Surveys | University of Reading

Have Your Say

We are committed to working in partnership with you to ensure you have everything you need to succeed during your time studying at Reading. That is why we take student surveys seriously - it's a way for us to listen, understand and act on your views.

The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey is currently closed.

The National Student Survey is currently closed.

Surveys available now

Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 

The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is currently closed. We will let you know when it reopens.

Why take part?

The Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) is a nation-wide, independent survey to seek the views and experiences of taught postgraduate students. PTES enables us to gather important information about the experiences of taught postgraduate students on Masters, Postgraduate certificate or Diploma courses. It's important for us to hear about your experiences as your feedback directly informs changes to our programmes, facilities, and wider support.

PTES is run by Advance HE and is developed in consultation with the wider education sector and is robustly tested across diverse disciplines, institutions and students to ensure it produces valid results.

National Student Survey

The National Student Survey (NSS) is currently closed. We will let you know when it reopens.

What is the National Student Survey (NSS)?

The National Student Survey (NSS) invites all final-year undergraduates in the UK to share their views on the quality of their course. The National Student Survey (NSS) is your chance to look back on your higher education experience and speak out on everything from the teaching on your course, access to resources and equipment, and even about the student voice. It is the largest survey of undergraduates in the UK, run independently by Ipsos for the the Office for Students (OfS).

The NSS helps universities improve the student experience. Your views can make a difference - with your feedback, we can make changes to improve our courses for future students. The NSS, which is a UK-wide, official survey, also supports prospective students in making informed choices - results are published on the OfS and Discover Uni websites.

The questions ask you about aspects of your course such as teaching, feedback and assessment, and learning resources. All responses are strictly anonymous, and it takes around 15 minutes to complete.

Why take part?

Because your experiences are important. Your feedback is invaluable in highlighting what works well and what could be improved at the University of Reading. The survey asks about key aspects of your academic experience and includes space for optional comments.

We take your feedback and views seriously because they help us understand what we are doing well and what we can do better. This is your opportunity to shape the experience for future Reading students.

Inappropriate influence

Inappropriate influence is defined as:

‘Any activity which may encourage students to reflect anything other than their true opinion of their experiences during their course in their NSS responses’.

Universities often promote the survey directly to their students in a range of ways, but the NSS should reflect what you think about your course. Your university should not influence your response.

If you think that your university or college is inappropriately influencing students’ responses to the NSS, email the Office for Students (OfS) at NSSallegations@officeforstudents.org.uk.

Find out more in the NSS FAQs.