10 facts about the University of Worcester

Updated: 4 September 2025

The University of Worcester is shortlisted for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards 2025. This is the fourth time that Worcester has been in the running for the top award, having also been shortlisted in 2016, 2019 and 2020. It has also been shortlisted three times for University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards – in 2019, 2020 and 2024.
Since the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) survey was launched in 2017, Worcester has averaged the top-spot for multi-subject universities for sustained employment, further study or both, 5, 3 and 1 year after graduation (LEO 2017-2025). 96% of our graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating (Graduate Ouctomes Survey 2024).
The University of Worcester is ranked joint 1^st in the UK for Quality Education in the Times Higher Education’s University Impact Rankings 2025 and has been in the top 5 every year since its inception in 2019. The University has also been ranked in the top 10 in the UK for Gender Equality in all years of the rankings – currently ranked joint 3^rd in the 2025 rankings.
In May 2023, the University received arguably the best Ofsted report of any teacher training provider in the 21^st Century. The University’s primary and secondary programmes were rated ‘Outstanding’. The report opens: “Trainees benefit from an exceptional learning experience at the University of Worcester. This experience instils in them a deep-rooted commitment to making a difference to the lives of the children in the communities they serve.”
In the Complete University Guide 2026, several of Worcester’s courses were given Top 10 rankings for Student Satisfaction, including Forensic Science (1^st), Biological Sciences (3^rd), Sport Science (joint 5^th) and Social Work (joint 3^rd). Other courses were ranked in the Top 10 for Graduate Prospects - Outcomes, including Marketing (1^st), Social Work (1^st), Sports Science (joint 4^th), Forensic Science (joint 5^th) and Physiotherapy (joint 7^th).
In the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025, five of Worcester’s degrees were ranked in the top 10 for teaching quality, including Accounting & Finance (2^nd), Computer Science (7^th), Criminology (2^nd), Geography & Environmental Science (5^th), and Sociology (1^st). Six courses were ranked in the top 20 for student experience, including Criminology (3^rd) and Sociology (2^nd) and four courses were ranked in the top 20 for graduate prospects, including Sports Science (7^th).
For almost three decades, the University of Worcester has been educating professionals to work in the health and social care sectors, from Nurses and Midwives to Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists, Paramedics to Physician Associates. The University is now graduating more than 1,000 health professionals every year, who go on to make a significant contribution to society. The University’s new medical school welcomed its first cohort of students in September 2023. The Three Counties Medical School will help to address the pressing need for more doctors in this left-behind part of the Country.
Worcester is a leader in sustainability and has been awarded First Class Honours in the People and Planet Green League each and every year since 2009. In 2019, the University was named Sustainability Institution of the Year in the Green Gown Awards and was Highly Commended in the global awards at the UN.
Worcester is ranked among the very best in the UK in two national independent surveys exploring postgraduate teaching and research. In the AdvanceHE Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2023, Worcester is ranked 16th amongst 101 UK universities for overall satisfaction, while Worcester is also ranked 7th out of 94 in the AdvanceHE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) 2021.
A report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) in early 2018 placed the University of Worcester in the top 10 of universities which best reflect society.