UCL hammered in Sunday Times rankings

The Sunday Times has ranked UCL as the 13th best academic institution in the UK. The results contrast greatly with the annual QS World Rankings which placed UCL second in the UK and fourth in the world.

The Sunday Times attributes large moves such as UCL’s fall of six places to “a change in the way we calculate our league table which now places greater emphasis on the student experience and graduate outcomes.”

UCL faired poorly in student satisfaction (85%) coming in 73rd while its unemployment score (7.2%) was also relatively high for a top university placing it 32nd.

The poor overall satisfaction ranking mirrors student discontent with the union which was ranked 67th in the National Student Survey of best and worst unions.

Those that do find work are among the best paid graduates in the country. Only four other institutions can boast higher salaries than the £25,513 graduates average in their first year jobs.

Edwin Clifford-Coupe, students’ union officer, didn’t have much to say about the rankings but did tell The Sunday Times that UCL’s worst feature was its “location” as “there isn’t much room for expansion”.

Stats at a glance:

Firsts and 2:1’s 81.5%

Drop out rate 5.8%

Undergraduates 12,536

Postgraduates 8,153

Student / staff ratio 10:1

Applications per place 10:1

EU / overseas 9.4 % and 33.4%

State school 63.5%