Leeds currently offers four top-class universities, which is one of the major reasons behind the large student numbers in the city.
These universities include:
- The University of Leeds
- Leeds Beckett University (formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University)
- Leeds Arts University
- Leeds Trinity University
But while the number of universities is certainly an attraction to Leeds, it’s the quality of these institutions that sets the city apart from many others in Europe.
The University of Leeds is ranked 20th out of 130 universities in the Complete University Guide – just one behind Birmingham.
Leeds students enjoy the city so much, in fact, that around 37% choose to stay and work in the city, the joint eighth-highest graduate retention rate in the UK, along with Liverpool.
This is a good sign for investors and opens the door to alternative property investments in the city to diversify a portfolio.
The University of Leeds
While Leeds has four excellent universities, likely the best amongst them is the University of Leeds.
Established in 1904, the University of Leeds is one of the largest universities in the UK and is part of the prestigious Russell Group, a collection of 24 world-class research universities in the UK.
The university is industry-leading in many sectors, with its Criminology, Civil Engineering, and Agriculture courses all ranking second in the UK.
For this reason, it’s unsurprising that Leeds also ranks highly on the global stage, ranked in the top 100 universities in the 2021 QS World University Rankings.
This comes after several years of success, with the University of Leeds ranked as the 2017 University of the Year by The Times and The Sunday Times’ Good University Guide.