England is most crowded country in Europe

By Urmee Khan

Originally published in The Telegraph on 16 September 2008.

England has become the most crowded nation in Europe, with 395 people per square kilometre Photo: PA

The number of people living in England has overtaken the population density of Holland, which has traditionally been the most densely-populated major nation on the continent. The count, which has been attributed to higher levels of immigration, shows England now has 395 people per square kilometer.

The figures were obtained in a parliamentary answer from the Office of National Statistics. In 2008 the average number of people per square kilometer in Britain was 253, rising to 395 in England. Latest figures from Holland show that its population density was 395 a square kilometer in 2002 and 393 in 2005. It is estimated that English population density will rise to 464 people for every square kilometer by 2031.

The population density in England is already almost double the level in Germany and quadruple that in France. The only country in the European Union with greater crowding is the tiny island of Malta, which only has 400,000 people, most of whom live around the port of Valletta. England has taken its position as the most crowded country in Europe at a point when the risk of economic recession has led to growing concerns over diminishing numbers of jobs and pressure on public services.

London aside, the biggest regional rises in population will be in the east of England and in the South West, which in recent years has attracted the greatest number of migrants who provide labour for agriculture, construction and service industries.

Last night MPs campaigning for “balanced migration” said the figures were a milestone in the immigration debate. Frank Field, the Labour former minister, and Nicholas Soames, the Conservative MP said: “This is a milestone in the immigration debate as immigration accounts for 70 per cent of our population growth. “The Government’s points-based system places no limit on the number of people who are allowed to settle in the UK. If ever there was a case for balanced migration, it is now.” The campaigners estimate that current immigration into Britain is around 300,000 a year, although not all will stay permanently, they calculate that a balanced migration policy would result in a British population of around 65 – 80 million by 2050.

A spokesman for the UK Border Agency, the organisation set up by the Home Office to tighten immigration by admitting only those with skills, said: “Our tough new points system plus our plans for newcomers to earn their citizenship will reduce overall numbers of economic migrants coming to Britain, and the numbers awarded permanent settlement.” Beyond Europe, England’s population density is among the highest in the world for major countries. England ranks third in density after Bangladesh (1,045 per sq km) and South Korea (498 per sq km).

Boost funds for our elite institutions

Chris Woodhead
Originally published in The Times Online on 12 October 2008.

So what conclusions can we draw from this latest university league table? Should we celebrate the fact that four of the top 10 universities in the world are British? Or should we focus on the disappointing statistic that most UK institutions have slid down the world rankings?

The first question, of course, is the question we should ask of any league table: does it mean anything? Each university in this table has been assessed in terms of, first, statistical data on how often work done by its academics has been cited by other academics; on its academic staff/student ratio; and, as an index of its international reputation, on the number of overseas staff it employs and foreign students it is educating.

More controversially, its ranking also depends on two opinion surveys. Academics across the world were asked to name the premier institution in their discipline, and employers what they thought of the graduates they interview and the universities, therefore, that these graduates attended.

Dr Brian Lang, the principal of St Andrews University, questions “the inexplicable seismic shifts” to be found in rankings from one year to the next. He argues that tables should be based on “stable, measurable criteria, not something as volatile as opinion”.

I would add that the apparently objective statistical data are in one crucial sense suspect. The number of times academics are cited by their colleagues might seem a good indicator of the importance of their work and therefore the standing of their university, but, in private, many academics will admit that the whole business of ‘citations’ is open to the charge of collusion. You quote my work and I will quote yours and we will both be famous.

That said, the table has the universities that everyone would expect to be world-class in premier positions and must, therefore, be doing something right. We should celebrate the fact that Oxford and Cambridge, Imperial College and University College London are still in the top 10. Equally, we should ask why other British universities appear to be losing to international competition.

One explanation for the declining status of some UK universities, as vice-chancellors have been quick to point out, is funding. Harvard, the No 1 university in the world, has an endowment fund bigger than the total annual public funding of all universities in the UK.

This means Harvard can use higher salaries and bigger bursaries to lure academic staff and students away from universities such as, say, Oxford and Cambridge. Funding matters, and our top universities will not remain world-class without a large injection of cash.

This will never be found without a radical rethink of higher education in the UK. We do not need to educate 50% of those aged between 18 and 30 to degree level and we should not be wasting public money on fifth-rate institutions, which, having abandoned any pretence that admission depends on academic achievement, still struggle to fill their places. Taxpayers’ money should be spent on those institutions of higher education that properly deserve to be called universities.

I can hear the squeals of protest as I type. What about “the knowledge economy”? What about “widening access” and “increasing participation”? What indeed! These are the myths that are threatening the continued excellence of our top universities.

We live, it is said, in a knowledge economy that depends on a highly skilled workforce. Everyone must stay in education longer to gain these high-level skills. In fact, we need a relatively small number of people who have been educated to a superbly high standard.

