THE University of Chester has continued its rise in the national Guardian University Guide, achieving top ten subject rankings and a placing in the top 20 percent for the ‘value-added’ for students.

The University’s best performance in ten years, the recently published 2025 Guide placed Chester at joint 46th out of 122 UK Higher Education Institutions.

This represents a jump of seven places from 53rd in 2024 and 28 places from 74th in 2023.

The Guide ranks universities through eight different scores, forming a total out of 100, including value-added - the extent a university supports its students towards achieving good grades - for which Chester achieved 22nd place in the UK, as well as first in the Northwest. The category compares students’ degree results with their entry qualifications to see how effectively they are taught and how their academic performance improves. 

The Guide also looks at aspects such as what students say about their teaching and feedback in the annual National Student Survey, how big class sizes are through the student-to-staff ratio, and how many students are in graduate jobs 15 months after leaving university.

Chester has also been showcased by ranking in the top ten nationally for the following subjects:

  • Hospitality, Event Management and Tourism – 4th
  • Nutrition and Food Science – 7th
  • Theology and Religious Studies – 8th
  • Children's Nursing – 10th

Subjects achieving top 20 UK placings are:

  • Accounting and Finance – 15th
  • Geography – 16th
  • Marketing and Public Relations – 19th
  • Music – 19th

Chester was placed first in the Northwest for: Children's Nursing; Geography; Hospitality, Event Management and Tourism; and Nutrition and Food Science.

Professor Eunice Simmons, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “We are very proud of the University of Chester’s continuing ascent in the Guardian University Guide, which is testament to the dedication of our staff and students.

 

“This achievement illustrates our commitment to ensuring an outstanding learning experience, student satisfaction, excellence in teaching and research, supporting our students to excel and enabling them to develop as confident world citizens.”

The full results are available on the 2025 Guardian University Guide website.

Further recent recognition for the University of Chester has included being named the best in the UK for Student Support, International and Postgraduate students, and the silver award for University of the Year, after achieving the joint highest number of nominations in the 2024 Whatuni Student Choice Awards (WUSCAs).