Much-improved research quality, as demonstrated by excellent results in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), has also contributed to Surrey’s ten-place rise up our main academic table. Surrey submitted work from more than 660 researchers, 41 per cent of which was assessed as world-leading, the top standard.

From beginnings in London in 1891 as Battersea Polytechnic Institute, the university was founded in its present form in Guildford in 1966. Surrey’s two campuses, Stag Hill and Manor Park, just over a mile away, are ten minutes’ walk from the centre of Guildford. The £36 million Surrey Sports Park is at Manor Park.

Among modern resources are Surrey’s £45 million School of Veterinary Medicine and the £14 million Kate Granger building, which opened in 2020 at Surrey Research Park, and houses the School of Health Sciences’ clinical simulation suites for training nurses, midwives, physicians' associates and paramedics. Specialist resources at the newly upgraded £5 million psychology facility include virtual and augmented reality suites, and soundproof neuropsychology laboratories.

Surrey has invested in improved facilities across its academic departments. From this term the Department of Music and Media has fresh equipment to enhance students’ learning – including audio and computer labs, a TV studio and a Dolby Atmos surround sound recording studio – as well as improved sound recording equipment.

A food innovation unit has been added to complement Surrey’s expertise in food science, nutrition and dietetics. Physics facilities have had a £2.7 million upgrade, with refurbished laboratories, and the School of Mechanical Engineering’s Design Centre has been modernised. For sport and exercise science the human and physiology laboratories at Stag Hill have been enhanced. A moot court is now available for law students, replicating a courtroom and providing virtual-technology experience.

Students can make the most of the university’s full range of resources now that teaching has returned to in-person delivery this year. Surrey is keeping the aspects of provision that worked best during the pandemic, such as lecture recordings and adapting spaces to suit social learning.

Rated gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, Surrey gained a glowing reference from assessors for “innovative and personalised provision”, “high levels of teaching excellence” and an effective approach to the development of professional skills and employability”.

Professional training placements of up to 12 months are offered on most degree programmes. Taken in between the second and third years in the UK or overseas, the placements mean that many students spend four years at university.

Surrey has built a network of more than 2,300 national and international businesses where students can learn on the job, including Microsoft, Unilever, and Sky. The connections are paying off for its graduates: 84.4 per cent were in highly skilled jobs or postgraduate study 15 months after completing their degree, the latest Graduate Outcomes survey found. Surrey ranks 16th in our analysis of graduate prospects.

The first cohort of professional international hotel management students began courses this term at Surrey, which ranks 14th in the world for hospitality and leisure management in the QS World Rankings 2022. New for 2023 are degrees in environment and sustainability, and in criminology with forensic investigation. Applications are being taken for a new graduate entry medicine programme (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) with a start date of February 2024.

Surrey has moved ten places further up our social inclusion ranking this year to sit 81st. It is among the country’s more ethnically diverse institutions, with more than a third of students from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds. Surrey’s black attainment gap is among the 21 narrowest nationally. About four in five students went to non-selective state schools (87th).

Under the Team Surrey banner there are more than 45 sports clubs for all abilities. Students can earn rewards for keeping active through the SurreyMoves+ app. Extensive facilities —  indoors and outdoors — are up to standard for elite athletes and teams including Harlequins rugby union, Surrey Storm netball and Guildford City swimming club.

Surrounded by green countryside, commuter-belt Guildford is known for being a safe and unintimidating town. First-years are guaranteed a place in halls of residence — as long as they apply by the deadline – and a network of wardens and peer supporters provide support around academic and non-academic issues. Warden talks are compulsory for all new starters, covering alcohol, drug taking and consent.