International Students Are Happier in Ireland than the UK

StudyPortals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2015: Irish universities have the most satisfied students in Europe, overtaking all other European countries, including the UK.

EINDHOVEN – Students going abroad to Ireland have reported the highest satisfaction with their international study experience, followed by last year’s leaders from Scandinavia: Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Despite a slight decrease since last year, international student satisfaction continues to remain high in Europe, with 86% of students being satisfied with their study abroad experience, compared to 89% in 2014.

While Irish universities have the happiest students, at the other end of the spectrum, France continues to have the lowest score in international student satisfaction, with an 8.2 score, with complaints continuing to revolve around the poor student services available at the universities, as well as the excessive bureaucracy. Irish universities also outperform those from the UK, which ranked 10^th in international student satisfaction.

Irish universities were particularly appreciated for their community atmospheres, innovative programmes, support structures for students, as well as their multicultural mix and vivid student life. In the UK, the students commented on the excellent tutors, teaching quality and international recognition of their university degree.

Maynooth University received the Outstanding International Student Satisfaction Award in Ireland, with students being particularly happy about the charming and lively campus, the close community of students, the friendliness of the teachers, and the small class sizes. National University of Ireland, the University of Limerick and the University College Cork received Excellent International Student Satisfaction Awards, while University College of Dublin was rated as Very Good.

For the UK, nine universities received an International Student Satisfaction Award in 2015: five Excellent – Durham University, University College London, University of Leeds, University of Leicester and the University of Edinburgh; and four Very Good awards – Cardiff University, University of Aberdeen, University of Bristol, and the University of Glasgow.

The StudyPortals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2015 are based on 17,018 reviews, added to the STeXX.eu – the student experience website during the 2014 – 2015 academic year. While Ireland and Scandinavia have the highest international student satisfaction, Spain has the highest numbers of winning universities (24), followed by Germany with 16 awarded universities, Italy (11) and the Netherlands (10). Students mostly visit Spanish universities on exchange programmes, primarily Erasmus funded.

The full results of the latest StudyPortals International Student Satisfaction Awards 2015 were announced Wednesday, 16^th of September at the annual EAIE conference in Glasgow. A total of 150 universities will be awarded across Europe this year.

Press contact: Carmen Neghina | carmen@studyportals.com | +31 655 875 270

Table 1. Overview of Irish Universities Receiving an International Student Satisfaction Award in 2015

Table 2. Overview of British Universities Receiving an International Student Satisfaction Award in 2015

Table 3. International Student Satisfaction in Europe and Number of Awarded Institutions by Destination Country