Shop workers who swipe credit cards and receptionists in hotels might need to be computer-literate, but the invention of the computer has not changed the nature of their work. They are no more knowledge workers than they were in 1950, and they do not need to spend three years studying for a degree in a pseudo-academic subject to do their jobs effectively.

The government’s expansion of higher education has resulted in appallingly high drop-out rates from too many of the new “universities”. It is producing ever-increasing numbers of graduates who, having incurred thousands of pounds of personal debt, cannot obtain graduate-status employment. And it has done nothing to solve the skills shortages that are so damaging to the British economy.

Neither, I’m afraid, has the drive to widen access done anything much for the bright 18-year-old who has had the misfortune to attend a sink school. What it has done is threaten the academic excellence of those universities that are still excellent.

World-class universities are what they are because they have world-class students and academics. Gordon Brown does not understand this. He wants admissions tutors to favour applicants from state schools and, ideally, failing state schools. Too many vice-chancel-lors are keen to do his bidding. If they were prepared to fight for the independence of their institutions and to defend their right to admit the candidate with the best academic qualifications irrespective of family or educational background, more UK universities might be able to climb higher in the table.

The global competition is bound to intensify. Universities from 13 different countries figure in the top 50 in this league table. Among these are nine Asian institutions. The number of North American universities in the top 100 has dropped slightly. My prediction, if government policy on higher education does not change, is that few, if any, UK universities will be found in the top 10 in a decade’s time. Their academics will have emigrated, tempted by better salaries; their students will have chosen the institution that offers the highest bursary. We have a year or two to decide whether as a nation we want our elite universities to survive.

We have a year or two at most to rescue the concept of an intellectual elite from egali-tarian opprobrium. Will Labour change its spots? Will Cam-eron’s Conservatives renounce social engineering and protect world-class institutions that are in peril? Sadly, neither prospect seems to me very likely.

Chris Woodhead is a professor of education at the University of Buckingham and was chief inspector of schools from 1994 to 2000

Trinity College Dublin tops Sunday Times University league table

by Colm Murphy
Originally published in The Times Online on 28 September 2008.

Trinity’s success was due largely to it attracting the highest calibre of entrants academically, which the league table rewards above all else. But despite this, its students only got the republic’s third highest grades when graduating.

University College Cork had the best graduate grades, with 71% getting a first or a 2:1 last year compared to Trinity’s 67%. But this was not sufficient for it to retain second place this year as the resurgent University College Dublin overtook it.

NUI, Maynooth, in Co Kildare, was the best in terms of competitive research won per academic, its 249 academics attracting Euros 128,657 each in research funding. University College Cork was next best for research, closely followed by Trinity and University College Dublin. Cork Institute of Technology was the best in its sector for research but, in this category, the universities hugely outshone the institutes.

Employment is consistently high among graduates, with little difference between the seven universities or 14 institutes of technology included in our league table. The best for employment was Waterford IT followed by NUI, Maynooth, where almost 100% of graduates were working or in further education nine months after leaving. The worst for jobs were Letterkenny Institute of Technology, hampered by its peripheral Donegal location, and Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology, due to the precarious nature of jobs in the creative sector.The league table highlights disparities in staffing that can be an important factor in the standard of teaching and academic support. The best student-to-staff ratio is at Dublin Institute of Technology where there is one lecturer per 11 students, while the worst is in NUI, Maynooth, where the 18:1 ratio may be explained by the institution’s rapid expansion.

Good staffing probably also helped Dublin Institute of Technology record the republic’s best completion rate, with just 7% failing to graduate. The poorest completion was at Letterkenny Institute of Technology, where 27% did not gain a degree. Letterkenny has Ireland’s best record for bringing in students from poorer economic backgrounds, however, a factor which affects its performance and helped it fall to last place in this year’s table.

Double first for Oxford

Alastair McCall

Originally published in The Times Online on 19 September 2008.

Oxford emerges top of two unique surveys conducted for The Sunday Times University Guide that canvass the opinions of university heads of department and secondary school head teachers.

It is the first time any university has triumphed in both surveys. Oxford has always finished top of our academics’ peer assessment exercise, now in its fourth year, with Cambridge previously leading the way in our leading academic schools from both state and private sectors.

This year, Cambridge finishes third in our school heads’ survey with Harper Adams University College finishing second. Smaller specialist institutions often perform well in the school teachers’ survey as it is easier to be cited for excellence in a limited number of subjects than it is over the wider range of courses provided by multi-faculty institutions.

More than 2,000 heads of department and admissions tutors across 30 subject areas were contacted for our peer assessment exercise.

They were asked to grade from one (poor) to five (excellent) undergraduate provision in their specialist area in fellow institutions. In all, 219 responded.

The final results show a remarkable correlation with our main league table. The top five institutions for peer review all feature within the top six of our overall league table, although Imperial College London, the London School of Economics and University College London narrowly edge out Cambridge into fifth place.

Several universities outperform their league table position when ranked by fellow academics, notably Edinburgh (ranking sixth in peer review against 15th overall), Sheffield (eighth v 19th), Bristol (ninth v 16th) and Manchester (10th v 21st). Leeds and Glasgow also make the top 20 for peer assessment, while ranking 26th and 31st respectively overall.

