Sussex makes top 20 in The Guardian’s league table

The Guardian has published its University League Tables for 2018 ranking Sussex at number 20 on the overall table, a spot it has retained since last year since slipping from 19th in the 2016 table.

The Guardian University guide uses eight statistical measures to approximate a university’s performance in each subject. Measures relate to both input – for example, expenditure by the university on its students – and output – for example, the probability of a graduate finding a graduate-level job. The measures are knitted together to get a Guardian score, against which institutions are ranked.

Ranking for the main table averages out the Guardian score in each subject so prospective students can see how one institution compares to another in terms of satisfaction, graduate jobs and student to staff ratios.

Sussex has maintained its top 20 position with a Guardian score of 72.5 out of 100, putting us ahead of Bristol, Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh. The top spots are held by Cambridge, Oxford and St Andrews who have defended their top three positions from the 2017 table.

Overall, 88.3 percent and 87.8 percent of students said they were happy with their course and teaching respectively and 86.7 percent of students have a career six months after graduating – three percent more than Oxford.

This year, Sussex has excelled in individual course categories, making top ten positions in eight categories, a significant improvement from two top ten spots in 2017. The university narrowly missed top three positions in American studies and chemistry which it ranked in fourth and also saw top ten in biosciences,  geography and environmental studies, history, journalism, publishing and public relations, philosophy, and social work.

In 2017, Sussex made the top 20 in the Guardian, Times and Telegraph’s league tables and are on track to do the same this year as well as a marked improvement in individual course categories.

Brighton also achieved a top 100 position, ranked at 91st overall with a Guardian score of 51. Brighton reached the top 20 in building and town and country planning (18th), general engineering (20th), fashion and textiles (18th) and sports science (12th). Brighton and Sussex Medical School ranked at 16th for medicine.