Newcastle University has improved its strong position as one of the top places to study in the UK, according to an influential guide.

Newcastle moved into the top twenty in the country, and is among the best for student satisfaction, according to the latest Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide league tables, announced today.

The full league table, to be published in the Sunday Times this weekend, puts Newcastle in 18th place, up from 23rd last year. Newcastle was also named as one of the top civic universities in the country and the student satisfaction rate of 84.6% places the University as best in the North East.

Among the other factors the tables consider are the career prospects of graduates, spend on facilities, student/staff ratios, entry points required to gain a place and degree results achieved. Latest Government figures show that 95.2% of Newcastle graduates are in employment or further education six months after graduating.

The improved league placing follows on from the news that Newcastle University is more popular than ever before, with applications and intake in 2013 the highest ever achieved by the University.

As the new cohort of students arrives on campus to register, the University is continuing to invest in its facilities to ensure that all students can take advantage of the excellent learning, teaching and student experience on offer at Newcastle University.

Professor Chris Brink, Vice Chancellor of Newcastle University, said: “It is a great credit to all our staff across the university that we have done so well in these tables. We have invested over £20m in our campus buildings and equipment over the past twelve months with plans for another £30m in the coming year to ensure that our facilities live up to the high expectations of our students.

“We are committed to maintaining and further improving standards over the coming years.”

The judges at the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide had this to say about Newcastle University:

“Newcastle is in the top 20 nationally for student satisfaction. Occupying a city centre site in what is widely regarded as one of the party capitals of Britain, if not the world, Newcastle University is reaping a rich dividend.

“Regularly named as the best university city in the UK, sixth-formers have responded with increased numbers of applications and the university is able to pick the brightest students with the average entry points well in excess of 400. To maintain satisfaction levels the university continues to spend heavily to upgrade its teaching and research facilities.”

published on: 20 September 2013