University of Nottingham - Rankings and Reputation

Rankings and Reputation

The university was named Times Higher Education "University of the Year" in 2006, Times Higher Education "Entrepreneurial University of the Year" in 2008, and finished runner up in the 2010 Sunday Times "University of the Year". Nottingham has consistently ranked amongst Britain's top 10 leading universities in the various national and international rankings published over the last 15 years, and is described by the Fulbright Commission as "one of the UK's oldest, largest, and most prestigious universities". Indeed, Nottingham finished 8th in The Sunday Times 10 year average ranking of British universities based on consistent league table performance over the past decade, and is ranked in the UK's Top 10 in the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) 2010 World University Rankings. Internationally, Nottingham University was ranked 74th in the 2011 QS World University Rankings,.

Nottingham is also a member of the 'Sutton Trust 13', a collection of the 13 highest ranking British universities compiled by the educational charity The Sutton Trust, which aims to challenge educational inequality at top universities. Nottingham traditionally has one of the highest application to place ratios of any university in the United Kingdom, leading The Sunday Times to describe a place there as "among the most sought-after in higher education" and "with almost 10 applicants per place, Nottingham is one of the hardest universities to get into in the UK". Therefore entry into Nottingham is extremely competitive, and as a result new undergraduates average a UCAS tariff score well north of 400, with "more than 80% of its students having at least three A grades at A-Level" according to The Times. This had put its admissions selectivity consistently in the top 10 in Britain and has lead the Times to describe Nottingham students as "the brightest in their peer group". Moreover, according to the last statistical analysis by the Times Higher Education Supplement, Nottingham students averaged the 6th highest A-level grades in the United Kingdom throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

The University has experienced a climb up the rankings of Great Britain's higher education system over the past two decades according to the Good University Guide, going in less than 20 years "from being a solid civic university to a prime alternative to Oxbridge", as well as "The nearest thing Britain has to a truly global university". The University has mirrored this expansion abroad with a rise in international rankings, establishing itself amongst the top universities worldwide, leading The Sunday Times to state that Nottingham now has "one of the strongest international profiles of any UK university". Indeed, due to Nottingham's international profile and entrepreneurial culture, economist Andrew Oswald described Nottingham as one of only 5 British universities capable of privatisation and competing with the major universities in the US. Nottingham is also ranked as the 8th best international university in the global "Best Places to Work in Academia 2010" survey. The University is also "one of the most employer friendly universities in the world" according to Virgin Alternative Guide to British Universities, ranking amongst the top 15 most targeted universities in the world by leading employers in the THES world rankings, and in the 2008 Times High Fliers survey being named in the top 3 most targeted British universities by leading graduate recruiters. Nottingham is also ranked 31st in the world, and 7th in Britain, according to a 2011 New York Times survey of leading CEO's who were asked to assess which universities they most liked to recruit from. In addition, according to the 2011 edition of the International Professional Classification of Higher Education Institutions, which assesses the number of alumni listed among CEOs in the 500 largest worldwide companies, Nottingham is ranked 2nd in the UK (after Oxford University) and 13th in the world (tied with Stanford University).