For the third year running, Law at Goldsmiths has achieved best (and top 5) in the UK rankings in the National Student Survey (NSS).*
With a 100 per cent satisfaction rate, we are the (joint) No. 1 Law department in the UK, out of 120 Law departments ranked in the NSS, on the question of ‘how good our teaching staff are at explaining things’.
On ‘how often the course is intellectually stimulating’, with a 98 per cent satisfaction rate, we are No. 5 in the UK, top in London, and top in the South of England. We are positioned in between Cambridge Law School (which is No. 6, with 97 per cent) and Oxford Law School (which is No. 4 in the UK, with 99 per cent).
On ‘how often teaching staff make the subject engaging, we are No 5 in the UK and best in London, with a 98 per cent satisfaction rate.
Bringing all these results together gives us an outstanding 97 per cent average on ‘teaching in my course’, which places us as the No 4 Law department in the UK and best in London.
This pattern of UK-leading student satisfaction scores is repeated across a range of questions. For example, on the ‘right balance between directed and independent study’, we are No. 4 in the UK, best in London and best in the South of England, with 96 per cent satisfaction rate. On ‘the extent to which students have had the chance to explore ideas and concepts in depth’, we are No. 6 in the UK (again with a 96 per cent satisfaction rate). On ‘how easy it is to contact staff when you need to’, we have achieved a 93 per cent satisfaction rate (No. 10 in the UK and best in London), just below Durham which is No. 9 (with 94 per cent). On ‘academic support’ more generally, we are No. 9 in the UK and best in London (with 93 per cent). On ‘how well library resources support the students’ learning’, we are No. 6 in the country and best in London, with a 98 per cent satisfaction rate (Cambridge Law School is No. 7).
A result that we deeply cherish and celebrate relates, finally, to ‘how free students feel to express their ideas, opinions and beliefs’, and in this fundamental area we are No. 4 in the UK and best in London, with 96 per cent.
These results solidify our dynamic positioning, since being set up in 2019, as one of the best academic destinations in the UK for prospective Law students who prioritise access to leading Law faculty and an outstanding student experience, based on sector-leading teaching that is cutting edge, forward-looking and deeply enriching, highly immersive, career experience-centred, and, above all, focussed on nurturing freedom of expression and critical thinking, all part of intellectually stimulating our students to continually pursue academic excellence and become well-rounded individuals.
Equally central to achieving UK-leading student satisfaction in our department are student community (close-knit and empathetic) and offering our students access to unique opportunities in legal, political and cultural London, and even beyond, in opening up for them invaluable study abroad experiences (that we support with generous scholarships for dozens of students), in foreign legal systems, through international study trips (e.g. to the European Court of Human Rights, annually – read here about our trips on 2023 and 2024) and attendance of summer schools e.g. our Athens summer school (annually – read here about our visits in 2022 and 2023) or summer schools in the Netherlands and Switzerland.
The Complete University Guide Law League Table 2024 features us as the No. 1 Law School in the UK for student satisfaction, and this new set of NSS results explains why, providing new momentum to our continued excellence in this area.
* The National Student Survey is conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Office for Students, and nearly half a million students across the UK are invited to participate in it every year (students in their final year of study across all academic disciplinies). The survey is a key component of the quality assurance and wider regulatory landscape in UK higher education. 120 Law Schools have been included in the NSS this year, including Oxbridge and all Law Schools in the Russel Group.