Oxford retains its position as the leading university, according to academics. Although Cambridge gets more excellent ratings (64) than Oxford (49), Oxford gets the higher overall score because it gets no ratings in categories 1, 2 and 3 (poor to average).

Cambridge all but sweeps the board with perfect scores in chemistry, physics, philosophy, mechanical engineering, history and law. Oxford scores heavily in chemistry, physics, philosophy and law, while also recording a string of top scores for economics and history.

Bristol (44), Edinburgh (43) and University College London (41) are the only other institutions to get more than 40 top ratings. Edinburgh is strongest in geography, computer science, law and art; Bristol gains the best results of any university for chemistry, a subject for which it has been designated a centre for excellence in teaching and learning; and UCL records most perfect scores in art and design (it is home to the world famous Slade School of Fine Art), law, geography, economics and biosciences.

Imperial College London, which ranks second in our peer review with 29 perfect ratings, gets exclusively top scores for mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, civil engineering, computer science and physics.

At the other end of the spectrum, Central Lancashire gets more poor ratings from academics — 16 in all — than any other university. It gets a further 15 scores which rate it below average.

In total, academics passed 5,654 judgments. They gave 1,002 excellent ratings, 1,865 good, 1,467 average, 841 below average and 479 poor.

In our parallel survey of head teachers, questionnaires were sent to the state and independent senior schools that feature in our Parent Power guide of the top academic schools. They were asked to cite universities they felt provided high-quality undergraduate provision. These 1,000-plus schools are putting large numbers of students into the university system every year and we asked their heads to base their judgments on direct experience and feedback from former pupils. More than 1,000 opinions were expressed across 29 subject areas.

The University of the Arts London ranks fourth in our heads’ survey, joining Harper Adams at No 2 and the newly-designated University for the Creative Arts at No 5, in a strong performance among more specialist institutions. (Arts London also ranks 36= in our peer review, well ahead of its league table position of 74.)

The University of the Arts — which is made up of some of London’s leading colleges of art including Central St Martin’s, Wimbledon, Camberwell and Chelsea — continues to be the heads’ pick for art and design, fashion and performance art.

Arts London’s success in our surveys of heads and academics is in contrast to its performance in the national student survey, where it achieves the lowest ranking in the UK, earning just a 62.2% score under our analysis of students’ returns. This disparity in the results between heads’ and peer review, and student satisfaction ratings is found in many other universities.

University league table – The Daily Telegraph

Rank	Institution	Entry standards	Good honours
1	Cambridge	1	2
2	Oxford	2	1
3	Imperial College	7	14
4	London School of Economics	3	9
5	St Andrews	4	4
6	University College London	14	13
7	Bristol	11	3
8	Warwick	6	5
9	Bath	10	7
10	Durham	8	8
11	Loughborough	33	37
12	Aston	41	34
13	Royal Holloway	39	15
14=	York	12	18
14=	Nottingham	13	11
16	Edinburgh	5	6
17=	King’s College London	20	28
17=	Exeter	25	10
19	Lancaster	34	35
20=	East Anglia	36	30
20=	Leicester	31	39
20=	Southampton	19	16
23	Newcastle	22	27
24	SOAS	35	21
25	Sheffield	17	12
26	Sussex	27	19
27	Cardiff	29	29
28	Queen’s, Belfast	37	23
29	Reading	38	22
30	Glasgow	16	31
31=	Birmingham	23	20
31=	Manchester	18	24
33	Aberdeen	9	33
34	Essex	48	58
35	Surrey	43	42
36	Kent	46	45
37	Leeds	24	17
38	Stirling	44	40
39	Queen Mary	42	43
40	Hull	26	56
41=	Strathclyde	15	25
41=	Liverpool	32	32
43	Aberystwyth	53	44
44	Heriot-Watt	30	53
45	Dundee	28	51
46	Bangor	58	84
47	Swansea	59	70
48	City	47	36
49	Bradford	71	69
50	Keele	49	63
51	Goldsmiths College	54	50
52	Brunel	52	38
53	Oxford Brookes	55	60
54	Ulster	62	41
55	Robert Gordon	51	72
56	Nottingham Trent	60	73
57	Plymouth	64	65
58	Queen Margaret	45	47
59=	University of the Arts London	21	52
59=	Lampeter	75	46
61	Glasgow Caledonian	40	48
62	Salford	67	71
63=	Central Lancashire	85	92
63=	Roehampton	94	74
65	UWCN, Newport	99	61
66	Bournemouth	63	49
67	Central England	81	54
68	Glamorgan	65	79
69	Brighton	61	67
70	Bath Spa	72	26
71	Napier	56	55
72	Winchester	70	68
73	Gloucestershire	89	82
74	UWIC, Cardiff	83	91
75	Northumbria	57	76
76	Portsmouth	77	93
77	West of England	68	59
78	Sheffield Hallam	66	66
79	Chichester	90	104
80	Staffordshire	91	78
81	Coventry	92	64
82	Kingston	98	87
83	Worcester	102	103
84	Chester	79	100
85	Canterbury Christ Church	80	102
86	Bedfordshire	106	111
87	Sunderland	93	83
88	De Montfort	84	94
89	Abertay Dundee	105	96
90	Liverpool John Moores	82	90
91=	Huddersfield	86	101
91=	Bolton	113	80
93	East London	111	112
94	Hertfordshire	96	105
95	Leeds Metropolitan	73	88
96	Northampton	101	57
97	Westminster	97	62
98	Manchester Metropolitan	74	95
99	Teesside	95	106
100	York St John	69	85
101	Paisley	50	108
102	Derby	104	86
103	Thames Valley	108	89
104=	Anglia Ruskin	88	75
104=	Cumbria	76	99
106=	Southampton Solent	100	107
106=	Middlesex	112	98
108	Wolverhampton	107	109
109	Lincoln	78	77
110	Liverpool Hope	103	97
111	London South Bank	110	81
112	Greenwich	109	110
113	Edge Hill	87	113

