10 facts about the University of Worcester

Updated: September 2026

  1. The University of Worcester was named University of the Year for Graduate Jobs in the 2027 Daily Mail University Guide recognising the University’s outstanding record of graduate employment. In the 2026 government-published Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data,  Worcester is the UK’s top multi-subject university for sustained graduate employment, further study or both, one year after graduation. Since the LEO was launched in 2017, Worcester has averaged the top-spot for multi-subject universities for sustained employment, with or without further study, 1,3 or 5 years after graduation. These definitive Official Statistics show that Worcester graduates are more successful at getting and sustaining employment than graduates from any other university in the country which offers a broad spectrum of subjects. 95% of our graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduating (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2026). 
  2. In September 2025, this outstanding and sustained success earned Worcester a position on the prestigious shortlist for University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards – for the fourth time in a decade, having also been shortlisted in 2016, 2019 and 2020. Worcester was also shortlisted for University of the Year in the Graduate Futures Academic Employability Awards 2026. In April 2026, Worcester was shortlisted for two awards in the WhatUni Student Choice Awards – for Career Prospects and Student Halls. Nominations for these awards are derived from independent student reviews.
  3. Worcester is ranked in the top 20 in the Country for learning opportunities in the 2026 National Student Survey, which asks final year students to rate their experiences across a range of measures. Several individual courses are also ranked in the top 10 in various measures. Of the 38 Worcester courses included in the NSS results, 19 scored 100% for how good staff are at explaining things, with a further 12 scoring over 90% in the measure. The University scored well above the national average in most areas and is rated in the top quarter of institutions across six of the main areas, including Learning Resources, Assessment and Feedback, Freedom of Expression, Student Voice and the Students’ Union.
  4. Worcester has gained a reputation as one of the UK’s most inclusive institutions, with facilities including The Hive and the Arena setting new precedents for inclusion. In May 2026, the University was named winner of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award at the Better Society Awards. The University was also winner of the inaugural Times Higher Education Award in this field in 2020 and has been shortlisted four times for University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards – in 2019, 2020, 2024 and 2026.
  5. Worcester is rated in the top 10 in the UK for Quality Education and joint 2nd in the UK for Gender Equality in the Times Higher Education’s University Impact Ratings 2026. The ratings measure how institutions globally are working to advance sustainability in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 
  6. The University’s primary and secondary programmes are rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. 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.” 
  7. In the Complete University Guide 2027, Worcester is ranked 18th in the Country for Graduate Prospects (Outcomes) and 6th in the Country for Graduate Prospects (On-Track). Several of Worcester’s subject areas given Top 10 rankings in Graduate Prospects, including Counselling, Psychotherapy & Occupational Therapy (joint 1st), Forensic Science (2nd), Biomedical Sciences (joint 2nd), and Childhood and Youth Studies (joint 5th). Other courses were ranked in the Top 10 for Student Satisfaction, including Forensic Science(3rd), Physiotherapy (joint 5th), Social Work (joint 6th), and Computer Science (10th). 
  8. In the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2027, six of Worcester’s degrees were ranked in the Top 10 in the Country for Teaching Quality, including Accounting and Finance (2nd), English (2nd), Drama and Dance (5th), Geography and Environmental Sciences (5th), Subjects Allied to Medicine (6th) and Education (9th). Two courses were ranked in the Top 10 for Graduate Prospects (Drama and Dance – 3rd; and Physiotherapy – 2nd), and two courses were in the Top 10 for Student Experience – English (8th) and Psychology (9th). Many more were ranked in the Top 20 in the Country. 
  9. 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.
  10. 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.