Tag Archives: University league tables

Guardian University Guide 2015: Computer Science and Information Systems

I’ve been blogging about the various university league tables for computer science for over two years now…and I’m not entirely sure whether this is actually useful beyond collecting them in one place. There are a multitude of UK and international university rankings, each of which have varying methodologies and weightings. It remains to be seen what they each contribute or how they differ, or what analysis you could make that could not be done by looking at raw HEFCE/UCAS data. From here onwards I will most likely continue to publish the three main UK league tables top 10 for computer science, as well as the rankings for Welsh institutions, but with minimal commentary.

So, today saw the publication of the Guardian University Guide 2015; check out the top 10 of the (renamed) Computer Science and Information Systems category (see all 2014 tables):

Ranking 2014
1. University of St Andrews (24th)
2. Imperial College London (3rd)
3. University of Oxford (-)
4. University of Bristol (5th)
5. University of Cambridge (8th)
6. University of Edinburgh (22nd)
7. UCL (9th)
8. University of Southampton (5th)
9. University of Surrey (17th)
10. University of Bristol (4th)
(full table,methodology)

And the rankings for Welsh institutions:

Ranking 2014
27. Cardiff University (28th)
54. Swansea University (29th)
74. Aberystwyth University (58th)
84. Glyndŵr University (99th)
89. University of South Wales (-)
92. Cardiff Metropolitan University (88th)
94. Bangor University (73rd)

 
(N.B. no data was available for the University of Wales Trinity Saint David)

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The Complete University Guide 2015: Computer Science

Today saw the publication of The Complete University Guide 2015, signalling the start of the UK university ranking season.

Comparing against the 2014 university league tables — especially last year’s Guide — there has been some movement, with two new entrants in the top 10 UK institutions for Computer Science:

Ranking 2014
1. University of Cambridge (1st)
2. Imperial College London (2nd)
3. University of Oxford (3rd)
4. University of St Andrews (15th)
5. Durham University (14th)
6. University College London (8th)
7. University of Birmingham (16th)
8. University of Bristol (5th)
9. University of Exeter (6th)
10. University of Glasgow (4th)
(full table)

 

As always, the rankings for Welsh institutions in Computer Science were of particular interest to me; Cardiff University retained the top spot, with a broadly similar performance to last year (albeit with some movement down the table for the top three):

Ranking 2014
31. Cardiff University (27th)
39. Swansea University (32nd)
46. Aberystwyth University (35th)
64. Glyndŵr University (93rd)
67. University of South Wales (-)
70. Bangor University (58th)
89. Cardiff Metropolitan University (89th)

 
N.B. no data was available for 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.

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2014 University Guides: Computer Science

While the higher education sector is swamped with league tables and rankings, I find it useful to keep an eye on the subject-specific tables (especially w.r.t. year-on-year variance, as well as changes in metrics/weightings). Therefore, here are the four three main 2014 UK university guides for Computer Science:

(cf. the 2013 guides)

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The Times and The Sunday Times University Guide 2014: Computer Science

Today saw the publication of the first combined The Times and The Sunday Times University Guide 2014 (£), in which the University of Birmingham was named University of the Year, along with strong performances from Bath and Coventry (also named Modern University of the Year). Looking at the methodology for the new combined guide, with higher weightings on student satisfaction (NSS) and research quality (RAE 2008), it looks similar to the original Times methodology rather than the Sunday Times. Whilst generally sceptical of the plethora of university rankings and league tables, I wholeheartedly agree with Phil Baty (Editor-at-Large, THE) — it seems bizarre to reward universities for dishing out a higher proportion of first and upper second class degrees, as this metric can be trivially improved.

As always, there are familiar institutions in the top 10 of the Computer Science category; due to the similarity in methodology, I’ve compared this new combined table to last year’s Times table (but it is also worth comparing to the 2013 Sunday Times table). I’ve also added another column to compare to the position in the overall table:

Ranking 2013 Overall
1. 1. University of Cambridge 1.
2. 2. Imperial College London 5.
3. 5. University of St Andrews 4.
4. 3. University of Oxford 2.
5. 8. University of Southampton 20.
6. 14. University of Birmingham 16.
7. 4. University of Bristol 15.
8. 7. University of Glasgow 25.
9. 11. University of Bath 7.
10. 10. University of Edinburgh 22.

 

And the rankings for Wales:

Ranking 2013 Overall
21. 34. Cardiff University 33.
37. 33. Swansea University 47.
52. 26. Aberystwyth University 82.
66. 72. Cardiff Metropolitan University 87.
83. 60. Glyndŵr University 109.
85. 41. Bangor University 56.

 
N.B. there was no data available for the University of South Wales (formed from the recent merger between University of Glamorgan and University of Wales, Newport) or the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (formed from the recent merger between University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Swansea Metropolitan University).

While there have been some significant drops in ranking for a number of Welsh institutions (most likely to due to student satisfaction scores), this does not seem to correlate with the 2014 Guardian University Guide from June (which also places a high value on the NSS). However, it is encouraging to see Cardiff just outside the top 20.

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Guardian University Guide 2014: Computer Sciences and IT

University ranking season is upon us once again — this week saw the publication of the Guardian University Guide 2014. In the Computer Sciences and IT category, there has been significant movement in the top 10, especially comparing against the 2013 table:

Ranking 2013
1. University of Birmingham (7th)
2. University of Glasgow (8th)
3. Imperial College London (4th)
4. University of Bristol (5th)
5. University of Southampton (3rd)
6. University of Sheffield (10th)
7. University of Bath (11th)
8. University of Cambridge (1st)
9. UCL (18th)
10. University of Warwick (13th)
(full table)

 

As always, of particular interest to me were the Welsh rankings:

Ranking 2013
28. Cardiff University (29th)
28. Swansea University (27th)
58. Aberystwyth University (68th)
73. Bangor University (33rd)
88. Cardiff Metropolitan University (64th)
99. Glyndŵr University (101st)

 
(N.B. no data was available for the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and the recently formed University of South Wales)

Looking at the table headings and the methodology, research does not feature as one of the ranking metrics, while student satisfaction (in particular, indicators from the National Student Survey) features highly; as you can see from last year’s university guides, the different metrics and weightings can change the ordering somewhat.

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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)
(full table)

 

As always, the rankings for Welsh 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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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 Welsh 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.

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