The Best Universities for the Postgraduate Student Experience?

Wondering how to choose a university for Masters study? You’ve probably already taken a look at some of the postgraduate ranking tables – and these offer a great way to compare the research output, teaching quality and employability statistics of lots of different universities.

They aren’t the only kind of rankings you should consider, though. Times Higher Education (THE) has just published the results for its latest Student Experience Survey, which asked over 20,000 students about how their university stacked up in areas like accommodation, social life and student welfare.

Now, these students were undergraduates, but that doesn’t mean prospective postgraduates shouldn’t pay attention to what they had to say about the university experience. As we’ve covered elsewhere, a Masters isn’t always that different to a Bachelors course, and so a great deal of the Student Experience Survey’s findings can be applied to postgraduate life.

For the fifth time since 2009, Loughborough University has topped the Student Experience Survey table – a pretty impressive pedigree! Last year’s number one, Harper Adams University, performs strongly in second position. Meanwhile, the University of Chichester finds itself in the top 10 for the first time, on the back of strong student feedback for class sizes and staff quality.

We’ve listed the top 10 universities below, but you can check out the full results on THE’s website.

The survey asked students about their experiences in seven different aspects of university life, all of which are important to prospective Masters students looking for the perfect programme:

• Academic experience
• Accommodation
• Industry connections
• Security
• Societal life
• Student welfare
• University facilities

Usefully, you can look at how institutions did according to each metric. So, if you know that a university’s relationship with business is important for you, you can compare their performances in THE’s industry connections table.

Below, we’ve considered the seven areas of the student experience included in THE’s survey and explained why they matter to postgraduates.

It’s a bit of a no-brainer that the academic experience matters to undergraduates and postgraduates alike. After all, you’re there to learn, right?

The Student Experience Survey asked participants about specific parts of the academic experience, such as class sizes, workload, course structure and teacher-student relationships.

At postgraduate-level, these aspects can take on extra significance, as you’ll be choosing a university (and its staff) for their expertise in a very specific area.

View the best universities for academic experience.

Finding suitable accommodation is often one of the first challenges you’ll come up against as a Masters student, and getting the perfect postgrad pad can set you up for a year of productive study.

We’ve already blogged about how to make sense of the housing options for postgraduates, but it’s worth looking at how universities rank in the Student Experience Survey for their accommodation offering. Whether you’re looking for a convenient location, value-for-money or excellent facilities, you’ll want to make sure you pick somewhere with great housing possibilities.

View the best universities for accommodation.

A university’s relationship with local, national and multinational companies is a key part of many postgraduate courses – particularly professional Masters degrees and Business Masters that pride themselves on the commercial doors they can open for students.

Work placements and the ability to learn from practising professionals were two of the main factors in this part of the Student Experience Survey.

View the best universities for industry connections.

This might not always be the first thing that you think about when you start looking for a Masters, but a safe study environment is vital if you want to be successful during your programme.

This could take several forms, from efficient and cheap late-night transport, to well-trained security personnel and somewhere secure to put your belongings while you study.

View the best universities for security.

A vibrant and inclusive social life is always important for postgraduates, especially when you’re moving to a new city and studying at a different university to your Bachelors degree.

You’ll want to know that there’s going to be plenty of opportunities to get involved in extracurricular activities, special-interest societies and the local community – a great way of enhancing your postgraduate experience and your CV at the same time.

View the best universities for societal life.

Student wellbeing should be at the top of a university’s priorities. As a postgraduate, it’s important that there’s a variety of systems in place to help if you fall ill or begin to struggle with your studies.

It’s vital to take care of your mental health during your studies, and a university having excellent mental health support services can be a great help if you have difficulties.

View the best universities for student welfare.

Unsurprisingly, university facilities are a big factor for students choosing an institution. But this is about more than an eye-catching student union, a fancy library and a good selection of sports pitches.

Postgraduates might want to know that a university has the specialist facilities required by their programme, or access to unique historical archives. Find out more about making the most of your university’s resources.

View the best universities for facilities.

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