University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh is a member of the Russell Group of research-led British universities and, along with Oxford and Cambridge, one of several British universities to be a member of both the Coimbra Group and the LERU (League of European Research Universities). The university is also a member of Universitas 21, an international association of research-led universities. Edinburgh was ranked 13th overall in the The Sunday Times 10-year average (1998–2007) ranking of British universities based on consistent league table performance, and is a member of the ‘Sutton 13‘ of top ranked Universities in the UK.
In the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework, the Edinburgh was ranked fourth in the UK and first in Scotland. The results also indicate that the university is home to over 35% of Scotland’s 4* research.[citation needed] In 2008, the RAE rated the medicine and informatics 1st in the UK. Edinburgh places within the top 10 in the UK and 2nd in Scotland for the employability of its graduates as ranked by recruiters from the UK’s major companies.
The QS World University Rankings 2015 ranked Edinburgh 17th in the world. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016 ranked Edinburgh 24th in the world. In 2015, the Academic Ranking of World Universities placed Edinburgh as 45th overall and 6th in the UK.
Despite its high international rankings, the University of Edinburgh was ranked bottom in the UK for teaching quality by its students in the 2012 National Student Survey. According to The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2015, “The university is trying to address undergraduates’ concerns with a new personal tutor system and a peer support scheme.
However, Edinburgh achieved an unwanted clean sweep of rock bottom rankings among universities in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) for questions to do with the promptness, usefulness and extent of academic feedback, suggesting the university still has a long way to go to turn around a poor position”.
In the 2016 Complete University Guide, 19 out of the 50 subjects offered by Edinburgh rank within the top 10 nationally with Architecture, Chemical Engineering, East and South Asian Studies, Linguistics, Middle Eastern and African Studies, Social Policy and Veterinary Medicine occupying top 5 positions.The Times World University Rankings listed the University in 30th place worldwide for social sciences.
