The University of Bath has been named the best in the South West – and the 11th best in the UK – in a prestigious guide to higher education.
The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2020 also shows Bath has the third-highest degree completion rate of 96.6%, putting it behind only Oxford and Cambridge. 
The university, which has just over 15,000 students, moved up two places against last year’s position to top the region’s rankings.
The guide also reveals that Bath graduates continue to be some of the most sought-after in the country. More than two-thirds graduated from a course with a placement or study abroad option in the 2017/18 academic year.
The guide praised Bath for its ongoing Curriculum Transformation programme, which will involve redesigning every course – with the involvement of students – to develop creative approaches to assessment, teaching and course delivery.
It said: “The university already has a gold award in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) but has embarked on the exercise to ensure ‘continued educational excellence and a position at the forefront of the sector’. The TEF panel found that students from all backgrounds achieved consistently outstanding outcomes. Employers were heavily involved, and students engaged frequently with developments from the forefront of research, scholarship and professional practice.”
The university has already been ranked sixth in the UK by The Guardian University Guide 2020 and ninth out of 131 UK universities in the Complete University Guide 2020.
University of Bath vice-chancellor and president, Prof Ian White FREng, said: “To see the achievements of our community recognised in this ranking is wonderful and it is a great credit to our students and staff.
“The high quality of our teaching and our effective links with industry, for example through placements, mean Bath students are equipped with both excellent academic understanding and wider skills that put them in good stead for their chosen career.
“I am equally delighted that the university has been recognised for our efforts in transforming our curriculum to ensure we are at the forefront of innovation in teaching and learning.
“This recognition is further proof of the dedication, talent and commitment of our community, who so commendably represent the University of Bath.”
Second place in the regional ranking went to the University of Exeter, with Bristol third. Bath Spa University was 12th.
The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide is published this Sunday. Its league table is made up of nine indicators including student satisfaction with teaching quality and their wider student experience, research quality, graduate prospects, entrance qualifications held by new students, degree results achieved, student/staff ratios, service and facilities spend, and degree completion rates.
