The Times Good University Guide 2009

London, June 19 (ANI) : Oxford has secured top function for the 7th time amongst universities in United Kingdom's

It stretched its lead marginally over its closest rival, Cambridge, helped by higher spending on student facilities, staffing levels and a larger proportion of students awarded at least a 2:1 degree.

But Cambridge has the better record on research, entry standards and graduate destinations, enabling it to dominate the guide's 61 subject tables, which for the first time include student satisfaction scores.

Only St Andrews, the top Scottish university, approaches the "golden triangle" of Oxford, Cambridge and London this year, ranking five in the table.

Cardiff is the leader in Wales, at No 29.

The top of the table is dominated by Russell Group research-intensive universities, which take 12 of the top 20 places, reasserting the dominance of Britain's older, more traditional institutions.

Among the generation of new universities, Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, is the best placed, at the rank of 54.

One place lower is the Oxford Brookes, a top new university in England.

The Guide Editor John O'Leary said: "Growing student numbers and fierce competition between all types of university in all aspects of higher education have meant the older universities have had to raise their game to stay ahead."

He said that the guide would be an invaluable tool for those applying to go to university in 2009.

"Oxford and Cambridge dominate the main league tables. But one of the strengths of this guide has been to highlight the quality of previously underestimated institutions and to celebrate the achievements of centres of excellence, wherever they may be," the Sun quoted him, as saying.

He added: "Courses that are perceived to offer a clear career path are becoming increasingly popular, while some traditional academic subjects are struggling."

The biggest movers in the top 30 of this year's tables are York (up from 16 to 9), Leicester (from 21 to 14), Lancaster (from 27 to 19) and Glasgow (from 31 to 20=). All except Glasgow are members of the 1994 Group of small research universities.

The Times Good University Guide 2009, published by HarperCollins, ranks 113 universities according to eight criteria, including student satisfaction and research quality.

ANI

1 Oxford

2 Cambridge

3 Imperial College

4 London School of Economics

5 St Andrews

6 Warwick

7 University College London

8 Durham

9 York

10 Bristol

11 King's College London

12 Loughborough

13 Exeter

14 Leicester

15 Bath

16 Nottingham

=16 Southampton

18 Edinburgh

19 Lancaster

20 Newcastle

=20 Glasgow

22 Sheffield

23 East Anglia

24 School of Oriental and African Studies

25 Birmingham

26 Aberdeen

27 Manchester

28 Aston

29 Cardiff

30 Royal Holloway

31 Leeds

=31 Reading

=31 Queen's Belfast

34 Liverpool

35 Strathclyde

36 Kent

37 Queen Mary, London

38 Sussex

39 Surrey

40 Stirling

41 Keele

42 Essex

43 Aberystwyth

44 Dundee

45 Hull

46 Goldsmiths College

47 Heriot-Watt

48 Swansea

49 Bradford

50 City

51 Bangor

52 Brunel

53 Ulster

54 Robert Gordon

55 Oxford Brookes

56 Nottingham Trent

57 Bournemouth

58 Gloucestershire

59 Chichester

60 Brighton

61 Portsmouth

62 Plymouth

63 Central Lancashire

64 Napier

65 West of England

66 Winchester

67 Staffordshire

68 Glasgow Caledonian

=68 Queen Margaret Edinburgh

70 Lampeter

71 Birmingham City

72 Bath Spa

73 Northumbria

74 Coventry

75 University of the Arts, London

76 Sheffield Hallam

77 Glamorgan

=77 De Montfort

79 Hertfordshire

80 Canterbury Christ Church

81 Worcester

82 Sunderland

83 Salford

84 Northampton

85 UWIC, Cardiff

86 Roehampton

=86 Chester

88 Teesside

89 Bedfordshire

90 Huddersfield

91 York St John

92 Manchester Metropolitan

93 Kingston

94 Liverpool John Moores

95 Derby

96 UWCN, Newport

97 Southampton Solent

98 Edge Hill

99 Cumbria

100 Abertay

101 Leeds Metropolitan

=101 Westminster

103 West of Scotland

=103 Lincoln

105 Middlesex

106 Anglia Ruskin

107 Wolverhampton

108 Bucks New

109 East London

110 Greenwich

111 Bolton

112 Thames Valley

113 London South Bank

Source: Times Online