Amazing things happen here
Our commitment to helping our students is mirrored in our awards and rankings
Just some of the headlines…
Gold
Rated Teaching Excellence
Out of 227 institutions, only 51 received a ‘Gold’ rating.
TEF 2023
Top 30
in the UK out of 123 institutions
Assessing criteria which include teaching and student satisfaction.
The Guardian 2026
Best
University for Teaching
We are the Daily Mail University of the Year for teaching quality 2026.
The Daily Mail 2026
4 Star
QS Rating
Placing us amongst institutions that have international recognition.
QS Star Rating 2026
Complete University Guide (2027)
Student satisfaction is high, with 81% happy with the quality of teaching making us 11th in the UK overall, and 1st in the South East.
- 2nd in the UK – Communication and Media Studies student satisfaction
- 3rd in the UK – Computing student satisfaction
- 3rd in the UK – Computer Science student satisfaction
- 3rd in the UK – Childhood student satisfaction
- 5th in the UK – Sports science graduate prospects
- 8th in the UK – Law student satisfaction
- 8th in the UK – Psychology student satisfaction
- 9th in the UK – Childhood graduate prospects
- 10th in the UK – Social work graduate prospects
- 10th in the UK – Sociology student satisfaction
- 11th in the UK – Creative writing student satisfaction
- 11th in the UK – Drama and Dance student satisfaction
- 11th in the UK – Nursing student satisfaction
- 12th in the UK – English student satisfaction
- 15th in the UK – Business and Management graduate prospects
National Student Survey (2026)
Chichester ranked top 25 in the UK out of 122 institutions, and top university on the South Coast. These rankings are solely based on students’ opinions and feedback.
Overall positivity for teaching is high, placing us 14th in the UK, and top 20 for learning opportunities, assessment and feedback, and academic support.
- 1st in the UK – academic support in Computer Games and Animation
- 1st in the UK – academic support in Dance
- 1st in the UK – overall positivity in Nursing
- 1st in the UK – academic support in Philosophy
- 2nd in the UK – learning opportunities in Maths
- 3rd in the UK – teaching on my course in Performing Arts
- 4th in the UK – overall positivity in Childhood
- 4th in the UK – assessment and feedback in Politics
- 5th in the UK – overall positivity in Law
- 5th in the UK – assessment and feedback in Film
- 6th in the UK – teaching on my course in Counselling
- 8th in the UK – overall positivity in Applied Psychology
- 9th in the UK – assessment and feedback in English Studies
- 10th in the UK – freedom of expression in Creative Writing
- 10th in the UK – learning resources in Education
The Guardian University Guide (2026)
Chichester ranked top 30 in the UK out of 123 institutions.
The Guardian University Guide assesses 123 universities on criteria which include teaching and feedback, student satisfaction and the number of students in employment after graduation.
- 2nd in the UK – Creative Writing
- 4th in the UK – Media and Esports
- Top 20 – Social Work
- Top 20 – Education
- Top 25 – Creative Industries
- Top 30 – Drama and Dance
Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide (2026)
- 12th best for teaching quality
- Top 10 modern university
- 15th in the UK – Sports Science
- 26th in the UK – Education
- 32nd in the UK – Psychology
UniCompare league table ranking (2027)
- 1st out of 120 UK universities for Psychology
- 1st out of 114 UK universities for Social Work
- 3rd out of 141 UK universities for Business and Management
- 8th out of 141 UK universities for English Literature and Language
Daily Mail University Guide (2026)
We are the Daily Mail’s University of the year for teaching excellence.
- 15th for student support.
- 1st for Performing arts,
- 6th for Psychology.
Ofsted (2023)
We’re rated outstanding for both primary and secondary teacher education in the latest Ofsted report.
- Inspiring Curriculum – Students “develop comprehensive curriculum and pedagogical knowledge, which they apply skilfully and confidently in different contexts”.
- Personalised Support – University and school staff support students “to thrive through their highly effective ‘team around the trainee’ approach”.
- Prepared for Employment – Students “leave very well placed to continue on their journey towards being aspirational, inspirational and motivational teachers”.
- Research-driven – Students “engage critically with research, reflect on their own development and learn to evaluate different approaches to teaching”.
Alumni Successes
Graduate stats
Proof our alumni rock
95.7% of our graduates are in employment or further education after graduating. (Graduate Outcome Survey 2023/24)
We are a top 20 university for producing CEOs or MDs, with 4.75% of students achieving these roles. (Novuna 2025)
John Browning
Hamilton Star
John is now in rehearsals to make his West End debut in the multi-award-winning musical Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London, as a standby covering the lead roles of King George III, George Washington, Aaron Burr, Hercules Mulligan and James Madison.
Asked how he feels about landing the role, John added: “It is an absolute dream come true. My dream musical and West End debut all in one go.”
Lucy Ferre – Sustainability
Sussex Green Business Award
The accolade celebrates the University’s approach to sustainability, which combines ambitious environmental targets with practical action across its campuses.
The University has set a Net Zero target of 2045, supported by carbon reduction goals as part of its current five-year strategy. Dedicated steering groups have been established to drive cultural change and deliver projects across the institution, including Carbon Literacy training, the installation of electric vehicle charging points, electricity monitoring to identify energy “hotspots”, the removal of single-use cups, and studies to improve heat network efficiency.
Our city
Top stats for our home
West Sussex is a beautiful and vibrant location with a range of settings, from the sunny beach to the South Downs, to small city life and fantastic transport links.
- University of Chichester is the sunniest university in the UK with 1918.54 hours of annual sunshine (metoffice.gov)
- Chichester named 2nd safest University city in England and Wales (Complete University Guide, 2024)
- Chichester named one of the happiest places to live (The Guardian, 2025)
Internationally Renowned Research
- 86% of the University’s research outputs are internationally renowned.
- Institute of Sport: 73% of research output was rated internationally excellent or world-leading.
- English and Creative Writing: 68% of its research output was deemed internationally excellent or world-leading.
- History: 66% of research is internationally excellent or world-leading.
The latest Research Excellence Framework 2021
‘Technology and Young voices can shape the future of football’
Dr Chris Pocock, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology, and PhD student James Feist are exploring how virtual reality (VR) headsets can improve a player’s scanning and decision-making. Using 360-degree video captured in real training sessions, players can relive realistic scenarios through VR headsets, experiencing the game from their own perspective. This allows them to work on vital scanning behaviours and effective head movements – quickly assessing team mates, opponents and space – without the limits of physical fatigue, injury risk or weather.
Published as a special issue paper in the Journal of Sports Sciences, the research highlights VR as a valuable addition to training, particularly for visual exploratory activity or scanning. It also focuses on women’s football, helping address a gap in sport performance research.
Research recognised at European sports nutrition awards
Research led by the University of Chichester’s School of Sport, Science and Engineering has been recognised at the NutraIngredients Europe Awards 2026, where a blackcurrant-based supplement was named European Sports Nutrition Product of the Year in Barcelona on 6 May.
Academics from the University of Chichester collaborated with Health Currancy Ltd (UK) on independent research into CurraNZ, a New Zealand blackcurrant extract, examining its effects on exercise performance, muscle and cardiovascular function. Findings from recent exploratory trials led by Professor Mark Willems, Professor of Exercise Physiology, contributed to a growing evidence base supporting the supplement’s performance and health benefits.