Source – The Daily Telegraph ranking 2008

Times Good University Guide 2009 British University Ranking

Times Good University Guide produces one of the five highly accepted university rankings in the United Kingdom (others are Guardian, Sunday Times, Telegraph and Times Higher Education). This post includes overall standing (according to this ranking) of different institutions that may guide prospective students selecting their university in the UK. Subject specific rankings are also available at its home page. In order to view original ranking, visit this link.

Times Good University Guide 2009 British University Ranking

1 Oxford 84% 6.2 11.6 2884 502 98.6 90.1 83.9 1000

2 Cambridge 6.5 12.2 2299 518 97.9 85.4 88.4 950

3 Imperial College 76% 5.8 10.4 3218 473 96 69.1 89.3 865

4 London School of Economics 74% 6.3 12.6 1562 469 96.9 75.2 87.7 818

5 St Andrews 82% 5.3 12.6 1162 446 94.8 83.9 73.7 791

6 Warwick 76% 5.6 13.6 1881 448 96.7 79.4 74.9 775

7 University College London 76% 5.5 9.1 1702 434 94.3 75.1 81.5 767

8 Durham 78% 5.2 15.4 1375 447 96.4 78.8 75.9 760

9 York 77% 5.5 13.1 1313 423 95.2 74.7 70.5 736

10 Bristol 75% 5.2 14.7 1535 430 95.8 78.4 81.5 724

11 King’s College London 77% 4.7 11.9 1696 406 93.2 72.1 80.4 715

12 Loughborough 83% 4.3 17.1 1293 361 94 67.4 73.2 709

13 Exeter 81% 4.7 16.8 1183 381 94.8 79.8 68.5 708

14 Leicester 83% 4.5 14.5 1329 360 92.9 69 72.3 706

15 Bath 75% 5.2 16.6 1291 428 95.3 77.3 81 701

16 Nottingham 75% 5 13.8 1390 403 96.2 75.7 76 696

=16 Southampton 79% 5.4 16.3 1479 389 90.7 74.8 71.8 696

18 Edinburgh 73% 5 13.3 1294 430 92.2 79.9 74.9 682

19 Lancaster 78% 5.4 12.7 1227 375 92.5 68.8 60.9 680

20 Newcastle 75% 4.4 14.9 1481 394 92.3 71.1 75.3 657

=20 Glasgow 78% 4.3 13.4 1373 396 85.5 68.4 75 657

22 Sheffield 76% 4.5 14.5 1140 403 92.4 71.9 73.7 650

23 East Anglia 82% 5 17.9 1127 359 91.2 67.5 63 647

24 School of Oriental and African Studies 71% 5.3 10.5 1746 368 84.4 73.4 68 646

25 Birmingham 77% 4.3 15.3 1342 402 92.4 68.4 70.4 643

26 Aberdeen 80% 4 13.5 1168 350 78.8 69.7 76.2 640

27 Manchester 73% 5.1 12.8 1378 412 92.3 70.5 67.4 638

28 Aston 76% 3.9 17.4 1607 351 88.4 65.8 76.4 637

29 Cardiff 77% 4.5 14.3 1085 381 90.1 67.6 73.5 628

30 Royal Holloway 74% 5.2 14.7 1244 361 88.2 66.4 66.9 626

31 Leeds 75% 4.5 14.6 1014 385 92.1 71.8 67.3 619

=31 Reading 78% 4.9 16.2 1012 340 91.7 71.7 63.3 619

=31 Queen’s Belfast 77% 4.3 15.3 1222 364 86.6 70.3 76.1 619

34 Liverpool 75% 4.6 13.3 1013 377 90 67.6 70.7 610

35 Strathclyde 76% 3.6 16.8 1219 367 81.8 74.6 76.4 604

36 Kent 79% 4 16.3 1143 307 87 59.7 70.5 601

37 Queen Mary, London 75% 4.7 12.8 1173 340 88.5 60.8 75.1 594

38 Sussex 69% 5.1 15 1136 387 88.3 79.5 62 593

39 Surrey 72% 4.7 16.3 1156 339 86.8 61.9 77.3 582

40 Stirling 3.9 15.4 964 288 89.9 67.9 71.8 581

41 Keele 75% 4 15.3 1048 313 84.3 64 77.6 578

42 Essex 75% 4.8 14.1 1149 309 83.4 60.4 62.8 576

43 Aberystwyth 81% 4 19 997 296 89.8 61.8 56.2 560

44 Dundee 78% 4.2 13.7 971 373 68.7 66.3 73.9 559

45 Hull 80% 3.2 18.6 934 297 83.9 56.4 71 550

46 Goldsmiths College 73% 4.9 15.5 793 307 82.2 64.8 63.6 546

47 Heriot-Watt 75% 4.2 16.6 1115 343 82.3 55 72.1 542

48 Swansea 77% 4.4 15.1 1010 295 88.3 49.9 61.4 531

49 Bradford 76% 3.4 15 1167 280 82.2 60.5 73.9 528

50 City 72% 3.7 18.1 878 321 85 63.7 77.1 509

51 Bangor 77% 3.9 18.4 1023 279 77 55.6 65.9 502

52 Brunel 69% 3.1 16.3 1475 313 85.4 63.7 63.6 498

53 Ulster 75% 2.4 16.4 1462 278 77 60.1 62.1 487

54 Robert Gordon 0.9 17.9 1070 321 79.8 58.8 77.6 480

55 Oxford Brookes 76% 1.6 18.2 944 300 84.9 59.1 65.9 471

56 Nottingham Trent 70% 1.4 18 990 269 89.1 56.4 74 460

