Gold and silver for Aberystwyth University at WhatUni awards

20 April 2018

Aberystwyth University has won the Postgraduate category in the What Uni Student Choice Awards 2018.

For the second year running, Aberystwyth also picked up a silver award in the International category at the What Uni awards ceremony held in London on Thursday 19 April 2018.

As well as the Postgraduate and International categories, Aberystwyth University had been shortlisted for a further five awards including University of the Year, Accommodation, Clubs and Societies, Course and Lecturers, and Giving Back.

Aberystwyth University also featured in the top 10 in the UK in all the categories for which it was shortlisted, including 5th overall for University of the Year.

More than 36,000 student reviews were collected and more than a hundred universities were visited in order to compile the shortlist.

For the 2018 awards, 43 higher education institutions were nominated across fifteen categories, recognised by their students for offering an incredible university experience.

The WhatUni awards are based on averages taken from tens of thousands of reviews submitted by students and published on Whatuni.com.

The annual survey also showed that Wales hosts the happiest students across the United Kingdom.

Now in their fifth year, the awards provide prospective students with an unbiased, student-led alternative to traditional university ranking systems.

Professor John Grattan, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience at Aberystwyth University said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won the top place in the Postgraduate category, the Silver award for International and to have been shortlisted in a further five categories. We know that Aberystwyth offers an exceptional student experience and what’s significant about the WhatUni awards is that they are based on real feedback from students. These latest awards reinforce our outstanding results in the 2017 National Student Survey, which placed Aberystwyth students amongst the most satisfied in the UK for overall satisfaction. The quality of the education and wider student experience offered at Aberystwyth is also borne out by our accolade as the UK’s University of the Year for Teaching Quality in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018.”

Professor Elizabeth Treasure, Vice-Chancellor of Aberystwyth said: “This is wonderful news and richly deserved by everyone here at Aberystwyth University. We take great pride in the wonderful student experience we offer at Aberystwyth, and for this to be recognised by our students speaks volumes for the dedication of colleagues right across the institution who contribute so much to making Aberystwyth such a wonderful place to live and learn.”

Speaking ahead of the awards, Eleni Cashell, Editor of Whatuni, said: “Being nominated for an award is a huge achievement, because the only judges at the WUSCAs are the students themselves. It showcases to both prospective students and the higher education sector that your institution offers value for money, provides a good student experience and has a highly satisfied and supported student community.”