GCU consolidates reputation as a leading modern university in the UK
Glasgow Caledonian University has recorded its best performance in the Guardian University Guide, climbing 17 places to 52nd out of 121 universities in the UK.
This is the highest increase of any Scottish university and makes GCU the top performing modern university in Scotland by a clear margin. The University has seen a year-on-year increase in its ranking since 2019 (ranked 96th), improving by 44 places through to 2023.
The result comes in the same month GCU climbed eight places in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023, moving from 60th to 52nd out of 132 universities in the UK. This marked a fantastic increase of 57 places in the last six years alone. At a subject level, three GCU subjects have ranked first in the UK: Physiotherapy, Radiography and Food Science.
Our performance in the Guardian Guide is underpinned by excellent outcomes in the categories of ‘continuation’ and ‘career prospects’, and our strong 2022 NSS results.
Student satisfaction, continuation, entry tariff, the ratio of students to staff, graduate employment and spend per student are some of the measures used in this guide, which is aimed specifically at students who are trying to choose a course starting in 2023.
The 2023 publication sees a significant expansion in the Guardian’s subject groupings, which are used to build up the overall league table.
GCU has 26 subjects ranked in the new set of groupings, with the following subjects in the UK top 20%:
- Physiotherapy – 3rd out of 39
- Social Work – 8th out of 82
- Psychology – 15th out of 116
- Animation and Game Design – 6th out of 44
- Sociology and Social Policy – 17th out of 90
- Marketing and PR – 12th out of 67
Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies CBE FRSE said: “We have always invested in doing what we felt was right to ensure exceptional student outcomes from our educational programmes, delivering excellence in research and creating outstanding partnerships with the business community.
“This steadfast commitment to improvement in outcomes and impact from our work through living our values has increasingly been noted through improvement in a range of league table positions.
“Our excellent performance in the Guardian ranking comes immediately on the heels of our Times and Sunday Times performance, where we now sit 52nd in the UK in both tables.
“This is a remarkable achievement for us and we should all share a sense of satisfaction in our progress.
“Thank you once again for your endeavours on behalf of our students in delivering transformative education and in producing research and business development with real impact.”
Full analysis of the Guardian University Guide will be available on GCU DASH in due course.