72.8
=87 University of Cumbria 72.8
=87 University of East London 72.8
=90 Cardiff Metropolitan University 72.5
=90 Birmingham City University 72.5
92 Brunel University London 72.4
93 University of Brighton 72.2
=94 Edinburgh Napier University 72.1
=94 Oxford Brookes University 72.1
=94 Ulster University 72.1
97 University of South Wales 72
=98 Goldsmiths, University of London 71.9
=98 Anglia Ruskin University 71.9
100 Kingston University 71.4
101 University of Northampton 71.3
102 University of the Arts London 71.1
103 University of West London 70.9
104 London School of Economics and Political Science 70.6
105 University of Roehampton 70.4
=106 Norwich University of the Arts 70
=106 University of Westminster 70
=106 City University London 70
109 London Metropolitan University 69.8
110 Middlesex University 69.7
111 University of Wolverhampton 69.6
112 University of Greenwich 69
=113 London South Bank University 68.8
=113 University of Bedfordshire 68.8
115 University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) 67.5
116 University of the West of Scotland 66.5

Academic experience

View the full results for academic experience here

University name Rank by attribute Overall ranking
Harper Adams University 1 2
University of Oxford 2 6
University of St Andrews 3 =10
University of Cambridge 4 =18
University of Chichester 5 =10

Security

View the full results for security here

University name Rank by attribute Overall ranking
University of Surrey 1 =7
University of Bath 2 4
University of Chichester =3 =10
Lancaster University =3 15
University of St Andrews 5 =10

Student welfare

View the full results for student welfare here

University name Rank by attribute Overall ranking
Harper Adams University 1 2
Loughborough University 2 1
University of Chichester 3 =10
University of St Andrews 4 =10
University of Leeds 5 3

Accommodation

View the full results for accommodation here

University name Rank by attribute  Overall ranking
Lancaster University 1 15
Loughborough University 2 1
Harper Adams University 3 2
Edge Hill University 4 17
University of Sheffield 5 5

Societal experience

View the full results for societal experience here

University name Rank by attribute Overall ranking
Loughborough University 1 1
University of Leeds 2 3
University of Sheffield 3 5
Newcastle University 4 =7
University of Bath 5 4

Industry connections

View the full results for industry connections here

University name Rank by attribute Overall ranking
Harper Adams University 1 2
Loughborough University 2 1
University of Bath 3 4
Royal Veterinary College 4 =12
London School of Economics and Political Science 5 104

University facilities

View the full results for university facilities here

University name Rank by attribute Overall ranking
Loughborough University 1 1
University of Leeds 2 3
University of Bath 3 4
University of Dundee 4 14
Harper Adams University 5 2

Read more: Best universities in the UK

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