Dear colleagues,
The Guardian University Guide 2026 was published on Saturday and I am very pleased to report that the University has maintained its position within the UK top 20 for the sixth successive year, now ranking 18th in the UK, and 3rd in Scotland. This continued placing within the national top 20 is a testament to the hard work of our community in driving forward the commitments we made under Aberdeen 2040.
Three of our subject areas achieved a UK top 10 rank:
- Medicine – 6th (2nd in Scotland)
- Accounting & Finance – 6th (1st in Scotland)
- Anthropology & Archaeology – 8th (2nd in Scotland)
A further three subjects rank in the top quartile in the UK: Business Management & Marketing, English & Creative Writing, and Law.
In terms of individual metrics, we remain in the top 20 for Satisfaction with Teaching (based on results from the National Student Survey), and Average Entry Tariff. Our rank for Career Prospects as measured by the most recent Graduate Outcomes Survey has also improved considerably, with a rise of nine places to 23rd in the UK.
However, our rank for Satisfaction with Assessment (also derived from NSS results) has dropped by 20 places to 90th in the UK, and the Value-Added Score dropped from 4th to 37th. These areas will be subject to particular focus in the coming year, with a view to driving improvements.
The Guardian University Guide, unlike other national league tables, focuses exclusively on teaching and student-facing metrics, with the overall ranking built up from the subject level rankings. A full report on the Guardian University Guide 2026 is available on the Directorate of Planning & Governance webpages.
Further ranking results are expected in the coming weeks, with The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 due to be published on 19th September, and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings is expected to be published on 9th October. We will disseminate the results to the community as usual. But meanwhile, congratulations to the whole University community on these outstanding results in which we maintain a top 20 position for a sixth successive year in the Guardian University Guide.
Best wishes
Pete
Peter Edwards
Acting Senior Vice-Principal