57 Bournemouth 72% 0.7 19.5 967 287 85.2 57 70.8 445

58 Gloucestershire 73% 1.7 17.2 1074 258 80.5 54.9 60.2 436

59 Chichester 78% 1.7 19.6 733 253 88 46.7 55.5 434

60 Brighton 73% 1.7 19.6 806 288 83 58.8 67.7 432

61 Portsmouth 75% 1.7 19.4 917 272 81.4 49.3 65.4 428

62 Plymouth 74% 1.6 16.4 1000 277 81.2 60.2 55.3 425

63 Central Lancashire 75% 0.9 17.5 984 271 76.9 50.9 64.4 421

64 Napier 0.8 17.9 915 257 73.3 60.8 77.9 420

65 West of England 74% 1.6 18.8 906 261 80.6 55.9 64.4 415

66 Winchester 75% 1.5 17.9 796 267 84.5 57.4 49.7 411

67 Staffordshire 76% 1.1 17.6 1000 251 79.8 52.5 53.8 410

68 Glasgow Caledonian 74% 1.2 19.8 850 311 74.8 65.7 60.5 408

=68 Queen Margaret Edinburgh 1.5 20.2 831 286 77.7 58.5 69.8 408

70 Lampeter 74% 4.4 25 480 274 76.9 56.1 58.8 403

71 Birmingham City 71% 0.8 15.8 1138 268 77.3 56.6 63.8 401

72 Bath Spa 72% 1.5 19.5 563 274 85.7 64.7 55.2 400

73 Northumbria 73% 1.1 21 1010 292 80.7 49.9 66.4 395

74 Coventry 76% 1 20.2 1004 261 73.7 60.4 62 394

75 University of the Arts, London 62% 4.4 20.8 870 304 87.1 58.8 51.5 392

76 Sheffield Hallam 72% 1.1 19.9 938 269 85 58.1 60.6 391

77 Glamorgan 75% 1.3 15.9 1123 237 69.3 51.8 58.4 388

=77 De Montfort 72% 1.4 17.4 831 250 80.6 49 64.8 388

79 Hertfordshire 72% 1.4 15.6 1087 256 75.9 47.7 62.1 383

80 Canterbury Christ Church 74% 1.1 17.8 559 247 83.5 47 63.2 382

81 Worcester 76% 0.8 19.7 814 245 80.8 45.6 62.7 380

82 Sunderland 73% 1.7 16.1 737 249 77 47.7 59.3 379

83 Salford 71% 2.1 18.4 923 269 73.2 54.1 63.5 377

84 Northampton 76% 1 19 786 225 80 55.2 56.3 376

85 UWIC, Cardiff 72% 0.8 19.9 1112 246 85.1 48.6 55.3 375

86 Roehampton 71% 1.9 21 1308 224 79.5 52.1 56.9 372

=86 Chester 74% 0.5 17.9 734 274 76.1 54.3 57.6 372

88 Teesside 77% 0.7 19.5 750 253 74.4 50.2 57.3 360

89 Bedfordshire 73% 0.6 21.2 1685 220 75.4 47 59.6 356

90 Huddersfield 75% 0.9 19.8 616 262 78.9 53.3 53.2 353

91 York St John 72% 0.4 22.3 841 281 85.4 50.7 55.2 347

92 Manchester Metropolitan 71% 1.2 20.2 937 272 75.2 51.3 59.4 345

93 Kingston 71% 1.2 19.8 966 236 78.6 50 60.2 340

94 Liverpool John Moores 71% 1.2 19.5 902 250 77.1 45.1 61.3 336

95 Derby 73% 0.9 19.8 1054 267 77 47.8 49.5 334

96 UWCN, Newport 71% 0.5 20.1 890 219 74.9 50.7 60.4 327

97 Southampton Solent 71% 0.5 20.5 980 229 78.2 43.1 55.7 326

98 Edge Hill 76% 0.4 22.1 597 250 78.3 44.4 57 322

99 Cumbria 68% 0.6 20.4 685 267 76.6 47.5 72.8 320

100 Abertay 0.7 20.3 1671 264 64 47.6 51.4 317

101 Leeds Metropolitan 68% 0.8 23.6 984 264 82.7 53.6 59.4 316

=101 Westminster 68% 1.2 16.4 763 254 80.5 49.6 51 316

103 West of Scotland 0.7 19.4 1099 255 68.7 46.1 62.3 312

=103 Lincoln 70% 0.7 23.7 842 261 83.9 52.9 50.3 312

105 Middlesex 67% 1.3 22.1 1412 219 71.9 47.3 61.2 301

106 Anglia Ruskin 70% 0.5 17.1 647 256 64.8 52.3 60.6 297

107 Wolverhampton 72% 0.6 18.6 945 197 73.9 41.1 56.8 286

108 Bucks New 68% 0.8 18.7 999 203 82 44.7 45.2 282

109 East London 70% 1.4 20.6 1218 187 68.5 40.6 59.4 280

110 Greenwich 68% 1.2 23.4 824 212 79.7 42.4 63 263

111 Bolton 74% 0.8 21 772 203 63.3 52.6 51.8 262

112 Thames Valley 67% 0.4 20.6 747 212 69.5 48.4 62.7 256

113 London South Bank 72% 1.3 25.2 822 193 72 48.4 56.3 246

AKF International Scholarship Programme

The Aga Khan Foundation provides a limited number of scholarships each year for postgraduate studies to outstanding students from developing countries who have no other means of financing their studies. Scholarships are awarded on a 50% grant : 50% loan basis through a competitive application process once a year in June or July. The Foundation gives priority to requests for Master’s level courses but is also willing to consider applications for PhD programmes, when doctoral degrees are necessary for the career objectives of the student. Requests will also be considered for travel and study awards for PhD students doing their research in Third World countries on topics judged to be of interest to the Aga Khan Development Network. Applications for short-term courses are not considered; neither are applications from students who have already started their course of study.

