Good University Guide names its top universities in Wales

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 has announced its list of the top universities in Wales. The guide provides the definitive rankings for UK universities and rates itself as the most comprehensive overview of higher education in Britain.

It has ranked Wales's eight universities. In terms of scores Cardiff University has come out on top in the country - and at 25 at a UK level.

Despite a lower ranking they actually named the Welsh University of the Year as Aberystwyth University, which was second on the scores. In terms of North Wales sites Bangor came fourth in the country and 44th in the UK. Wrexham Glyndwr University was bottom on the Wales list and at 122 on the UK table.

Bangor University was named Welsh University of the Year in the Daily Mail’s first ever University Guide released earlier this month. The full Times guide and rankings are here.

The Times said: "The guide provides prospective students and their families with the right information to make an informed choice about their higher education, evaluating everything from satisfaction with teaching quality and the student experience through to degree completion rates and graduate employment prospects."

Helen Davies, editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: “The higher education landscape has never been tougher. It is more competitive to get a place at many of our top institutions; the cost of attending university has soared, leaving graduates with extraordinary debt; and in many cases campus life still bears the scars of the pandemic. Meanwhile lecturers are on strike and the marking crisis is a running scandal.

“It means any prospective student, parent or carer needs to think hard about whether university is the right choice, and then where to study and what subject. It’s where this guide — our 30th edition — is here to help. Our online version has so much more on how the universities compare subject by subject, a guide on campus life, and what scholarships and bursaries may be on offer. We are here to champion the ambitious work of our first-class universities, and the aspirations of any student of any age who wants to keep on learning.”

Welsh Ranking	UK Ranking	University
1	25	Cardiff University
2	39	Aberystwyth University
3	41	Swansea University
4	44	Bangor University
5	78	Cardiff Metropolitan University
6	97	University of South Wales
7	117	University of Wales Trinity St David
8	122	Wrexham Glyndwr University

Full list of The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 award winners:

University of the Year 2024: University College London

University of the Year 2024 runner up: University of Exeter

University of the Year 2024 shortlisted: London School of Economics and Political Science, University of York, University of Liverpool and University of Buckingham