The Russell Group comprises 24 research-intensive UK universities with shared commitment and focus towards research and providing an outstanding teaching and learning experience.
The Russell Group was originally founded in 1994, and in 2020, four of the top ten universities in the QS World University Rankings - Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and UCL - are Russell Group members.
Russell Group universities receive two-thirds of all research grants, allowing them to make a huge contribution to the intellectual, cultural and economic factors in the UK.
As a result of this, the very best students and academics are attracted to study at Russell Group institutions. By producing world-leading research across a range of topics and disciplines, Russell Group universities play a major role in the UK and the health of its economy.
Following the most recent Research Excellence Framework, Russell Group universities produced 68% of the UK’s ‘world-leading’ research and 68% of the country’s research with an ‘outstanding impact’.
From an international student’s perspective, Russell Group universities rank better in employability and student satisfaction rates, as well as a higher student-staff ratio.
This should interest an international student because over 90,000 international students from over 160 countries choose to join a Russell Group university every year, with over ninety per cent of these arrivals expressing satisfaction.
Twenty-four per cent of Russell Group undergraduates are international students. All twenty-four Russell Group members were rated in the top two hundred and fifty universities in the world according to the QS World University Rankings.
The group represents its members’ concerns, mainly to parliament and government, and also advocates on behalf of students, as shown by a recent policy document on its website urging the government to raise hardship support for students amidst the rise in the cost of living.
Now that there has been talk of the government restricting visas for international students, the Russell Group has pointed out that those with study visas are more likely to leave by the expiry date than those with work visas, let alone those with other visas. The group has also explained to the government how education research and development can add value to the economy. Its website promotes its members’ work, for example, the Queen Mary BioEnterprises founded by Queen Mary University of London to test vaccines and antiviral treatments, and the bowel cancer screening work of Imperial College London.
The member universities are claimed to yield the lion’s share of the UK’s best research, add value worth eighty-seven billion pounds to the economy of the UK, underpin over two hundred and fifty thousand jobs up and down the land, and educate 80% of the country’s doctors and dentists, the majority of mathematicians and scientists, half of the linguists, and a considerable tranche of engineers.
Members get given the majority of government funding for research. Even in 2020/21, despite the pandemic restrictions, the research carried out by member universities generated over thirty thousand new jobs. Russell Group universities have about 450,000 undergraduates and about 150,000 postgraduates.
Are you interested in studying at one of the above universities? SI-UK India can help you apply with a range of application services to suit your requirements. Alternatively, visit us for a free consultation where we can help you decide your future, as well as help you submit your UCAS application.
I sincerely thank SI-UK for getting me accepted to UCL. The MSc in Urban Development and Planning is extremely competitive, but the right guidance provided by SI-UK made my dream of studying at University College London a reality. The services were exceptional from beginning to end.
Rashmi Lakshanya Urban Development and Planning at University College London
