The University of York has been ranked the 17th best uni in the UK

It has risen two places from last year


The University of York has been ranked the 17th best university in the UK by The Times in the Good University Guide 2023, maintaining its spot in the top 20.

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide has just been released which ranks 132 different universities across the country on factors like: quality of teaching; student satisfaction; the number of grads who get jobs or do post-grads, and the number of students who make it through their degrees.

York has moved up two places from 19th to 17th in this year’s rankings. With a score of 73.6 per cent, York was ranked 39th for student experience, and joint 26th for graduate prospects with a score of 82 per cent. It has also climbed eight places to be ranked ninth for research quality, with 93 per cent of research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

York was also ranked 95th out of 116 universities for social inclusion in England and Wales. The ranking considers non-selective state school admissions, the black achievement gap, ethnic minority students, and admissions of disabled, mature, and first-gen students. The number of non-selective state school admissions at York is approaching three-quarters (73.9 per cent), with York ranking in the top half of UK universities in the number of students coming from deprived areas.

Five of York’s degree courses ranked in the top five in their respective subject rankings, achieving 3rd place in Accounting and Finance, French and Natural Sciences, and 5th place in Archeology and English.

A further nine courses made the top ten, including Chemistry at seventh, Biological Sciences at sixth, Criminology at tenth, History at ninth, History of Art at seventhth, Iberian Languages also at seventh, Linguistics at sixth and both Philosophy and Psychology at ninth.

The report praised York’s investment into both research and the campus, commending the Church Lane Building’s “modern, flexible working environment and outdoor spaces”. The York Strengths and Your Career Journey programs were also praised as contributing directly to the University’s high rates of graduate employment.

The Times highlighted how York ranks above “all but four of its fellow Russell Group members” in their social mobility index, having also been the first of the group to sign the Social Mobility Pledge vowing to prioritise levelling up.

Whilst student satisfaction rates, which remained high throughout the pandemic, have been maintained, there has been a drop in York students’ assessment of teaching quality. Still, York remains “comfortably among the upper half of universities nationally” in student satisfaction.

The full league table, including details on how results were compiled, can be found on The Times’ website.

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