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Harper Adams named as first ever Times and Sunday Times Specialist University of the Year

Posted 15 September 2023

Harper Adams has been named as the first ever Specialist University of the Year in the Times and the Sunday Times .

The news was announced as the Guide went online at 7am this morning, with full coverage set to be included in a 96-page supplement in this Sunday’s paper. Harper Adams has been named as the inaugural Specialist University of the Year, as well as securing a top 40 UK placing overall.

Harper Adams Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ken Sloan, said: “We are delighted to have been named as the Inaugural Specialist University of the Year.

“It is wonderful to see specialist universities being recognised in this way.  Specialist universities make a distinctive contribution to the national and international reputation of higher education in the United Kingdom.

“Students who choose to study with them do so because of their purpose, their focus, and their undistracted commitment to their disciplines. They also welcome the close and connected relationships they have with academic and professional services colleagues, as well as with their fellow students.

“I hope our students, employees, governors, alumni and partners are as proud as I am on hearing this announcement.  A real testimony to how together, we make the difference.”

The Specialist University of the Year title is the latest in a series of accolades for 91Pro over the past year.

In a funding announcement in December, the Office for Students recognised Harper Adams as a world-leading specialist University – one of only 16 Universities and Colleges to be granted the status, and the only one with an agricultural specialism.

The Graduate Outcomes survey showed in June that 99.2 per cent of UK-based undergraduates from Harper Adams were in work or further study fifteen months after completing their studies, and the National Student Survey in August placed the University in the top five UK institutions for courses that prepare their students for future careers. 

Harper Adams was also recognised for the strength of its reputation with employers in the QS Quacquarelli Symonds World University Subject Rankings, where it was named as the best in the world for agriculture and forestry employer reputation for a second successive year; and as the top University for career prospects at the WhatUni Student Choice Awards 2023 for the seventh year in a row.

Helen Davies, editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, added: “The higher education landscape has never been tougher.

“It means any prospective student, parent or carer needs to think hard about whether university is the right choice, and then where to study and what subject.

“It’s where this guide — our 30th edition — is here to help. Our online version has so much more on how the universities compare subject by subject, a guide on campus life, and what scholarships and bursaries may be on offer. 

“We are here to champion the ambitious work of our first-class universities, and the aspirations of any student of any age who wants to keep on learning.”

(Harper Adams Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan talked to the BBC about the news this morning - read more and listen again here.)