Geographic Scope
The Foundation accepts applications from countries where it has branches, affiliates or other AKDN agencies which can help with processing applications and interviewing applicants. At present, these are Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Syria, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Madagascar, France, Portugal, UK, USA and Canada.

Selection Criteria
The main criteria for selecting award winners are: l) excellent academic records, 2) genuine financial need, 3) admission to a reputable institution of higher learning and 4) thoughtful and coherent educational and career plans. Candidates are also evaluated on their extra-curricular interests and achievements, potential to achieve their goals and likelihood to succeed in a foreign academic environment. Applicants are expected to have some years of work experience in their field of interest.

Age Limit
Preference is given to students under 30 years of age.

Financial Assistance
The Foundation assists students with tuition fees and living expenses only. The cost of travel is not included in AKF scholarships. Applicants are requested to make every effort to obtain funding from other sources as well, so that the amount requested from the Foundation can be reduced to a minimum. Preference is given to those who have been able to secure some funding from alternative sources.

Loan Conditions
Half of the scholarship amount is considered as a loan, which must be reimbursed with an annual service charge of 5%. A guarantor is required to co-sign the loan agreement. The payback period is five years, starting six months after the study period funded by the Aga Khan Foundation.

Application Procedures
The application procedures of AKF’s International Scholarship Programme are decentralised. Students may obtain application forms as of January 1st each year from AKF offices or Aga Khan Education Services / Boards in their countries of current residence. Completed applications should be returned to the agency from which the form was obtained, or to the address indicated on the front of the form. They should not be sent to Geneva. The deadline for submission of applications is March 31, although in certain countries internal deadlines may be earlier.

Applicants should be prepared to be interviewed by local Scholarship Committees about their financial situation, their academic performance, extra-curricular achievements and career plans. Interview reports are sent with the applications to Geneva for the final selection.

The annual Scholarship Selection Meeting takes place in late June or early July and the Aga Khan Foundation notifies all students of the outcome of their application shortly thereafter.

Source – AKF Page link

NORTH-SOUTH MASTERS BURSARIES 2008-2009

Universities Ireland, which promotes collaboration between universities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the Joint Business Council of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation and the Confederation of British Industry, which promotes North-South business co-operation, are offering six bursaries to students undertaking a recognised Master’s course (taught or research) in the other Irish jurisdiction. Dublin Institute of Technology is also a partner in this scheme.

