The University of Aberdeen has retained its improved position in the Guardian University Guide as the 20th highest ranked university in the UK.
The University of Aberdeen climbed to 20th position last year – the highest it has ever ranked within the Guardian guide – and has maintained this improvement for 2022.
Unlike other national league tables, the Guardian University Guide focuses exclusively on teaching and student-facing metrics and does not measure research performance.
The 2022 Guardian League Table ranked the University in the top 10 in the UK for four metrics including student satisfaction with both course and teaching as measured through the National Student Survey. Aberdeen ranked 7th in the UK for the metric ‘Satisfied with Course’ and 10th in the UK for ‘Satisfied with Teaching’.
The University was also ranked 8th in the UK for the quality of its students and 6th for Value-Added, which measures the effectiveness of teaching by comparing students’ entry results with their degree qualifications.
In the subject league tables, Medicine remains second in the UK for the second year in a row, with Dentistry, Computing Science, Anthropology, Physics, Sports Science and Sociology all also in the top 10.
The Guardian rankings follow on closely from the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022 – one of the ‘big two’ of worldwide university rankings – in which the University of Aberdeen moved up 20 places.
The THE World Rankings include more than 1,600 universities across 99 countries and territories and placed Aberdeen in 158th position (22nd in the UK) – one of only three Scottish universities to make the top 200.
Aberdeen was once again recognised for ‘International Outlook’ where it was ranked 31st globally and 9th in the UK. It also saw a rise in its score across the Teaching, Research, and Industry Income pillars and was ranked 8th in the UK for Industry Income.
University of Aberdeen Senior Vice-Principal, Karl Leydecker, said: “The University of Aberdeen made significant progress in the Guardian University Guide last year, rising to its highest ever position, and we are delighted to have maintained this improvement.
“This is a very positive sign for the University, particularly following so closely behind the rise in the THE world rankings.
“We are particularly pleased that the Guardian University Guide now ranks the quality of Aberdeen’s education inside the top 10 in the UK for four of the nine metrics included, all of which have been improving year on year.
“Our sustained top 20 ranking is testament to the hard work of our entire University community through what has been an extremely challenging time.”