Welcome to the third edition of the Daily Mail University Guide, the higher-education manual that puts students at the heart of its rankings.
Students’ experience while at university and their success in the graduate jobs market are key drivers of our overall rankings and subject tables.
Going to university is the first big financial decision made in adult life, with ramifications for students and the Bank of Mum and Dad.
In the past year, the Government has raised tuition fees for the first time since 2017, adding £855 to the cost of a degree. A typical three-year course will now cost £28,605. Even before this, the average student debt held by 2024 graduates from English universities had hit £53,000.
And the Higher Education Policy Institute estimated last month that students need at least £46,000 on top of student loans to meet the costs of studying for three years. That’s a lot of part-time work for students to undertake – or, for parents hoping to support three children through their degrees, they will need to find at least £138,000.
So, while the rewards of university are often high, so are the costs. Doing your homework before you apply is important, which is where our guide can make all the difference. For this is a buyers’ market. The parlous state of university finances (with 72% of institutions expected to be in deficit in 2025-26) and their over-dependence on overseas students means many have expanded their domestic intake in recent years.
A record number of students – 439,180 – were accepted on A-level results day last month, with the universities that traditionally ask for the highest grades increasing their intake most sharply.
Universities that never previously went near Clearing now view it as a key part of their recruitment strategy and had dozens of courses left to sign up for, while some applicants who missed their offer grades still found themselves accepted.
This year’s intake of school-leavers to these more sought-after institutions is up by 7.2% year-on-year. In contrast, the lowest-tariff universities have seen a 1.4% increase.
Cathedral celebration: A York St John graduation in splendid York Minster
In all, 12 measures contribute to our institutional ranking, making it the most broadly based assessment of university performance in the UK, with five of them also used in our subject rankings, which highlight the top universities for the course you are looking for (see page 4).
More than 350,000 final-year students contributed to this year’s National Student Survey (NSS), passing judgment on the quality of the teaching they received; the support on offer; and their wider student experience. All those views are counted in both our institutional and subject rankings.
The chance of landing a high-skilled job on graduation is also considered, alongside starting salaries and whether students feel their career is on track 15 months after leaving. Graduate salaries apart, these measures also help determine our subject rankings.
The remaining indicators include research quality and income, degree classifications, the proportion of students progressing to the second year of study, the tariff points likely needed to win a place, and social inclusion.
Our unique University Finder online tool lets you set your own criteria for ranking universities. You can filter your selection by location, size, where students have been to school, the cost of accommodation, competition for places – and other criteria that matter to you.
Our online university profiles go even further than those in this magazine. Each is broken into four sections – an overview of the university and its students, location and leading areas of specialism; details of the financial support available and accommodation prices; new developments; and admissions policies and student support.
No single university monopolises all 12 ranking measures, even though Imperial College London tops our overall table for the third year. Some of the biggest institutions – by size and reputation – break into our elite top 20 for the first time: Edinburgh is up nine places to 20th=, Manchester up nine places to 19th, and Leeds up seven places to 18th. Another big hitter, Bristol, our Research University of the Year, rises ten places to 8th – the biggest rise of any university in the top 40.
All of them have seen modest improvements in previously awful scores for student satisfaction. At Manchester, the Cosy Campus initiative is adding social/study spaces around campus and putting a more human face on a mammoth operation, while at Leeds students have been able to vote on six ‘quick win’ projects designed to improve the campus experience.
Smaller institutions have also done well. Lincoln Bishop, which has fewer than 2,000 undergraduates, finishes top in our NSS-derived indicators for student support, student experience and teaching excellence. Students want to be a name, not a number. Six of the top seven for student support – Lincoln Bishop, Liverpool Hope, Wales Trinity St David, Arts University Plymouth, Birmingham Newman and Plymouth Marjon – are among the smallest institutions in this guide.
Strathclyde, our University of the Year, stands joint sixth overall. It embodies the qualities that this guide seeks to highlight in its ranking.
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Strathclyde’s former vice- chancellor and principal, who retired on August 31, said the university strove to make a positive difference to the world. ‘This is what drives our strong performance in entrepreneurial education, research-inspired innovation, industry collaboration and graduate employment, while our unique alliance with the students’ union ensures our learners remain at the heart of our decision-making.
‘Strathclyde was founded on the Enlightenment principle of “useful learning”. This means equipping our students with the skills required for professional careers, deeply informed by world-class research focused on genuine societal needs and sector-leading links with industry.
‘We are also committed to widening access – 20% of our students come from the 20% most disadvantaged communities in Scotland, while we simultaneously maintain some of the highest entry requirements in the UK.’
Not all universities and courses are the same. Use this guide with care and go into university with your eyes open. While it is said that the university years can be the best years of your life, the right institution will prepare you for something even better.
- ALASTAIR McCALL is honorary professor of quantitative studies at the University of Buckingham and deputy director of its Centre for Education and Employment Research. He has been compiling and editing university guides since 1998.
