Glasgow University named Scottish University of the Year

THE University of Glasgow has been named Scottish University of the Year by an annual guide.

The institution climbed nine places to feature inside the UK’s top 20 as ranked by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018.

St Andrews remains the top-ranked Scottish university – and third in the UK – but Glasgow has been named university of the year for improvements in six of the nine performance indicators including teaching, student experience and graduate prospects.

The university has also been praised for its expansion plans in the city’s west end and for establishing partnerships in China, Canada, Hong Kong and the US.

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Alastair McCall, editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: “Glasgow has secured the rare double of being both Scottish University of the Year and securing a shortlisting for the UK University of the Year title. Both are well-deserved.

“Ranked second among Scottish institutions in our league table after a jump of nine places this year, the university is going places.

“It is in the midst of one of the biggest capital spends for a Scottish university – around £1 billion over the next decade – with the redevelopment of the former Western Infirmary site, which will reshape the city’s west end.

“It is a great example of the transformational role that can be played by universities not just in individual lives but in communities more widely, and in regional and national domains.

“It recruits internationally based on its outstanding reputation for research, and it has avoided the pitfalls of others in Scotland in being able to provide a student-centric undergraduate experience alongside that.”

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The guide said the proportion of students graduating from Glasgow with a first or 2:1 is now just over 83% and it tops three subject tables for animal science, dentistry and education.

Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said the award is a “real tribute to the hard work and endeavour of our staff and students”.

He added: “The award of Scottish University of the Year comes just a few weeks after Glasgow went up eight places in the Times Higher Education World rankings to 80th and as we begin work on a £1 billion redevelopment and expansion of our campus in the west end of the city.

“The new facilities will be truly world leading and will further confirm Glasgow as a global centre for learning, teaching and research.”

St Andrews was ranked top in the UK for broader academic experience and second overall for student satisfaction with teaching.

Dundee was ranked third best in Scotland in the guide, followed by Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt.