Posts Tagged ‘University league tables’
The Complete University Guide 2014: Computer Science
Today saw the publication of The Complete University Guide 2014, one of the many university ranking guides, and the start of the university ranking season in the UK.
Comparing against the 2013 university league tables, especially last year’s Guide, there are two new entrants in the top 10 UK institutions for Computer Science:
| Ranking | 2013 | ||
| 1. | ↔ | University of Cambridge | (1st) |
| 2. | ↑ | Imperial College London | (3rd) |
| 3. | ↓ | University of Oxford | (2nd) |
| 4. | ↑ | University of Glasgow | (9th) |
| 5. | ↓ | University of Bristol | (4th) |
| 6. | ↑ | University of Exeter | (15th) |
| 7. | ↑ | University of Birmingham | (16th) |
| 8. | ↓ | University College London | (6th) |
| 9. | ↑ | University of York | (10th) |
| 10. | ↓ | University of Warwick | (8th) |
As always, the rankings for Wales institutions in Computer Science were of particular interest to me:
| Ranking | 2013 | ||
| 27. | ↑ | Cardiff University | (35th) |
| 32. | ↓ | Swansea University | (30th) |
| 35. | ↓ | Aberystwyth University | (34th) |
| 58. | ↓ | Bangor University | (49th) |
| 76. | ↓ | University of Glamorgan | (63rd) |
| 89. | ↓ | Cardiff Metropolitan University | (88th) |
| 93. | ↓ | Glyndŵr University | (72nd) |
N.B. no data was available for Swansea Metropolitan University or the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (who merged in 2012), or for the University of Wales, Newport (who recently merged with the University of Glamorgan to form the University of South Wales.
The Complete University Guide’s methodology for the subject league tables are based on four measures: Student Satisfaction, Research Assessment, Entry Standards and Graduate Prospects. To qualify for inclusion in a subject table, a university has to have data for at least two of the four measures; a blank in the Entry Standards and Graduate Prospects columns is not a zero score but rather denotes that no valid data were available.
2013 University Guides: Computer Science
With the impending start of the 2014 university guide season, here’s an aggregation of the four main UK university guides in 2013 for Computer Science:
- The Complete University Guide 2013 (April 2012)
- The Guardian University Guide 2013 (May 2012)
- The Times Good University Guide 2013 (June 2012)
- The Sunday Times University Guide 2013 (September 2012)
Sunday Times University Guide 2013: Computer Science
Yesterday saw the publication of the Sunday Times University Guide 2013 (£), one of the many university ranking guides in the UK (in fact, we are very much in university ranking season, with the news that UK universities are slipping down the world rankings).
As with the 2012 Guide (£), as well as the Guardian University Guide 2013 published in May and The Times Good University Guide 2013 published in June, there were some familiar institutions in the top 10 for Computer Science:
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 1. | ↔ | University of Oxford | (1st) |
| 2. | ↔ | University of Cambridge | (2nd) |
| 3. | ↑ | Imperial College London | (4th) |
| 4. | ↑ | University of Birmingham | (12th) |
| 5. | ↓ | University of Bristol | (3rd) |
| 6. | ↔ | University of Bath | (6th) |
| 7. | ↑ | University of Sheffield | (14th) |
| 8. | ↓ | University of York | (7th) |
| 9. | ↔ | University of Warwick | (9th) |
| 10. | ↑ | University of Glasgow | (15th) |
As always, the rankings for Computer Science in Wales were of particular interest:
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 28. | ↓ | Cardiff University | (21st) |
| 41. | ↓ | Swansea University | (33rd) |
| 52. | ↑ | Aberystwyth University | (58th) |
| 63. | ↓ | Cardiff Metropolitan University | (50th) |
| 73. | ↓ | Bangor University | (41st) |
| 74. | ↑ | University of Glamorgan | (81st) |
| 94. | ↓ | University of Wales, Newport | (40th) |
| 103. | ↓ | Glyndŵr University | (68th) |
| 104. | ↓ | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | (88th) |
(N.B. no data was available for Swansea Metropolitan University)
The Sunday Times’ methodology differs somewhat from the Guardian’s methodology (and even The Times‘!), especially with respect to research, but with less focus on academic services and student facilities.
However, this clearly highlights the quirks of having three newspapers publishing university league tables (as well as The Complete University Guide, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings) with widely different metrics and weightings. It begs the question: does all of this information help prospective students make more informed choices about where to study Computer Science in the UK?
Times Good University Guide 2013: Computer Science
Yesterday saw the publication of The Times Good University Guide 2013 (£), one of the many university ranking guides in the UK.
As with last year’s Guide (£), as well as the Guardian University Guide 2013 published in May, there are some familiar institutions in the top 10 for Computer Science:
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 1. | ↔ | University of Cambridge | (1st) |
| 2. | ↑ | Imperial College London | (3rd) |
| 3. | ↓ | University of Oxford | (2nd) |
| 4. | ↔ | University of Bristol | (4th) |
| 5. | ↑ | University of St Andrews | (6th) |
| 6. | ↑ | University College London | (7th) |
| 7. | ↑ | University of Glasgow | (10th) |
| 8. | ↓ | University of Southampton | (5th) |
| 9. | ↓ | University of York | (8th) |
| 10. | ↓ | University of Edinburgh | (9th) |
Of particular interest to me were the rankings for Computer Science in Wales:
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 26. | ↔ | Aberystwyth University | (26th) |
| 33. | ↓ | Swansea University | (30th) |
| 34. | ↓ | Cardiff University | (31st) |
| 41. | ↑ | Bangor University | (56th) |
| 60. | ↓ | Glyndŵr University | (51st) |
| 69. | ↓ | University of Glamorgan | (61st) |
| 72. | ↑ | Cardiff Metropolitan University | (103rd) |
| 91. | ↓ | University of Wales, Newport | (89th) |
(N.B. no data was available for Swansea Metropolitan University or University of Wales Trinity Saint David)
The Times’ methodology differs somewhat from the Guardian’s methodology, especially regarding research. While four Welsh institutions in the top 50 highlights the strength of Computer Science in Wales, we should be aiming to break into the top 20 over the next two years.
Guardian University Guide 2013: Computer Sciences and IT
This week saw the publication of the Guardian University Guide 2013, one of the many university ranking guides in the UK. In the Computer Sciences and IT category, there were some familiar names in the top 10 (especially comparing against the 2012 table…apart from Oxford, for whom there was no data):
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 1. | ↔ | University of Cambridge | (1st) |
| 2. | ↔ | University of St Andrews | (2nd) |
| 3. | ↑ | University of Southampton | (8th) |
| 4. | ↔ | Imperial College London | (4th) |
| 5. | ↑ | University of Bristol | (7th) |
| 6. | ↔ | University of York | (6th) |
| 7. | ↓ | University of Birmingham | (5th) |
| 8. | ↑ | University of Glasgow | (13th) |
| 9. | ↑ | University of Liverpool | (24th) |
| 10. | ↑ | University of Sheffield | (20th) |
Of particular interest to me were the rankings for Computer Science in Wales:
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 27. | ↑ | Swansea University | (34th) |
| 29. | ↑ | Cardiff University | (46th) |
| 33. | ↑ | Bangor University | (38th) |
| 64. | ↑ | Cardiff Metropolitan University | (74th) |
| 68. | ↓ | Aberystwyth University | (44th) |
| 89. | ↓ | University of Glamorgan | (78th) |
| 90. | ↓ | University Of Wales, Newport | (101st) |
| 101. | ↓ | Glyndŵr University | (49th) |
(N.B. no data was available for Swansea Metropolitan University and University of Wales Trinity Saint David)
Looking at the table headings and the methodology, research does not appear to be one of the ranking metrics; as you can see from The Complete University Guide 2013, this can change the ordering somewhat. While this is a reasonable performance in Computer Science by Welsh universities, we should be aiming for at least one top 20 placing in the next year or two.
The Complete University Guide 2013: Computer Science
Today saw the publication of The Complete University Guide 2013, one of the many university ranking guides, generally marking the start of the university ranking season in the UK.
Familiar names in the top 10 UK institutions for Computer Science:
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 1. | ↔ | University of Cambridge | (1st) |
| 2. | ↔ | University of Oxford | (2nd) |
| 3. | ↔ | Imperial College London | (3rd) |
| 4. | ↑ | University of Bristol | (5th) |
| 5. | ↑ | University of Southampton | (6th) |
| 6. | ↓ | University College London | (4th) |
| 7. | ↔ | University of St. Andrews | (7th) |
| 8. | ↑ | University of Warwick | (9th) |
| 9. | ↑ | University of Glasgow | (12th) |
| 10. | ↓ | University of York | (8th) |
As always, the rankings for Wales institutions in Computer Science were of particular interest to me:
| Ranking | 2012 | ||
| 30. | ↑ | Swansea University | (34th) |
| 34. | ↓ | Aberystwyth University | (30th) |
| 35. | ↑ | Cardiff University | (37th) |
| 49. | ↑ | Bangor University | (59th) |
| 63. | ↓ | University of Glamorgan | (58th) |
| 72. | ↓ | Glyndŵr University | (52nd) |
| 88. | ↑ | Cardiff Metropolitan University | (92nd) |
| 94. | ↑ | University of Wales, Newport | (102nd) |
N.B. no data was available for Swansea Metropolitan University or the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
The Complete University Guide’s methodology for the subject league tables are based on four measures: Student Satisfaction, Research Assessment, Entry Standards and Graduate Prospects. To qualify for inclusion in a subject table, a university has to have data for at least two of the four measures; a blank in the Entry Standards and Graduate Prospects columns is not a zero score but rather denotes that no valid data were available.
