University of Staffordshire has been named Modern University of the Year 2027 by the Daily Mail University Guide, the highest-ranked modern university in this year’s table.
The university climbed the league table for a third successive year, to sit at 38th in the overall rankings.
Alastair McCall, Editor of the Daily Mail University Guide, described the university as the “standout candidate” for the award and said the achievement extended far beyond data, being backed up by substance that impacts the daily lives and wider experience of all its students.
The latest Graduate Outcomes data shows that more than three quarters of University of Staffordshire graduates go on to high-skilled jobs and graduate salaries.
The award of Modern University of the Year 2027 follows a heavy recent investment in immersive and simulation-based learning and comes weeks before the opening of its new £100 million Student Village.
Professor Philip Plowden, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Staffordshire, said: “We’re delighted to receive this award, and hugely proud of what our students and staff have achieved together.
“We’re incredibly proud of being a modern university, where real skills and learning are embedded into our curriculum and industry-ready facilities. That’s why we’ve invested in extensive simulation-based learning through our Centre for Health Innovation and on our Stoke-on-Trent campus, giving students professional experience before they graduate, and in our new Student Village created around community and wellbeing.
“It’s working: almost nine in ten of our graduates are in work or further study within 15 months of finishing their course. Being named Daily Mail Modern University of the Year 2027 is superb validation that our students are benefitting from this, and that the results back it up.”
Natasha Cork, President of University of Staffordshire Students’ Union, added: “This is a really proud moment for our university.
“It comes at the end of a brilliant year for our students, who helped us climb to 7th in the UK for overall student positivity in the National Student Survey, outperforming the sector average on every single measure. Recognition like this means so much because it shows what students already know, that this is a university where people genuinely thrive.”
Other recent accolades for the university include being named University of the Year at the Academic Employability Awards 2026 and two of the university’s educators receiving national recognition in Advance HE’s Teaching Excellence Awards . Read that story here.
