Rankings - Aston University

Rankings
The Times Good University Guide 2008
Aston is ranked 15th overall out of 113 UK Universities,
confirming our place amongst the top British Universities.
Our position ranks Aston above Universities such as
Nottingham, Lancaster, Leeds, Birmingham, Exeter,
Liverpool, Cardiff, St Andrews, Manchester,
Newcastle, Leicester and Southampton on the Times’
1,000 point scale.
This table is based on criteria such as research
quality, teaching quality, entry grades, graduate level
employment, degree success, student satisfaction
and spending on teaching/student facilities.
The Times ranked Aston as 12th best in the UK
(out of all 113 Universities) for the employability of
its graduates with 76% entering “graduate level”
employment or further study within 6 months of
graduation, against a UK average of less than 65%.
In the 2007 entry tables, Aston also ranked
particularly high on specific criteria including:
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low drop-out rates
strong staff-student ratios
a high proportion of First and Upper Second
class degrees
a high level of spending on student facilities (student support, accommodation, sport and student activities, teaching facilities etc)
a high level of spending on library and computing facilities
student satisfaction
The Guardian University Guide 2007
In the Guardian guide 2007, Aston was ranked
19th overall out of 122 Universities and Colleges.
Aston featured in the top 20 of the Guardian Guide
for three consecutive years from 2005-2007.
The Guardian league tables focus on variables such
as teaching quality, spending on student facilities,
entry grades, staff-student ratios and graduate
success/job prospects.
Aston’s success is primarily due to consistently high
teaching quality ratings, the success of our graduates
in finding “graduate track” employment or further
study, high entry grades, a high proportion of students
gaining top-class degree marks and significant
investment in student facilities.
The Good University Guide 2008
Aston is ranked 12th overall out of 113 UK Universities,
confirming our place amongst the elite of UK
Universities.
This table is based on criteria such as research
quality, teaching quality, entry grades, graduate level
employment, degree success, student satisfaction
and spending on teaching/student facilities.
The report shows Aston surpassed its 86.8%
benchmark for intake of state school pupils - a target
set each year by HEFCE. Only three other top 20ranked institutions had state school participation rates
of over 80% .
It also revealed that Aston had a lower dropout rate
than its benchmark. Only 5.6% of Aston’s students
chose not to continue their degree course after their
first year, against a target of 6.1%, indicating that
Aston is successfully retaining, as well as recruiting,
students.
*Compiled by Mayfield University Consultants, published in The
Telegraph and sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, July 2007
Subject Rankings: 2007-2008 Guardian / Times
Rankings
University Guides
A wide range of Aston University’s subjects
feature in the top 15 of the Times and/or Guardian
Subject rankings 2007-8, confirming our overall
strength.
• Anatomy and Physiology: 8th – The Guardian 2008 (includes subjects such as Optometry, Audiology and Human Biology).
• Business and Management subjects: 6th – The Times 2008
• Biosciences: 6th - The Guardian 2008
• Chemical Engineering: 4th – The Guardian 2007. Aston has featured in the UK’s top 5 for three years running in the Guardian 2005-2007
• Electronic Engineering: 15th – The Guardian 2008
• Mechanical Engineering: 7th – The Guardian 2007
• Modern Languages (French, German, Spanish): 12th – The Guardian 2007
• Pharmacy and Pharmacology: 3rd – The Guardian 2007. Aston is the UK’s highest ranked Pharmacy degree in the Guardian 2007 and has featured in the top 5 for Pharmacy/Pharmacology 3 years running.
• Politics: 10th – The Guardian 2007
• Subjects allied to Medicine (Optometry and
Audiology): 5th – The Times 2008
Masters programmes
Aston Business School now has 71 full time
MBA students from all over the world (up from 51 in
2006) together with 160 part time evening and distance
learning MBAs. In October 2006 a record number of
new students enrolled in full-time and part-time MSc
programmes in Aston Business School. 483 students
from 46 nationalities joined the programme.
