Star rating for Northumbria in prestigious world rankings

Northumbria University, Newcastle, has been recognised among the world’s elite institutions scoring the maximum 5 Stars across a number of categories in a prestigious global rating system.

According to the latest QS Stars University Ratings the University achieved 4 Stars overall and 5 Stars in five key categories, namely Teaching, Employability, Internationalisation, Facilities and Inclusiveness. The QS Stars is a rating system which allows students to get a wider picture of an institution’s qualities, looking at everything from the employability of graduates, to sports facilities and community engagement. It covers broader criteria than any world ranking and shines a light on the excellence and diversity of the rated institution.

Northumbria’s results in the Teaching category suggest an “excellent teaching environment” and the University achieved full points in Overall Student Satisfaction and Student Satisfaction with Teaching.

Employability was one of Northumbria’s best performing categories and a key component of its success in the recent ratings. The University achieved full points on the Graduate Employment Rate indicator with an impressive 94% of graduates employed within 12 months of graduation. With more than 40 full-time equivalent careers advisors across campus and highly successful placement teams, employability has been firmly embedded throughout the University.

Northumbria also performed exceptionally well in the Internationalisation category, for having at least 50 International Research Collaborations with QS Top 500 universities and a high level of staff and students originating from abroad. Its excellent Facilities achieved nearly 90% of available points, including its £30 million purpose-built sports building, world-class IT infrastructure, including a wide range of student societies, medical facilities, library services and student accommodation.

The full 5 Stars were also awarded to Northumbria for Inclusiveness with about 8% of turnover being spent on generous financial packages aimed at supporting students from lower income households as well as rewarding academic excellence. At least 15% of students were identified as low income. The University was also recognised for offering 100% disabled access.

In specialist subjects Northumbria also performed particularly well in architecture, which was awarded a highly competitive 3-Star rating and was placed 169^th globally in the QS 2016 World League rank by subject.

Professor Jon Reast, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) at Northumbria University, said: “The results of the QS Stars University Ratings are further evidence of our international strengths and appeal to prospective students across a number of key disciplines. A typical 5 Star institution is considered world-class and to achieve 5 Stars across five categories highlights our growing reputation as a university with cutting-edge facilities alongside internationally renowned research and teaching.”

Northumbria is also ranked in the world's Top 150 under 50 - Times Higher Education's ranking of the top 150 global universities established after 1966. Universities in this league table are ranked on their teaching, research, citations, international outlook and industry income. Universities from 39 countries are represented in the global league table and Northumbria is one of just 24 UK institutions in this prestigious group.