University Rankings

It is very common for students to use a ranking as a way to understand the university that they intend to study at. Although rankings are, of course, important, they are not the only reason you should choose a university. Other factors that must be taken into consideration are the location of the institute, the course content, value for money and access to senior members of staff. UKEAS counsellors will be able to sit down with you and provide a much clearer insight into these areas. It is important that you base your choice on more than just the ranking. You should be aware for example, that most UK university rankings are aimed at UK students and therefore many of these criteria are not suitable for international students. Also bear in mind that universities will rank very differently under different ranking schemes. Your UKEAS counsellor will be able to guide you through this confusion though and provide you with all the information you need. Please find below details on several different UK university ranking schemes:

RAE - Research Assessment Exercise
- The Research Assessment Exercise is a complete university ranking. This is the only government ranking exercise and focuses primarily on research, as the name implies.
  
  http://www.rae.ac.uk/
Guardian University Guide Ranking
The Times Complete University Rankings
- Again this is a UK focused ranking, from a major national newspaper.
  
  http://rankings.ft.com
The Sunday Times Complete University rankings
- Possibly one of the better known rankings from a sister newspaper to The Times. It caters mainly for UK students.
  
  http://extras.timesonline.co.uk
AMBA
- The association ranks postgraduate management programmes with a primary focus on the MBA degree.
  
  http://www.mbaworld.com
The Economist
- These rankings are provided by a well known business magazine, and also focus primarily on the MBA offerings of leading business schools.
  
  http://www.economist.com
The Financial Times
- This famous business newspaper provides two sets of rankings. Their MBA rankings can be found here:
  
  http://rankings.ft.com
  
  And rankings of various management programmes can be found here:
  http://rankings.ft.com

There are also several world rankings that can provide insight into the UK university you are applying or thinking of going to:

Another is prepared by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and called the Academic Ranking of World Universities. It can be found here

If you still have questions, please contact your local UKEAS office for the latest and most professional advice. Remember our service is free.

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