The School of Languages & Social Sciences
runs a suite of interrelated Distance Learning MSc
programmes for practising teachers in Teaching
English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL);
Teaching English for Specific Purposes (TESP);
Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) and
Educational Management in TESOL (EMT). These
programmes have been running successfully for
nearly 20 years.
The School of Engineering & Applied Science offer
a range of Masters programmes typically related to
the work being carried out by the School’s research
groups meaning students experience the benefits of
the latest research at first hand. Telecommunications
Technology Engineering Management and Industrial
Enterprise Management are just some examples of
successful SEAS programmes.
The School of Life & Health Sciences comprise
a range of courses in Psychology, Audiology,
Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences and Pharmaceutical
Sciences including courses in Drug Design and Drug
Delivery. There is a well-established range of flexible
programmes for practising pharmacists including,
(in collaboration with Aston Business School) an
innovative MSc in Community & Hospital Pharmacy
Management. A suite of courses in Psychological
Research specialisms include cognitive neurosciences
and nutrition and behaviour, plus the NeuroImaging
option offers the rare opportunity to train on the full
range of brain imaging techniques.
Student Life
Aston University is rated one of the UK’s Friendliest
Rankings
Universities and Number One for Student Life.
A massive survey by the website Friendsreunited.
co.uk of graduates over the last 50 years rated Aston
University amongst the top 10 friendliest Universities
in the UK (6th out of over 120 Institutions). Student
website rokstudent.com (formerly VirginStudent.
com) recently had a major survey rating Universities
on various aspects of student life. Aston was ranked
number one in the UK for student nightlife – which is a
reflection of both the quality of the student experience
on our campus and only a 5 minute walk away from
the centre of Birmingham.
Graduate Employment Success
Aston’s graduate employment record is consistently
amongst the best in the UK:
• Graduates entering employment: 80% (HESA DLHE survey 2006). Aston University has been in the top 3 UK Universities for its graduates entering employment within 6 months of graduation since 1987, when the survey began.
• Graduates into ‘Graduate Level’ employment: 8th highest out of 120 Universities and Colleges at 79% (Sunday Times University Guide, October 2005)
• Graduates into ‘Graduate Level’ employment or further study: 12th highest out of 113 Universities at 77% (Times University Guide 2008)
• “Most optimistic final year students”: 2nd out of 30 leading Universities in the annual High Fliers UK Graduate Survey 2006 for the proportion of students expecting to secure a graduate level job. Aston was second only to the London School of Economics (LSE) with 61%
This consistent success is partly due to Aston’s strong
reputation with employers and the fact that around
70% of our students take Sandwich or Year Abroad
Programmes giving them valuable (and usually paid)
experience integrated into their degrees.
Birmingham - Quality of Life
Birmingham is consistently ranked in the UK’s top 5
cities for “Overall Quality of Life” which includes issues
such as personal safety, transport, air quality, lifestyle
and cultural/social facilities.
Sources: Mercer Human Resource Consulting,
Henley Management College
Some Quotes about Aston University
“Small but perfectly formed is how Aston sees itself and
how students and employers feel towards it. A low
dropout rate coupled with the highest graduate
employment rate of any UK University speaks volumes.”
Sunday Times
“Aston’s innovative sandwich degree courses in
business, technology, science and languages make its
graduates some of the most marketable in the country.”
The Times
“The fact that Aston is situated literally in the heart
of Birmingham, the UK’s second city was one of the
biggest attractions for me. Living on campus, you are
never more than five minutes away from a lecture and
have all the benefits of city life being within 10 minutes
walk of some of Britain’s best shops and nightlife.”
James Wilkinson, 1st Year, Translation Studies, from Hertfordshire
“Birmingham is a fantastic and vibrant place to live
and study. The city centre is new and modern, and
fully reflects the diverse cultures that are present in
the city.”
Claire Nicholls, 4th Year IBML French and German, from Hull