Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Insider UK
Insider UK
Business
Peter A Walker

St Andrews is named Scotland's top university again

The University of St Andrews is once again Scotland's top-ranked educational institution and sits in second place UK-wide.

This is according to The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023, which named it the Scottish University of the Year.

The comprehensive overview of higher education in Britain makes use of the latest data published in the past two months.

The research revealed that nearly 87% of the university's graduates go into high-skilled jobs or further studies.

Last year's list saw St Andrews beat the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, something no university has achieved in the near 30-year history of the guide, or any other domestic UK university ranking.

The institution flipped its small-class teaching model to online delivery during the pandemic, registering only a slight decline in satisfaction rates across the annual National Student Survey, while other top universities saw these scores decline rapidly.

Elsewhere in the rankings, the University of Edinburgh came second (and 10th in the UK), followed by the University of Glasgow (14th overall).

Rounding out the Scottish top five are the University of Strathclyde, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Dundee.

Top universities in Scotland

Scotland rank

University

UK-wide rank

Last year’s UK-wide rank

2022 National Student Survey teaching quality (%)

2022 National Student Survey student experience (%)

Graduate prospects (% in high-skilled jobs or graduate-level study)

Completion rate (%)

1

University of St Andrews

2

1

84

80.5

86.9

95.9

2

University of Edinburgh

10

13

68.6

67

84.6

94.3

3

University of Glasgow

14

12

73.3

71.7

81.4

89.9

4

University of Strathclyde

18

17

76.7

75.1

83.8

91.1

5

University of Aberdeen

19

20

79.4

78.6

79.9

89.9

6

University of Dundee

32

35=

74.5

70.1

82

89.4

7

University of Stirling

38=

41

76.2

72.8

73.7

85.9

8

Glasgow Caledonian University

52

60

75.1

72.2

78.6

86.4

9

Heriot-Watt University

57=

30=

66.5

66.7

79.3

86

10

Edinburgh Napier University

59

57

77.3

74.4

77.7

82.7

11

Robert Gordon University

65

62=

81.2

76

77.6

85.2

12

Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh

67

66

76.8

73.1

68.3

83.7

13

Abertay University

89=

94=

78.7

73.2

70.5

76.3

14

University of the West of Scotland

122=

110=

74.9

67

70.7

78.3

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide is made up of eight indicators, including student satisfaction with teaching quality and their wider student experience, research quality, graduate prospects, entrance qualifications held by new students, degree results achieved, student/staff ratios and degree completion rates.

Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.