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Bristol courses top Guardian University Guide 2024

Hot air balloons fly across Bristol with the University's iconic Wills Memorial Building below

14 September 2023

Dozens of University of Bristol courses have placed highly in the Guardian University Guide 2024.

The newly released rankings found the University’s Education courses and its Veterinary Nursing and Companion Behaviour BSc* were number one in the UK.

The University’s Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering and Zoology courses all ranked 2nd; its Marketing courses placed 4th and its Dentistry courses 5th. Overall, 35 subjects taught at Bristol were found to be in the top 25 in their fields in the country.

The Guardian Guide looks at undergraduate courses. Bristol has only been running undergraduate courses in Education since the 2017 academic year, making its top position all the more impressive.

Dr William Baker, Undergraduate Programme Director at the University’s School of Education, said: “Our courses provide an exciting, inspiring and friendly experience for students from all over the world.

“As a community we’re passionate about not only understanding education and the world around us, but making it better.”

Around 160 students graduate from the University’s undergraduate Education courses each year, with many going on to jobs in education policy, academia, teaching (via a PGCE) and more.

The University will next year celebrate 25 years running Veterinary Nursing programmes. However, the Veterinary Nursing with Companion Behaviour BSc only began in 2018.

Programme Director Gemma Irwin-Porter said: “As a team we’ve worked incredibly hard to develop this bespoke Veterinary Nursing programme, which is combined with an accredited behaviour element.

“It’s fantastic to see that hard work resulting in a really positive student experience and some inspiring graduate destinations."

The Guardian rankings comes just days after the inaugural Daily Mail University Guide placed Bristol as the 12th best university in the country.

The Mail said the University had “long been a popular choice for pupils in both state and independent schools” and that its “students are among the most sought after by top graduate employers”.

The Guardian placed Bristol at 17th in its overall league table. In June, the Complete University Guide placed 30 Bristol subjects in the UK top 10. Later that month, QS placed Bristol as the 55th best university in the world and 9th best in the UK.

Prof Tansy Jessop, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education and Students, said: “It’s fantastic to see such a variety of subjects featuring near the top of the table in the latest Guardian University Guide.

“Our talented staff work hard to ensure our brilliant students get the best university education possible.”

Further information

* Please note, the Guardian Guide uses different, often broader, subject headings to the University of Bristol and other institutions. For example, Bristol’s Veterinary Nursing and Companion Behaviour BSc came under Guardian’s subject heading ‘Animal science and agriculture’.

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