Manchester has been voted in the top 50 student cities in the world – and top three in the UK.
The QS Best Student Cities, released this week, is based on five key pillars – university rankings, student mix, quality of living, employability activity and affordability.
Manchester maintained its impressive 29th position from last year, with only Edinburgh and London finishing above it in the UK.
To make the list, a city must have a population of more than 250,000 and must be home to at least two ranked institutions in the QS World Rankings, meaning only 116 cities were applicable under this criteria.
Manchester finished above some prestigious opposition including Shanghai, Los Angeles, Milan, Amsterdam and Madrid, who all also finished in the top 50.
Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, said: “Manchester’s high quality universities combined with its status as the UK’s business capital of the North leads it to outperform all UK cities outside London with both domestic and international employers.
“A solid performance across the board combined with a great student mix and an elevated possibility of meeting and interacting with employers makes Manchester an aspirational destination for students and parents alike.”
The only other UK city in the list was Coventry which made it in at 45, a first time entrant.
Manchester faired particularly well in the student mix and employer activity scores marking 90 and 78 out of 100 respectively.
Paris was ranked number one in the world with Melbourne, London, Sydney and Hong Kong making up the rest of the top 5.
Mr Sowter said: “QS Best Students Cities provides students with a complementary tool to the university-focused rankings. After all, a university experience is intrinsically influenced by the location, especially for international students.”
Image courtesy of Giuseppe Moscato, with thanks.
