Lancaster University has risen to its highest ever ranking of seventh place in the Complete University Guide of 2020.
This achievement means that the University has retained its status as the highest-ranking university in the North West, with The University of Manchester and The University of Liverpool rounding up the top three.
Published on the 1stof May, the Complete University Guide also ranked Lancaster as 3rdnationally for Graduate Prospects and the highest in the region. The University had a graduate prospects score of 89.2 against the average of 75.5 in the UK. This score was considerably higher than that of the institutions in the top three of the overall table, The University of Cambridge, The University of Oxford and the University of St Andrews, which were scored 86.7, 83.4 and 79.7 respectively.
With an overall score of 914, Lancaster narrowly missed out on sixth place to Durham University by a margin of only one point.
It was also a success for the English Literature and Creative Writing Department, as Creative Writing was ranked as best in the country. Professor Hilary Hinds, the Head of the English Literature and Creative Writing Department for the University said, ‘I am delighted that Creative Writing at Lancaster has been recognised as the best in the country by the CUG. We have a wonderful community of dedicated and inspiring writers and students here, who, together, have secured this outstanding result.’
Nineteen other subjects offered at the University were ranked in the top ten, including History, Marketing and Maths. Sociology and Linguistics placed 2ndand 4thon the League Tables respectively, with the University of Cambridge taking the top position for both subjects.
The news follows the 2019 Times and Sunday Times 2019 League Table, which named Lancaster as the best in the North, with its editor stating that ‘employers are falling all over themselves to recruit graduates with a degree from Lancaster.’
Based on ten different measures, the positions on the League Table are: Entry Standards, Student Satisfaction, Research Intensity, Graduate Prospects, Research Quality, Student-Staff Ratio, Spending on Student Facilities, Spending on Academic Services, Good Honours Degrees, and Completion.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University Mark E. Smith said: ‘It is wonderful to see Lancaster University’s quality reflected time and time again with top ten positions in all the major UK league tables. The University continues to build on a solid platform of success, which is entirely down to the commitment, excellence and hard work of our staff and students.’
‘We have always known that Lancaster had something very special to offer – a rare combination of commitment to internationally excellent research without compromising on the very best in teaching standards and outcomes for our graduates.’
