St Andrews has been declared Scotland’s best university, beating Edinburgh and Glasgow to the top spot.
The Fife university ranked first in Scotland and second UK-wide in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
Principal and vice-chancellor Dame Sally Mapstone welcomed the news, saying: “This is another very welcome endorsement of the quality of research-led teaching at St Andrews and the hard work of all our staff and students, but they would be the first to say that this is not the week for celebration.
“We will in due course be marking this achievement with all in our community.”
Top for academic experience, say students
In 2021, St Andrews was named as the top academic institution in the UK, becoming the first university in the table’s 30-year-history to beat both Oxford and Cambridge to the title.
Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic when the university was forced to move classes online, St Andrews recorded only a small decline in student satisfaction while others across the country saw a sharp fall.
The results of the National Student Survey (NSS) for 2022, published in July, showcased that the university is top in the UK for student academic experience, scoring 80.5%.
The survey reflects student responses to core questions relating to academic support, learning resources, teaching, management, assessment, personal development and satisfaction.
The survey also named St Andrews as the UK’s top mainstream university, the 14th time in the past 16 years that the Scottish university has been at the very top for student experience.
More than 89% of St Andrews’ final year students surveyed gave the university top marks for the quality of the learning and teaching experience.
The university was also ranked in the top 10 for 22 subject areas.
The survey unveiled that almost 87% of St Andrews graduates go into high-skilled jobs or more study.
Elsewhere in Scotland, Edinburgh came second with Glasgow third.
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