The economic profession has got a bad rap in Britain recently with the failure of “so-called experts” often cited by pro-Brexit campaigners as a reason to mistrust economists who overestimated the negative impacts of Brexit on the economy. Despite this, interest in economics as an academic subject is on the rise.This week, the Guardian published its annual ranking of the UK’s best universities, which ranks establishments according to a number of factors including course satisfaction, student to staff ratio, and career prospects.
The ranking is broken down into subject areas, with economics one of those covered. Business Insider decided to take a look at the top universities for studying the subject in the UK.
As the ranking heavily favours student satisfaction as a criteria, rather than pure academic achievement, some powerhouses like University College London, Manchester University and even the London School of Economics miss out.
Check out the schools the Guardian ranks highest, below:
13. Loughborough University — 78.3 points: Generally better known for its sporting prowess than its academics, Loughborough is actually hugely impressive when it comes to teaching and research. The university finished joint 6th overall in the Guardian’s ranking.
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12. St Andrews University — 78.8: Located in a quiet seaside town famous as the home of golf, St Andrews is something of an academic hotbed. Notable alumni include Britain’s Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon.
Alison Millington
11. King’s College London — 80.1: With a famous history, King’s has educated some 12 Nobel laureates. It scored 92.3 points when it comes to the satisfaction of economics students with their teaching.
King’s College London chapel Flickr/a.canvas.of.light
10. Durham University — 82.2: Compared to most other degrees on this list, Durham economics students have a comparatively low level of satisfaction. The university makes up for that be making its students highly employable.
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9. University of Bath — 82.3: Bath’s relatively low student satisfaction scores were cancelled out by the fact that it had the best score of any university in the “Career after 6 months” category, scoring 96 out of a possible 100, and beating both Oxford and Cambridge.
Bathsofm/CC 3.0
8. University of Warwick — 82.6: Warwick may not be a world famous university, but when it comes to economics, the university is certainly world class. The current chief economist of the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, has a masters in economics from the university.
Warwick Business School
7. University of Surrey — 83.9: Despise a relatively high ratio of students to staff, Surrey undergrads are highly satisfied with their degrees, with both course and teaching satisfaction scoring over 90.
The MSc at Surrey lets you explore the philosophical side of securityThe University of Surrey
6. University of Leeds — 85: One of Britain’s biggest undergraduate universities in the country, Leeds graduates are highly employable if they have an economics degree. It scored 87 points in the “Career after 6 months” category, higher than Oxford.
Wikipedia
5. Coventry University — 87.4: Coventry’s high score in the field of economics is aided by its fantastic levels of student satisfaction. The university scored 91.9 points for course satisfaction, and 92.9 in teaching satisfaction.
Flickr / nexapt101
4. University of Nottingham — 89.3: With satisfaction levels above 90 for both teaching and the broader course, Nottingham economics are some of the happiest in the country.
Barry Mangham/CC 3.0
3. Heriot-Watt University — 91.4: A lesser-known name, Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt does not have the same stellar reputation as its sister, Edinburgh University, but its performance is fantastic. 98% of students are satisfied with their course.
Shutterstock/Shahid Khan
2. Oxford University — 98.1: Four Oxford graduates and five academic staff have received Nobel prizes in economics alone, and the university’s reputation is immense all over the world. 92% of students are satisfied with their economics degree at the university.
1. Cambridge University — 100: With a career score of 95, Cambridge economics graduates are some of the most employable in the country. Famous Cambridge economists include Joseph Stiglitz, Milton Friedman, and John Maynard Keynes.
The Great Court, Trinity College, Cambridge UniversityWikipedia / CC 3.0
With businessinsider
