The University of Sussex has retained its top-20 position in The Times newspaper’s Good University Guide for 2013, published today (Thursday 14 June).

Despite a small fall (down four places to joint 18th from 14th in the 2012 guide), Sussex is now ranked 17 places higher than three years ago and, alongside Southampton, is jointly ranked as the best university in the south-east.

The guide also shows that over one-third (34%) of the University’s subject areas are in the UK’s top 10 and 62% are in the top 20.

There are 10 (up from nine) Sussex subjects listed in the UK top 10: American Studies (8th); Anatomy & Physiology (Neuroscience) (6th); Anthropology (9th); Communication & Media Studies (10th); History of Art (4th); Philosophy (10th); Physics (5th); Psychology (6th); Social Work (4th); and Sociology (8th).

A further eight subject areas are listed in the top 20: Chemistry (11th); Drama (14th); Electrical Engineering (15th); English (20th); History (14th); Law (20th); Linguistics (12th); and Politics (including IR) (19th).

The University also scores highly (equal 13th) for the quality of its research.

The publication of the guide follows on from a disappointing ranking (27th) for Sussex in the latest Guardian University Guide and a drop of two places (to 21st) in the Independent newspaper’s Complete University Guide (21st), both published in May.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, said that Sussex is still moving in the right direction: “Exact positions in these league tables do fluctuate year on year.

“What is perhaps most encouraging is the trend over the past few years, which shows a steady rise for Sussex into our deserved position among the top universities in the UK.”

The University has made significant improvements in the 12 months since much of the data for rankings was collected, including:

• more than a million pounds invested in IT and improved wireless internet
• a newly refurbished Library, which got the thumbs up from 93% of students in a recent survey
• a change to the structure of the academic year from September – including the introduction of a mid-year exam period – which should improve assessment and feedback for students
• a new £25-million academic building at the heart of campus, which is just weeks away from opening.

Professor Farthing believes that these changes will make a significant difference to Sussex students.

He said: “A small fall like this reminds us that we are right to seek to continue improving what we do.

“This time next year, I hope that we are firmly in the top 20 of all the major university league tables.”