Coventry ranked world’s 45th best city for students

Coventry ranks 45th in the latest QS ranking of the world’s best cities for students, marking its first time in the top 50.

The rankings are based on five key criteria: rankings of the cities’ universities, diversity of the student body, quality of living, employer activity and affordability. This year QS also included the rankings of safety and pollution for the first time.

To be included in the ranking, each city “must have a population of over 250,000, and must be home to at least two ranked institutions in the QS World University Rankings,” QS stated in a recent press release. This narrowed eligible cities to 116, of which 50 made the rankings for 2015.

Second-year Computer Science undergraduate, Haseeb Majid commented that living in Coventry was “reasonably affordable in terms of housing” and that it catered for students in terms of bars, pubs, restaurants and shopping.

Mr Majid was surprised that Coventry ranked so highly, he added: “It has improved lots over the years; I remember when Coventry’s high rankings came from knife crime.”

Coventry ranks 3rd in the world for ‘student mix’, which reflects the ethnic and religious diversity in both its student and wider population.

Other UK cities to land in the top 50 are London, Edinburgh and Manchester, which were placed in 3rd, 26th and 29th respectively.

A first-year English and Swahili undergraduate at London’s School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Caitlin Shewell-Cooper said life in London offered her a wealth of opportunities to further her learning: “In terms of study needs, it is amazing as there as so many libraries you can access as a University of London student”

She added: “If you need to research something not accessible in your university library, or just want to go somewhere nice and read you can do that.”

Second-year History undergraduate at University College London (UCL) Megan Tracey highlighted the opportunities for student activism that London offers, citing the Free Education protests earlier this month: “As a student in London I find myself much more involved in politics than I think I would be elsewhere.”

Both noted living costs, particularly for travelling, as downsides to living in the capital.

London ranks highest in the world for employer activity, but lowest in the rankings for affordability.

Meanwhile, Paris emerged on top for the third consecutive year, followed by Melbourne. The rankings featured a heavy presence of cities in the United States and Australia.