Sunday Times University of the Year

The Sunday Times University of the Year is an annual award given to a British university or other higher education institution by The Sunday Times. The current University of the Year for 2016 is the University of Surrey, while the University of the Year for 2017 is the University of Leeds.

The award is given as part of the annual Sunday Times University Guide since the second supplement's second edition in 1999. Though the guide contains a league table of UK universities compiled from various statistics, the award is not necessarily given to the university at the top (in fact, it only has been in 2007 and 2010). Instead, a university is chosen by a panel of experts based on all round academic excellence.

In addition to the winner, shortlisted universities are also named. A runners-up position was introduced in 2006.

From 2009 onwards, the University Guide took the year of its name from the following year (so the guide published in 2009 is known as 2010, the guide published in 2010 is known as 2011 etc.)

Although very similar in name, this award has no connection to the "University of the Year" award given by Times Higher Education.

List of winners

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Also shortlisted
2017	University of Leeds		University of Dundee[1]
2016	University of Surrey	University of Leeds	Durham University Imperial College London University of Kent
2015 (Published 2014)[2]	[Coventry university]
2014 (Published 2013)[3]	University of Birmingham	University of Leicester [4]	Coventry University University of St Andrews University of Surrey
2013 (Published 2012)[5]	University of Exeter	University of Leicester	Plymouth University
2012 (Published 2011)[6]	University of Bath	University of Exeter	The Robert Gordon University University of Surrey University of Leeds
2011 (Published 2010)[7]	King's College London	University of Nottingham	London School of Economics and Political Science University of Exeter Oxford Brookes University Edge Hill University
2010 (Published 2009)[8]	University of Oxford	University College London	University of Birmingham University of Glasgow University of Stirling Edge Hill University
2008[9]	Loughborough University	Imperial College London	Aston University University of Sheffield University of Southampton
2007	University of Cambridge	University of St Andrews	Harper Adams University College University of Leicester Queen's University Belfast Edge Hill University
2006	University of Manchester	University of Exeter	King's College London Lancaster University University of St Andrews
2005	Durham University		University of Bath University of East Anglia University of Hull Loughborough University
2004	University College London		University of Dundee University of Durham Kingston University University of Manchester
2003	University of York		Cardiff University University of Exeter Loughborough University Oxford Brookes University
2002	University of St Andrews		The London Institute University of Plymouth University of Southampton University of Warwick
2001	University of Sheffield		University of Exeter The London Institute Oxford Brookes University University of Ulster University of Warwick
2000	University of Newcastle upon Tyne		University of Bath Kingston University University of Nottingham University of York
1999	University of Brighton		University of Bristol Loughborough University University of Northumbria at Newcastle

References

1. Dundee, University of. "Dundee Is Scottish University Of The Year Again : News". University of Dundee. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
2. http://www.the-awards.co.uk/the2015/awardswinners/winners
3. Alastair McCall, Birmingham is on the move: Taking the stress out of results day helped our University of the Year stand out from the rest, says Alastair McCall', The Sunday Times, 30 September 2013, University Guide 2014 section
4. http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2013/september/university-of-leicester-chosen-as-university-of-the-year-runner-up-in-first-ever-joint-sunday-times-times-guide
5. Alastair McCall, 'University of Exeter University of the Year', The Sunday Times, 30 September 2012, University Guide 2013 section
6. Alastair McCall, 'University of Bath University of the Year', The Sunday Times, 11 September 2011, University Guide 2012 section
7. Alastair McCall, 'King's Takes Academic Crown', The Sunday Times, 12 September 2009, University Guide 2011 section, p. 2
8. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article6831831.ece
9. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/sunday_times_university_guide/article4765252.ece