Reputation and rankings

• 90th in the QS World University Rankings (2021)
• Three subjects in the global top 50, according to QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021:  Nursing (9); Statistics & Operational Research (33); Geology (50)
• Also in the top 100 globally, according to QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021: Archaeology, Civil & Structural Engineering; Earth & Marine Sciences; Electrical & Electronic Engineering (62nd out of 503); Geography; Geophysics; Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering (75th out of 500); Medicine (88th out of 650); Physics & Astronomy (66th out of 601); Psychology and Social Policy & Administration
• 122nd in Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2020 and 15th among UK universities listed. Explore the full rankings at timeshighereducation.com
• 11th in Times Higher Education's (THE) 'Golden Age' universities 2020 - the top 200 institutions founded as universities between 1945 and 1967. Southampton is second among the UK universities featured. Learn more at timeshighereducation.com

The annual National Student Survey (NSS) gathers honest feedback from mainly final-year undergraduates about their time in UK higher education institutions.  
 
The new survey, published in July 2020, reveals that we have made a number of improvements across the board with the following specific highlights:

• 84.7% of our students were satisfied with the overall quality of their course 
• 84.5% of our students were satisfied with the teaching on their course 
• 85.8% of our students were satisfied with the learning resources provided by the University 
• 89.3% of our students agreed that staff were good at explaining things 
• 87.7% of our students agreed that their course was intellectually stimulating 
• 87.1% of our students were satisfied they’d been able to contact staff when needed 
• 88.5% of our students were satisfied with their access to course-specific resources 
• 87.8% of our students agreed that our library services had supported them well 
• 86.9% of our students felt they had the right opportunities to provide feedback on their course

• We are a research-intensive university and a founding member of the Russell Group - an organisation of 24 top UK universities dedicated to maintaining the highest research and teaching standards.
• Our research grant income grows year on year, and in 2016/17 we received £137m. Find out more about our research and our research and innovation services.
• The value of University of Southampton research projects funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) currently stands at £231m, making us seventh in the UK for total value of EPSRC grants. Visit epsrc.ukri.org
• 8th in UK for 'research intensity', according to Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014, which assessed the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.
• 11th in the UK based on volume and quality of research, according to REF 2014.
• Over 96 per cent of our research environment is world-leading and internationally excellent, according to REF 2014.
• We are a founding partner of SETsquared, the university business incubator ranked number one in the world by UBI Global.
• A government-sponsored Science and Innovation Audit revealed that the south of England is the backbone of the UK's digital economy, with the University at the heart of many of the highlighted initiatives.

• The University is a three-times winner of the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education, approved directly by The Queen and Parliament.
• Eight academic colleagues from the University of Southampton received honours from HM The Queen in 2020 including:
  • Professor Stephen Holgate, knighted for services to medical research
  • Professor Lucy Yardley, awarded an OBE for services to the COVID-19 response
  • Professor Jackie Wahba, awarded an OBE for services to economic policy
  • Professor Hywel Morgan and Professor Paul Elkington, both awarded MBEs for services to Medicine particularly during COVID-19
  • Dr Nisreen Alwan, awarded an MBE for services to Medicine and Public Health during COVID-19
  • Professor Keith Godfrey, awarded an MBE for services to Medicine during COVID-19
  • Adjunct Professor Grahaeme Henderson, awarded an OBE for services to the international shipping industry.
• The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) has awarded the University of Southampton team behind PeRSo - Personal Respirator Southampton - a President’s Special Award for Pandemic Service for exceptional engineering achievements in tackling COVID-19 throughout the UK (August 2020).
• Since 2017, six of our academic colleagues have been awarded National Teaching Fellowships in for developing excellence throughout their careers, including:
  • Dr Basel Halek  (2020)
  • Dr Scott Border (2019)
  • Professor Sally Curtis (2019)
  • Dr Judith Holloway (2017)
  • Professor David Read (2017)
  • James Wilson (2017)
• We hold two Regius Professorships, a rare honour bestowed by The Queen to recognise exceptional teaching and research:
  • Leading web scientist Professor Dame Wendy Hall, was appointed Regius Professor in Computer Science in 2017;
  • Distinguished oceanographer, Professor Harry Bryden, was appointed Regius Professor in Ocean Sciences in 2020.
• First-rate cyber security teaching at the University of Southampton has been recognised in December 2020 with a prestigious Gold Award in a new government programme from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

Southampton is one of the first universities in the UK to be named an Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Education (ACE-CSE). The Gold Award complements the University's existing status as a Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security Research, which it first obtained in 2012.