Durham Uni drops two places and ranks eighth in the country, according to new league table

Durham University has ranked eighth in the UK, according to the 2024 Complete University Guide league table.

The university’s position is two places lower than in 2023.  It has been overtaken by the University of Bath, which now ranks fifth, and Loughborough University, which now ranks seventh.

The Complete University Guide takes into account factors such as student satisfaction, graduate prospects, entry standards and education quality. It is not the only university guide, and earlier this year Durham was ranked sixth overall and Sports University of the Year in The Times and Sunday Times’ Good University Guide.

Durham University ranked 74th for student satisfaction, with a score of 3.88/5. It joins every other Russell Group University in this low ranking, with the top fifteen places for student satisfaction being occupied by non-Russell Group universities.

The university’s student satisfaction rating comes after some students experienced a housing crisis at the start of the year, during which students weren’t satisfied with Durham University’s response. Some students believed the housing crisis was due to the university letting in too many students.

The university also fell in its rating in several subject areas. The Maths department ranking fell by seven places, the Psychology department by four, and the Sociology department by three.

However, Durham University did score highly in its student-to-staff balance with a ratio of 13.5 and a ranking of 13. This is a better rate than that in University of Manchester, the University of Bristol, and King’s College London.

The student-to-staff ratio in Durham University has recently come under threat with a series of UCU strikes. Strikers have expressed dissatisfaction with their pay, pension, and working conditions.

Staff will continue to strike in June and September in order to protest against what they have called “punitive deductions” to their salary.

Durham University also scored relatively highly in certain subject areas. The university’s English and History departments are each ranked fourth in the UK, and the Law department is ranked sixth.

Courtney Cowley, a second-year history student at Durham, told The Tab Durham that she is “very thrilled and proud” with the university’s history ranking.

In response to the Complete University Guide, a Durham University spokesperson said: “Durham is a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research. We are a world top 100 university, with 12 of our subjects ranked in the world top 50 and 19 in the world top 100.

“We conduct innovative and impactful research to transform lives and make a difference, globally and locally: research to empower and inspire. We are consistently ranked as a top 10 university in national league tables, including The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, Guardian University Guide and the Complete University Guide”.

The full league table can be found here.

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