An international reputation for excellence
Loughborough University has an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research, strong links with industry, and unrivalled sporting achievement.
In 2008 full-time students voted Loughborough one of their top five universities in the National Student Survey and is consistently placed in the top 15 of all UK Universities in national league tables, confirming it as one of the country's leading higher education institutions.
Loughborough is research-intensive. Its ethos from its earliest days has been to produce highly relevant research that solves real world problems to assist both business and industry, and improve people's quality of life. Nearly half of the University's income is for research, and its research partnerships and links with business and industry are the envy of other institutions.
The 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) recognised research of international excellence in all departments and in addition to eleven '5 grade' awards, the University was awarded the top '5* grade' for work in Built Environment, Sports Science and Social Sciences. Loughborough has also been awarded the highest level of funding per grant, of any UK university, by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The expertise of University staff in specific research areas is reflected in the fact that Loughborough is providing five Sub-Panel Chairmen for the RAE in 2008.
The quality of teaching at Loughborough is verified by exceptionally high scores awarded under the Government's independent assessment scheme, which have consistently put the University towards the very top of the Teaching Quality league tables. This was highlighted in the 2007 Sunday Times University Guide, in which Loughborough came second only to Cambridge in its teaching assessments.
To sustain this quality of teaching, the University has developed strong academic, guidance and welfare systems that support students throughout their education. Work placements, degree programmes sponsored by industrial consortia, and an ever-growing International dimension are all distinctive characteristics, while our industrial and professional partnerships contribute to the outstanding employment prospects of our graduates, who are consistently targeted by the UK's top recruiters.