Top unis for political scene: Which? University Student Survey 2019
University is often the place where students get more involved in politics as they meet others with vastly different backgrounds and perspectives. Which universities were ranked highest by students for their engaging political scene?
Which? surveyed more than 11,000 undergrads to find out how they rate their university on the range of political groups, societies and activities around them.
'There are plenty of opportunities to meet new people, and my advice would be to take as many as you can and try everything once!’
'Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.'
Learn more about University of Cambridge.
Students were enthusiastic about what makes a great political uni...
'The people. It's as if you can have a conversation with anybody and it would be an awesome conversation. From talking about politics to music. Goldsmiths has a great atmosphere'
'Everyone is very welcoming and talkative.’
Learn more about Goldsmiths, University of London.
According to the general secretary of LSE's student union, Busayo Twins: ‘LSE is definitely a hub for debate and intellectualism. No matter your political inclination, this university encourages its students to speak out, challenge, engage, create, and research topics that matter to one another. Whether it’s a student-led campaign or focus group created by the students themselves, a political conversation is always happening.
'In addition, with so much diversity it's inevitable that a plethora of ideas reach campus and the students are really encouraged to think beyond their experiences and acknowledge each other.’
Learn more about LSE, University of London.
Jack Hampton, president of the uni's student union, said: 'Oxford is a famously good place to get involved in party politics – just think of the wide variety of political leaders that have come out of Oxford, across the whole political spectrum and a wide variety of sectors.
'But political involvement goes far beyond the political clubs. Our active student union and 38 colleges, as well as a huge array of other clubs and societies, provide an unparalleled amount of possibilities for getting involved in student representation.'
Learn more about University of Oxford.
A University of Sussex rep provided the following comment: 'The University of Sussex prides itself on being a place that encourages debate and challenges the status quo, across the political spectrum. Located on the edge of the vibrant city of Brighton, we are part of a diverse and accepting community with a great nightlife and cultural scene.'
A recent graduate said: 'The student body at Sussex and its student union has a lively history of political activism: boycotting unfair exams, challenging eurocentric discourse in subjects taught, supporting South African students during apartheid to study here through a scholarship (which continues today), fighting campus privatisation and the occupation of Palestine.'
Learn more about University of Sussex.
Read the full results of the Which? University Student Survey 2019 including who came top for student union, sports scene and more.
We surveyed a total of 3,874 students from over 127 institutions this year, merging findings from our 2018 and 2017 surveys to give an overall sample of 11,092 students. The survey sample used to analyse the political scene category consisted of all students from the 2019 survey, first and second years from the 2018 sample, and first year students from the 2017 sample.
Statistical differences between groups of universities were identified as follows. For each measure, a mean score on the 1-10 scale was calculated for each university. Analysis of variance was used to establish whether there were any significant differences between the means, and then a linear plotting technique was used to identify significant breaks between the means of groups of universities. The groups with the highest mean scores were reported as 'highly rated'.
All surveys were conducted by YouthSight on behalf of Which?, in March/April of the respective year.
Please note, student comments in this feature range from 2014-2018.
Top universities for political scene
These universities continue to hold the top spots for an active political scene, although the University of Manchester has dropped out this year.
See who they are in alphabetical order, and click to read what students said:
- University of Cambridge
- Goldsmiths, University of London
- London School of Economics, University of London
- University of Oxford
- University of Sussex
University of Cambridge
'There are plenty of opportunities to meet new people, and my advice would be to take as many as you can and try everything once!’
'Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions.'
Learn more about University of Cambridge.
Goldsmiths, University of London
Students were enthusiastic about what makes a great political uni...
'The people. It's as if you can have a conversation with anybody and it would be an awesome conversation. From talking about politics to music. Goldsmiths has a great atmosphere'
'Everyone is very welcoming and talkative.’
Learn more about Goldsmiths, University of London.
London School of Economics (LSE), University of London
According to the general secretary of LSE's student union, Busayo Twins: ‘LSE is definitely a hub for debate and intellectualism. No matter your political inclination, this university encourages its students to speak out, challenge, engage, create, and research topics that matter to one another. Whether it’s a student-led campaign or focus group created by the students themselves, a political conversation is always happening.
'In addition, with so much diversity it's inevitable that a plethora of ideas reach campus and the students are really encouraged to think beyond their experiences and acknowledge each other.’
Learn more about LSE, University of London.
University of Oxford
Jack Hampton, president of the uni's student union, said: 'Oxford is a famously good place to get involved in party politics – just think of the wide variety of political leaders that have come out of Oxford, across the whole political spectrum and a wide variety of sectors.
'But political involvement goes far beyond the political clubs. Our active student union and 38 colleges, as well as a huge array of other clubs and societies, provide an unparalleled amount of possibilities for getting involved in student representation.'
Learn more about University of Oxford.
University of Sussex
A University of Sussex rep provided the following comment: 'The University of Sussex prides itself on being a place that encourages debate and challenges the status quo, across the political spectrum. Located on the edge of the vibrant city of Brighton, we are part of a diverse and accepting community with a great nightlife and cultural scene.'
A recent graduate said: 'The student body at Sussex and its student union has a lively history of political activism: boycotting unfair exams, challenging eurocentric discourse in subjects taught, supporting South African students during apartheid to study here through a scholarship (which continues today), fighting campus privatisation and the occupation of Palestine.'
Learn more about University of Sussex.
Read the full results of the Which? University Student Survey 2019 including who came top for student union, sports scene and more.
About the Which? University Student Survey 2019
We asked students to score their university on how active a political scene there was to get involved in, as part of the annual Which? University Student Survey. Each year, Which? commissions this independent survey of current higher education students in the UK to find out more about their experience of university.We surveyed a total of 3,874 students from over 127 institutions this year, merging findings from our 2018 and 2017 surveys to give an overall sample of 11,092 students. The survey sample used to analyse the political scene category consisted of all students from the 2019 survey, first and second years from the 2018 sample, and first year students from the 2017 sample.
Statistical differences between groups of universities were identified as follows. For each measure, a mean score on the 1-10 scale was calculated for each university. Analysis of variance was used to establish whether there were any significant differences between the means, and then a linear plotting technique was used to identify significant breaks between the means of groups of universities. The groups with the highest mean scores were reported as 'highly rated'.
All surveys were conducted by YouthSight on behalf of Which?, in March/April of the respective year.
Please note, student comments in this feature range from 2014-2018.
