A University of Bolton  department ranks second only to one of the top 10 universities in the world, according to the Guardian newspaper’s latest rankings.

The 2025 edition of the Guardian University Guide was published on Saturday, September 7.

The guide puts the university’s criminology department second only to University College London – a Russell Group university established in 1826 and ranked among the top in the world.

Bolton’s criminology courses come in ahead of prestigious universities including Staffordshire, Durham, and Sheffield, according to the Guardian.

The department’s alumni include Bolton Olympian Cindy Ngamba, who has a degree in Crime and Justice from the university – and is thinking about going back to complete a Masters’.

Overall, the university – which is currently planning to change its name to the University of Greater Manchester – comes in 32nd place when compared nationwide, down slightly from 30th place in the 2024 edition of the rankings.

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The newspaper uses eight measures of performance to compile its league table, focussing on full-time first-degree students.

Entry standards, student-staff ratios, expenditure per student, continuation rates from first year, satisfaction, teaching quality, value added, and career prospects are all taken into account.

On the other end of the spectrum, the university was ranked sixth lowest for its continuation rate – the proportion of first year students continuing to the second year – at just 83.7 per cent.

Bolton University says the rankings put it as the third highest placed post-1992 university in England, and the highest-ranked modern university in the region out of 14 institutions, as well as being the top in Greater Manchester for teaching satisfaction.

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A University of Bolton, Greater Manchester, spokesperson said: “Students will rightly be delighted to see their university achieve such high rankings in The Guardian's 2025 list of the top universities in the UK. 

“Our teaching and feedback are best in Greater Manchester and these are areas that are so important to our students who remain at the heart of everything we do.”

Professor George E Holmes DL, President and Vice Chancellor of the university, said: “The hard work of everyone who works at the University of Bolton continues to pay off. 

“It is clear from our position this year in key areas that we are providing excellence in teaching and student experience when compared with some of the most renowned institutions in the UK.

“Student experience and success is our number one priority at the University of Bolton and I am proud of all the staff here who work tirelessly to achieve that.

“We are tremendously excited about our Medical School in a new £40m state-of-the-art building in the grounds of the Royal Bolton Hospital, which will undoubtedly drive up our completion and employment rates where other institutions always score more highly.

 “It will enhance the University's reputation further, training the next generation of health professionals to help the UK address its ongoing chronic shortage of staff in the NHS.” 

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.