Southampton strikes the right chord to rank first in the UK for Music
The University of Southampton has ranked number one in the UK for Music in the 2020 Guardian University Guide published today (Friday 7 June).
Overall, Southampton ranks 24th out of the 121 universities listed and features in the top 10 across seven other subjects, including Media and Film Studies (third), Philosophy (fourth), and Engineering: Civi (fifth).
The University also placed in the top 10 for Electrical & Electronic Engineering (sixth), Education (eighth), Modern Languages & Linguistics (eighth) and Business, Management & Marketing (10th, up from 39th).
For Music, the number one ranking by The Guardian follows a rating of fourth in the country by the Complete University Guide, published just weeks ago. Music at Southampton is amongst the largest and liveliest departments of its kind in the UK featuring an innovative and eclectic curriculum and vibrant research culture to create a flourishing environment for studies in performance, composition and musical scholarship of all kinds.
Professor Francesco Izzo, Head of Music commented:
“We are delighted to be placed as the top ranked Music Department in the 2020 Guardian League table. This result is a huge boost to our team of internationally leading scholars, performers, composers, music technologists and specialist teaching staff, who deliver our outstanding, flexible and diverse curriculum and offer a huge range of educational experiences. Our aim is to support our students to make, perform and study the music they care about and give them the skills and experience to set them up for a successful career.
“Ours is a vibrant community in the service of its students, who are offered professional and passionate guidance and support at every step of their courses,” Professor Izzo continued. “We are also committed to enhancing the life and learning opportunities of the University as a whole, and to being an important part of the local community. And last, but not least, we are open and connected to the wider world, with an extraordinary diversity of staff and students from several parts of the European Union and numerous other countries. We are committed to continuing to serve our students and to reach out to the University of Southampton and beyond.”
The Guardian University Guide is entirely focused on undergraduate study, with rankings based around criteria of entry tariffs, student satisfaction, graduate prospects, student-staff ratio and university spend per student. Unlike other rankings, the Guide places a greater emphasis on its subject tables to inform each institution’s overall ranking.