Published: 26 November 2021
The results of a study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies and the Sutton Trust education charity, have placed St George’s, University of London in the top 10 universities in the country for social mobility.
By looking at the proportion of students from low-income backgrounds at each university, and then assessing the students’ income by age 30, the study was able to assign each university a “mobility rate”.
St George’s was ranked seventh in the country, with a mobility rate of 4.4%, more than three-times the average score of 1.3%. The report focused on people who attended university during the mid-2000s and reached age 30 in the late 2010s.
The report also highlighted the top ten courses for social mobility in England, including Medicine and Allied to Medicine courses, which are run at St George’s. St George’s recent addition of a Clinical Pharmacology course should also benefit future years, with Pharmacology degrees ranked as the number one course for social mobility.
Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan, said: "We need to be making getting on as important as getting in. Gone will be the days where universities were recruiting students onto courses that lead to dropping out, frustration and unemployment.
"A student's outcome after university needs to be as important to providers as a student's grades before university."
Professor Jenny Higham, Principal at St George’s, University of London, added: “We are extremely proud to see St George’s sitting among the country’s top universities for social mobility. Providing a platform for high quality education that is accessible to people from all backgrounds is at the core of what we do.
“The results of this study are testament to the hard work of all our students and staff, allowing our students, no matter their background, to develop the skills that make them among the most desirable in the country, with the university ranked number one for graduate prospects.”
“As the UK’s health specialist university, it is also essential that we set a tone for the future healthcare workforce, enabling mobility for all groups and ensuring that healthcare service provision is equitable, of the highest standard and representative of wider society.”
If you’re interested in applying to study at St George’s, the university is running taster lectures for the degrees in Clinical Pharmacology and Biomedical Science. You can sign up at the links below:
Clinical Pharmacology taster: Life-saving drugs: 24 hours in A&E
Biomedical Science taster: Respiratory function and COVID-19: Why do patients struggle to breathe?