These bursaries, worth €20,000 (approx. Stg £14,800) each, will be in areas of study of particular relevance to business and industry, and will be co-sponsored by individual companies: Arthur Cox, Belfast City Airport, CSA Group, Dublin Port, Healy Group and RPS Group. They must be taken up for the academic year 2008-2009.

The bursaries are open to students currently registered at an Irish or Northern Irish university or Dublin IT (or who have graduated within the past five years) proposing to take up a place on a Master’s course which would require them to relocate to the other Irish jurisdiction. They are also open to currently registered students at an Irish or Northern Irish university or Dublin IT (or who have graduated within the past five years) wishing to follow a cross-border Master’s course involving some study in the other jurisdiction. For the first time, they are also open to Irish or Northern Irish-born students currently registered at (or who have graduated within the past five years from) a British university, and to students crossing the border to do the first year of a Ph.D.

Examples of areas of particular relevance to business are ICT, biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, environmental sciences, finance, logistics, food science, commercial law and business administration. Candidates should contact the Centre for Cross Border Studies (see below) for advice on other relevant subjects.

To be considered for this award, applicants will be required to write a short essay (1400-1500 words) explaining why they wish to study in the other Irish jurisdiction and how they believe their studies will enhance understanding of innovation and business development on the island of Ireland in their chosen subject.

The closing date for applications for this scholarship will be Friday 2nd May (5 pm). The winning applicants will be selected by a high-level panel comprising university presidents and business leaders, chaired by Dr Don Thornhill, Chairman, National Competitiveness Council (RoI) and former chairman, Higher Education Authority.

The successful applicants will be informed of the panel’s decision by early July. They will meet their sponsoring company between July and September to discuss a possible work placement or other collaboration to assist them in their studies. Students will be expected to engage seriously with their sponsoring firm.

Recipients of the bursaries will be required to furnish proof that they have been offered a place on a recognised Master’s course or Ph.D. degree in the other Irish jurisdiction or a crossborder Master’s course. The organisers reserve the right not to award the full number of bursaries if the standard of applications is insufficiently high.

Download the 2008 Application Form and the 2008 leaflet.

For further information contact
Patricia McAllister, Universities Ireland, The Centre for Cross Border Studies,
39 Abbey Street, Armagh BT61 7EB, Northern Ireland.
Tel: 028-37-511550 [048 from the Republic of Ireland] Email: p.mcallister@qub.ac.uk

See details of last years winners.

BFWG Academic Awards and Scholarships for Women for Post Graduate Research

The British Federation of Women Graduates has limited funds to make awards to women graduates undertaking pre-doctorate research in Great Britain (i.e. all of the United Kingdom except Northern Ireland). This webpage explains the arrangements for awards and scholarships made by the Academic Awards Committee of the BFWG on the basis of a criterion of academic excellence. These awards are made without reference to financial need.

Award Type: Scholarship
Number of awards: Varies
Date Effective: September

LOCATION
Country: England, Scotland, Wales
Fields of Study: All Fields of Study

FINANCIAL DATA INFORMATION
Average Amount per Award: Varies
Award Includes: Unrestricted

APPLICATION INFORMATION
Deadline: Early April
Notification Date: Mid-May
Procedure: Interview in June.

ELIGIBILITY
Level of Study: Graduate, Doctorate
Nationality/Residency: Any
Other Criteria: You are eligible to apply for a BFWG Scholarship or Award, regardless of nationality, if your studies take place in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). You may also apply for a Scholarship or Award from BFWG for the final year of your formal study.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Funding sought usually greatly exceeds the amount of the award being offered. However, experience has shown that other awarding bodies with larger funds frequently make additional awards based on the BFWG earlier positive recommendation.

CONTACT INFORMATION BFWG Secretary
BFWG HQ
4 Mandeville Courtyard
142 Battersea Park Road
London, SW11 4NB
United Kingdom

