UEL ranks 1st in England for graduating students’ positivity

The University of East London (UEL) has ranked 1st in England* for graduating students’ overall positivity in the 2026 National Student Survey (NSS). This result caps three consecutive years in the national top 10 and is validation of a higher education model deliberately engineered for the future: UEL is a university built around what happens next.

The milestone comes as UEL drives one of the most significant transformations in UK higher education, proving that student experience, graduate outcomes, and enterprise can accelerate simultaneously. When student satisfaction and real-world outcomes rise together, it is a model working.

The survey reveals that more than 90% of UEL’s graduating students responded positively across core metrics, including teaching quality, learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, and freedom of expression. Underpinned by a record-breaking 78% response rate, the highest in UEL’s history, the data reflects a university intentionally designed around real-world readiness, inclusive, practice-based teaching, and industry-connected learning.

Crucially, UEL’s position as 1st in England is not isolated, but part of a sustained pattern of progress across major national benchmarks. Recent data shows that UEL has:

• Driven the UK's largest and fastest rise in graduate outcomes, increasing by more than 25 percentage points to achieve 93% positive graduate outcomes.
• Risen 80 places in just three years to rank 33rd in the Guardian University Guide 2026.
• Ranked 2nd in the UK for student start-ups, accelerating job creation in graduate-led businesses.
• Been named UK University of the Year for Teaching Quality (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025).

"Three consecutive years in the national top 10. Now, number one in England," said Professor Amanda Broderick, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of East London.

Our students are more positive about their experience, more graduates are entering high-value careers, and more businesses are being launched. When all of these metrics move together, it is a structural transformation.

For too long, higher education has been presented with a false choice between inclusion and excellence, access and outcomes, social mobility and quality. Our students and staff are proving that these are not competing ambitions. One of the UK’s most diverse and socially inclusive university communities is now delivering an England-leading student experience alongside rapidly rising graduate outcomes.

We did not create Vision 2028 to climb rankings. We created it to change lives. The rankings followed."

The results provide further evidence of the impact of UEL’s practice-based, careers-first strategy. By replacing traditional, insular academic blueprints with embedded work experience, industry partnerships, and an entrepreneurship-led curriculum, UEL connects classroom learning directly to professional capability from day one.

“As the higher education sector faces evolving challenges regarding value and graduate readiness, UEL’s milestone sends a clear message to prospective applicants: England's number one university isn't just a great place to study. It's where you leave with a career, a network, and the absolute confidence to create what's next,” said Professor Broderick.

_{*Based on the Times Higher Education methodology and universities with over 1,000 survey responses.}