Journalism courses rank frst in 2023

City has come top for journalism in The Guardian’s 2023 UK university rankings.

The university scored 100/100 in The Guardian’s rating of excellence – an aggregate score across nine factors that include student satisfaction and postgraduate employment – beating other journalism heavyweights like Cardiff, Oxford Brookes, and Sheffeld.

Professor Mel Bunce, head of journalism at City, said: “It was wonderful for so many reasons. I think we have always been well-known for and successful at producing journalists that go on to run the industry.

“People that work in journalism know how superb City journalism is, but it hasn’t always broken beyond that to those outside of the industry.”

It is the frst time City has been ranked number one for undergraduate journalism in The Guardian’s league table. City has risen 26 places on last year’s ranking which previously grouped subjects such as publishing and PR alongside journalism.

The Guardian ranking differs from other major league tables by prioritising factors like student satisfaction and job prospects over traditional metrics like academic research.

Professor Bunce said the employment factor is one reason she is so happy to see City at the top of the league table in particular.

“A lot of our students are the frst in their family to go to university and come from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds,” she said. “It’s really special with that type of cohort in particular when you help them secure jobs that they may not have otherwise been able to.”

The Guardian accolade follows recognition by other major university guides, such as The Sunday Times University Guide 2022 and The Complete University Guide 2023, which ranked City’s communications and media department as number one in the country.

Tom Flanagan