phone: 020 7498 8037
email: awards@bfwg.org.uk

THES – QS World University Rankings 2007 – UK & Ireland

The top universities in the UK and Ireland

2007 Rank UK/Eire	2007 Rank World	2006 Rank World	Institution Name	Country	Peer Review	Recruiter Review	Intl. Faculty	Intl. Students	Faculty / Student	Citations / Faculty	Overall
1=	2=	3	University of OXFORD	United Kingdom	100	100	97	96	100	82	97.6
1=	2=	2	University of CAMBRIDGE	United Kingdom	100	100	98	91	99	83	97.6
3	5	9	Imperial College LONDON	United Kingdom	99	99	98	100	100	82	97.5
4	9	25	UCL (University College LONDON)	United Kingdom	96	98	91	98	100	82	95.3
5	23	33	University of EDINBURGH	United Kingdom	96	98	71	80	82	76	88.8
6	24	46	King’s College LONDON	United Kingdom	90	95	93	84	91	70	88.2
7	30	40	University of MANCHESTER	United Kingdom	89	99	84	85	77	70	84.7
8	37	64	University of BRISTOL	United Kingdom	81	98	88	72	85	77	84.1
9	53	78	TRINITY College Dublin	Ireland	80	92	99	77	70	58	76.9
10	57	73	University of WARWICK	United Kingdom	80	98	89	96	62	58	76.4
11	59	17	LONDON School of Economics and Political…	United Kingdom	89	100	100	100	65	29	75.7
12	65	90	University of BIRMINGHAM	United Kingdom	71	93	84	70	62	75	74.1
13	68	102	University of SHEFFIELD	United Kingdom	69	96	81	67	71	69	73.7
14	70	85	University of NOTTINGHAM	United Kingdom	69	98	84	88	64	65	73.2
15	74	124	University of YORK	United Kingdom	62	92	76	83	78	69	72.4
16	76	109	University of ST ANDREWS	United Kingdom	57	95	91	99	78	69	72.3
17=	80=	141	University of SOUTHAMPTON	United Kingdom	60	90	88	74	71	76	72.0
17=	80=	121	University of LEEDS	United Kingdom	74	97	76	59	56	69	72.0
19	83	81	University of GLASGOW	United Kingdom	71	84	42	54	71	75	71.8
20	99	141	CARDIFF University	United Kingdom	62	84	72	75	70	65	68.6
21	101	139	University of LIVERPOOL	United Kingdom	55	85	83	64	70	76	68.1
22	109	132	DURHAM University	United Kingdom	59	98	92	61	49	74	66.5
23	121	105	University of SUSSEX	United Kingdom	58	51	90	83	58	77	65.2
24	129	133	NEWCASTLE University, NEWCASTLE Upon Tyn…	United Kingdom	45	87	80	80	74	67	63.9
25	137	195	University of ABERDEEN	United Kingdom	45	65	91	73	78	67	62.7
26	145	153	University of BATH	United Kingdom	46	96	91	92	49	71	62.0
27	147	228	University of LANCASTER	United Kingdom	49	80	88	81	65	57	61.7
28	149	99	Queen Mary, University of LONDON	United Kingdom	55	65	94	92	81	30	61.2
29	158	140	CRANFIELD University	United Kingdom	31	74	74	100	100	57	60.7
30	171	238	University of DUNDEE	United Kingdom	44	51	84	66	65	71	58.3
31	177	219	University College DUBLIN	Ireland	56	85	89	58	30	63	57.8
32	180	190	University of READING	United Kingdom	45	67	78	78	53	69	57.7
33	185	239	University of LEICESTER	United Kingdom	37	60	77	86	60	76	57.0
34	190	258	University of SURREY	United Kingdom	33	79	95	92	61	64	56.4
35	205	206	QUEEN’S University of Belfast	United Kingdom	48	78	97	46	54	42	54.1
36	220	224	University of EXETER	United Kingdom	37	90	82	64	43	59	52.7
37	237	266	LOUGHBOROUGH University	United Kingdom	32	91	75	78	51	49	50.5
38	243	70	School of Oriental and African Studies, …	United Kingdom	44	56	99	100	77	1	49.6
39	252	307	University of STRATHCLYDE	United Kingdom	34	89	68	51	46	55	49.2
40	266	N/A	ASTON University	United Kingdom	29	85	93	81	32	56	47.1
41	272	N/A	University of ESSEX	United Kingdom	36	24	97	99	46	49	46.4
42	286	386	University College CORK	Ireland	31	68	82	61	33	54	44.6
43	292	305	BRUNEL University	United Kingdom	25	70	89	87	39	47	43.6
44	300	441	DUBLIN City University	Ireland	28	69	81	62	26	59	43.1
45	349	307	University of BRADFORD	United Kingdom	26	35	69	94	32	50	39.0
46	351	370	DUBLIN Institute of Technology	Ireland	25	53	23	37	93	5	38.7
47	356	N/A	University of East Anglia (UEA)	United Kingdom	22	40	82	66	51	37	38.5
48	401	354	ROYAL HOLLOWAY University of London	United Kingdom	22	10	94	97	53	21	34.6
49	408	383	SWANSEA University	United Kingdom	25	66	81	59	49	1	34.2
50	426	407	GOLDSMITHS, University of London	United Kingdom	32	25	82	85	31	13	32.9
51	441	N/A	University of KENT	United Kingdom	11	29	91	81	36	38	31.4
52	442	512	University of LIMERICK	Ireland	18	60	77	23	15	49	31.3
53	484	437	National University of Ireland, GALWAY	Ireland	30	47	71	63	24	2	28.7
54	490	370	ABERYSTWYTH University	United Kingdom	30	12	65	57	38	1	27.7
55	493	491	University of Wales, BANGOR	United Kingdom	25	10	73	50	48	1	27.3
56	495	N/A	University of HULL	United Kingdom	8	0	78	54	33	52	27.2

Source: THES – QS World University Rankings
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