Reading rises in Guardian University Guide 2024

The University of Reading has risen 17 places in the Guardian University Guide 2024, placing it among the top 50 universities in the UK.

Reading rose to 44 in the 2024 ranking, up from 61 in the 2023 edition.

The Guardian University Guide assesses universities on eight measures of performance across a range of subject areas.

This year, Reading scored strongly with higher scores for student satisfaction with teaching and assessment, spending per student, graduate career prospects, and with a slightly higher average entry requirement for new students.

Reading ranks highly overall in several subject areas, including:

• Animal Science and Agriculture (4) – up from 9 last year
• Graphic Design (6) – same as last year
• Earth and Marine Sciences (6) – up from 9
• Nutrition and Food Science (7) – up from 14
• Education (9) – same as last year
• Anthropology and Archaeology (9) – up from 10
• Business and Management (16) – up from 24
• International Relations (17) – up from 24
• Marketing and public relations (18) – up from 25
• Construction, surveying and planning (20) – up from 23

The University also continues to perform well in many subject areas which are increasingly popular with students, including:

• Biological sciences subjects, with Zoology ranked among the top 20 in the country;
• Accounting and Finance, and Psychology, which both rose in their subject tables; and
• Law, which saw a marked increase in graduate career prospects.

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “These league table results show that Reading continues to perform well in the subject areas in which it has built a global reputation for excellent research and teaching, such as agriculture, earth sciences, and food and nutrition.

“It is also encouraging to see improvements across a large range of subject areas.

“Rankings cannot tell the full story but provide a measure of an institution’s academic strengths. This broad institutional picture highlights the hard work of thousands of individual colleagues and students, who are focused on making a difference to people’s lives through their endeavours. I am truly proud of and grateful to them.”

The Guardian University Guide 2024 is available in full online.