Aston University Wins Daily Mail University Guide’s University of the Year for Student Success
Aston University has been named the University of the Year for Student Success in the 2025 Daily Mail University Guide.
The University beat 128 UK universities to be crowned the UK’s best for student success due to its impressive results in graduate outcomes, including high earnings, highly skilled jobs and proportion of students achieving first class and upper second class degrees. This accolade recognises that Aston University recruits one of the most diverse student populations in the country and reflects the support the students receive, student experience and teaching quality.
Overall, the guide ranked Aston University at 24th in the country. The Daily Mail’s rankings are based on 12 key performance indicators, covering academic and social factors, including teaching excellence, student support, the proportion of graduates in high-skilled jobs, graduate salaries, research quality, the proportion of students achieving first class and upper second class degrees, and student-staff ratios.
Aston University has achieved considerable success in league table results and quality ratings over the past 12 months. This includes being ranked eighth in the category ‘Best UK Universities for Job Prospects’ in the StudentCrowd awards, which are based on student reviews, while the 2024 Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data shows that employed Aston University graduates have the 19th largest median salary out of all higher education institutions five years after graduation at £35,400.
The 2025 QS World Rankings places Aston University inside the top 30% of 1,500 ranked institutions in the world and in the top 10% of all 5,663 institutions evaluated. The University was also awarded the prestigious ‘triple gold’, the highest possible rating, in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) ratings in September 2023.
Alastair McCall, editor of the Daily Mail University Guide, said:
“The diversity of Aston University’s student population is a notable feature in itself, but what makes the Daily Mail University of the Year for Student Success truly stand out is the achievements of students during their time at the University and afterwards in the working world.
“Success at Aston University takes many forms. Our award recognises the support Aston gives students that sees 96.4% progress to the second year of their degrees – just 12 universities see a greater proportion of students achieve this; their success at the end of their degrees with 82.9% gaining firsts or 2:1s; and finally their success in the graduate jobs market with more than 80% working in high-skilled jobs within 15 months of leaving, securing the University another UK top 20 ranking.
“This success is no accident. Securing the best possible student outcomes is at the centre of everything and the University has support and policies in place that enable students to achieve their best, irrespective of their starting point in life. Aston delivers for its students, earning the title Daily Mail University of the Year for Student Success 2025.”
Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University, said:
“We are delighted to be named the best university in the UK for student success. It is testament to the hard work of our staff and students that the salaries and prospects of our graduates are so strong, and degree outcomes are so impressive.
“Our 2030 strategy lays out clear plans for the University to prepare our students to succeed in work and life within a changing world, focusing on the skills sought by employers, engaging students with diverse educational opportunities and exposing them to contemporary industrial experiences and the latest research and practice.
“We are incredibly proud to have one of the most diverse student bodies in the UK and it was our founder’s dream that Aston University would be defined not by whom we exclude but by whom we include and how they succeed. This accolade is a recognition that we are leading the sector in this endeavour.”