51Ƶ

the logo

Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for student social life

The best universities in the UK for societal experience – as decided by current students – have been revealed

  • Student life
March 22 2018
Student Experience Survey 2018: best universities for student social life

Share

View the overall results of the 2018 Student Experience Survey

While a key part of university is about studying and achieving a degree, it is also important for students to be able to have an active social life at university. Getting involved in extracurricular activities can help students to broaden their interests and bulk up their CVs as well as providing some time away from their studies. 

Participants in the 2018 Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey were asked to provide a rating between “strongly agree” and “strongly disagree” on whether their university has: 

  • Good social life 
  • Good community atmosphere 
  • Good extracurricular activities / societies 
  • Good environment on campus / around university

The answers to these questions were then combined to give an overall rating of a university’s “societal experience”. 51Ƶ of Leeds taking the second place position. 

More from the Student Experience Survey 2018

Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for academic experience
Student Experience Survey 2018: the safest UK universities
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for student welfare
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for accommodation
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for student social life
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for industry connections
Student Experience Survey 2018: best UK universities for facilities 

The best UK universities for student social life 2018

Rank 51Ƶ name Societal experience score
1 Loughborough 51Ƶ 89.1
2 51Ƶ of Leeds 87.8
3 51Ƶ of Sheffield 87.3
4 Newcastle 51Ƶ 86.5
5 51Ƶ of Bath 86.2
6 Harper Adams 51Ƶ 86.1
7 51Ƶ of East Anglia (UEA) 85.8
8 51Ƶ of Exeter 85.1
9 Cardiff 51Ƶ 85.0
10 51Ƶ of Nottingham 84.9
11 51Ƶ of Oxford 84.6
12 Swansea 51Ƶ 84.1
13 Durham 51Ƶ 84.0
14 51Ƶ of St Andrews 83.9
15 51Ƶ of Reading 83.8
16 51Ƶ of Glasgow 83.7
=17 Lancaster 51Ƶ 83.5
=17 51Ƶ of Birmingham 83.5
19 51Ƶ of York 83.2
20 51Ƶ of Dundee 83.1
21 51Ƶ of Southampton 83.0
22 Falmouth 51Ƶ 82.8
=23 51Ƶ of Surrey 82.7
=23 51Ƶ of Bristol 82.7
25 Trent 51Ƶ 82.5
=26 Bangor 51Ƶ 82.4
=26 51Ƶ of Manchester 82.4
28 51Ƶ of Liverpool 82.2
=29 Aberystwyth 51Ƶ 82.0
=29 51Ƶ of Sussex 82.0
=31 Royal Veterinary College 81.9
=31 51Ƶ of Stirling 81.9
=33 Queen's 51Ƶ Belfast 81.8
=33 Keele 51Ƶ 81.8
35 51Ƶ of Lincoln 81.6
36 York St John 51Ƶ 81.3
37 51Ƶ of Strathclyde 80.6
=38 Edge Hill 51Ƶ 80.4
=38 Northumbria 51Ƶ 80.4
=38 Bournemouth 51Ƶ 80.4
41 51Ƶ of Warwick 80.2
=42 51Ƶ of Chichester 80.1
=42 51Ƶ of Hull 80.1
=42 51Ƶ of Essex 80.1
45 De Montfort 51Ƶ 79.7
=46 51Ƶ of Cambridge 79.5
=46 51Ƶ of Chester 79.5
=46 51Ƶ of Edinburgh 79.5
49 Manchester Metropolitan 51Ƶ 78.9
50 Sheffield Hallam 51Ƶ 78.7
=51 Teesside 51Ƶ 78.5
=51 51Ƶ of Leicester 78.5
53 St George's, 51Ƶ of London 78.4
54 51Ƶ of Aberdeen 78.3
55 Canterbury Christ Church 51Ƶ 78.0
56 Robert Gordon 51Ƶ 77.9
57 51Ƶ of Kent 77.6
58 Plymouth 51Ƶ 77.4
59 51Ƶ of Winchester 77.3
60 51Ƶ of Worcester 77.2
61 Aston 51Ƶ 77.1
=62 Glasgow Caledonian 51Ƶ 77.0
=62 51Ƶ of the West of England, Bristol (UWE) 77.0
=62 UCL 77.0
=65 Heriot-Watt 51Ƶ 76.6
=65 King's College London 76.6
=65 51Ƶ of Huddersfield 76.6
=65 51Ƶ of Portsmouth 76.6
=65 Queen Mary, 51Ƶ of London 76.6
70 Royal Holloway, 51Ƶ of London 76.5
71 51Ƶ of Hertfordshire 76.3
72 Bath Spa 51Ƶ 76.2
73 Leeds Beckett 51Ƶ 76.1
74 51Ƶ of Gloucestershire 75.5
75 Coventry 51Ƶ 75.4
76 Liverpool John Moores 51Ƶ 75.1
=77 51Ƶ of Derby 74.8
=77 Brunel 51Ƶ London 74.8
79 51Ƶ of Salford 74.7
=80 Southampton Solent 51Ƶ 74.5
=80 Oxford Brookes 51Ƶ 74.5
82 51Ƶ of Brighton 73.7
83 Birkbeck, 51Ƶ of London 73.1
84 Imperial College London 73.0
85 51Ƶ of Roehampton 72.7
=86 51Ƶ of Sunderland 72.5
=86 Goldsmiths, 51Ƶ of London 72.5
88 51Ƶ of Central Lancashire 72.4
89 Edinburgh Napier 51Ƶ 72.1
90 51Ƶ of Bradford 72.0
91 Kingston 51Ƶ 71.8
92 Staffordshire 51Ƶ 71.5
93 51Ƶ of Northampton 71.4
94 Birmingham City 51Ƶ 71.1
95 51Ƶ of Wales Trinity Saint David 70.9
96 Anglia Ruskin 51Ƶ 70.6
97 Ulster 51Ƶ 70.4
98 51Ƶ of East London 70.3
=99 51Ƶ of Cumbria 70.1
=99 Cardiff Metropolitan 51Ƶ 70.1
101 51Ƶ of South Wales 70.0
102 Buckinghamshire New 51Ƶ 69.7
103 51Ƶ of Westminster 69.1
104 Middlesex 51Ƶ 68.9
105 51Ƶ of West London 68.6
106 51Ƶ of the Arts London 67.8
107 51Ƶ of Greenwich 66.7
108 51Ƶ of Wolverhampton 66.6
=109 London School of Economics and Political Science 66.4
=109 City 51Ƶ, London 66.4
111 London South Bank 51Ƶ 65.8
112 London Metropolitan 51Ƶ 65.6
113 51Ƶ of Bedfordshire 65.1
114 Norwich 51Ƶ of the Arts 64.6
115 51Ƶ of the West of Scotland 62.0
116 51Ƶ of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) 59.1

Read more: Everything you need to know about student societies at university

You may also like

Cycling at Loughborough 51Ƶ

Student Experience Survey 2018: Loughborough says its students’ ‘get-up-and-go’ attitude is the key to its success

How has the Midlands’-based university topped Times Higher’s SES yet again? Sian Phillips finds out from its v-c Robert Allison and two undergraduates

Sian Phillips

March 22 2018
sticky sign up

Register free and enjoy extra benefits