From trigger warnings to 'woke' ideologies — how does your uni rank on the scale?
A league table of the most radically progressive unis has been released by a think tank called Civitas — The Institute for the Study of Civil Society is a British think tank working on issues related to democracy and social policy. Some of the country's most prestigious institutions, including several in the Russell Group, feature prominently.
So what does "radically progressive" actually mean here? In Civitas's terms, it covers things like universities issuing trigger warnings (TWs) about course content students might find distressing, running anti-racism training, or making formal commitments to decolonising the curriculum. When the research was first published, some MPs argued that a "dark shadow" of political correctness had fallen over the country's leading universities.
Not everyone reads it that way. Plenty of students and academics see these measures as universities taking a more thoughtful, inclusive approach to how their subjects are taught. Either way, big Russell Group names dominate the top of the table, taking eight of the top 10 spots. Cambridge and Oxford come first and second, having introduced "unconscious bias" and race workshops for new students. The University of Bristol follows in third, having advised against words such as "mankind" to avoid causing offence to students and staff.
Below, we break down how the unis were scored and where yours lands on the list.
How was the research conducted?
The study was carried out by Dr Richard Norrie, who leads Civitas's statistics and policy research. The table ranks around 137 universities and was built from their local and national press coverage as well as their own promotional and guidance materials.
Researchers found that 62% of universities referenced trigger warnings of some kind, aimed at alerting students to potentially distressing material. On top of that, 79 universities mentioned the term "white privilege", and 59% offered materials or resources on anti-racism.
As reported by Daily Mail, Sir John Hayes MP, a former further education minister said that unis should be "places of light and liberty learning, but a dark shadow has fallen over too much of higher education".
Supporters of the measures counter that warning students about difficult or sensitive topics is part of good teaching rather than a threat to it — and that it can help, not hinder, open discussion.
Some of the trigger warnings picked out in coverage of the study include:
The University of Chester — said Harry Potter books can 'lead to difficult conversations about gender, race, sexuality, class and identity', which we can only assume is attributed to the backlash JK Rowling received in recent years
Aberdeen University, issued a trigger warning for Peter Pan because it could be 'emotionally challenging'.
Imperial College London encouraged its students and staff to have 'hard conversations with friends and family who deny white privilege'.
The University of Warwick has now banned the term 'trigger warning', claiming that it could upset students.
The University of Glasgow warns archaeology students their course might involve examining bones.
That's not all…
The debate has also reached Westminster. Conservative peer Lord Wei of Shoreditch suggested that financial support for students and graduates could be linked to how "woke" they are, as one of a series of proposals aimed at younger and lower-income voters, as reported by Yahoo News. He floated the idea of students sitting "national tests" measuring tolerance of other viewpoints, along with lateral and critical thinking.
In practice, that would mean assessing how students respond to a range of political and social statements.
He also proposed:
"Students could have their debts paid off based on their ranking in such awards, both at the level of the university and nationally, and institutions could themselves have their funding increased or decreased based on how many prize winners they have as students or alumni (with funds saved from institutions shut or trimmed down recycled into the funding of more prizes)."
In other words, universities that could show they were less "woke" might see their funding rise.
What do we think?
Tying student debt relief to a person's political outlook is a controversial idea — and one worth watching closely, especially given the financial pressures students already face and the questions it raises about free expression on campus.
Dr Rohit K Dasgupta, senior lecturer in cultural industries at the University of Glasgow, was among the critics, arguing it shows "why we need better policy education" and describing it as "a Tory peer whose policy to win votes is to offer debt relief to graduates who can demonstrate they are 'anti woke'".
It's a reminder of how politically charged higher education has become.
How are the most 'woke' universities ranked? And does my uni rank on the wokeness scale?
If you're curious about where your uni lands, here's what fed into each institution's score. Civitas based rankings on:
Anonymous reporting
Anti-racism training
Free speech controversies
Official commitments to decolonisation
Race Equality Charter Membership
Transgender-related restrictions on speech
Trigger warnings
The most woke universities ranked
Wondering if your uni will crop up? We've got 137 unis ranked so you can see which are the most woke universities. Plus you can see where your uni appears on the woke scale.
University of Cambridge: 2.38
University of Oxford: 1.96
University of Bristol: 1.81
University College London: 1.63
Newcastle University: 1.62
SOAS, University of London: 1.6
University of East Anglia: 1.56
University of Warwick: 1.51
Durham University: 1.49
University of Exeter: 1.42
The University of Sheffield: 1.4
York St John University: 1.34
University of Portsmouth: 1.34
Oxford Brookes University: 1.34
Queen Mary University of London: 1.32
Goldsmiths, University of London: 1.31
University of Birmingham: 1.17
University of Reading: 1.14
University of Brighton: 1.06
University of Essex: 1.01
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine: 1
The University of Nottingham: 0.99
De Montfort University: 0.99
King's College London: 0.99
University of Surrey: 0.98
Leeds Beckett University: 0.96
University of Glasgow: 0.95
University of the Arts London: 0.91
University of Liverpool: 0.9
University of Dundee: 0.87
University of Salford: 0.85
Middlesex University: 0.83
The University of Manchester: 0.82
University of Leeds: 0.78
Royal Holloway, University of London: 0.77
University of Stirling: 0.74
University of Central Lancashire: 0.74
The London School of Economics and Political Science: 0.73
University of Leicester: 0.7
University of Plymouth: 0.61
Imperial College London: 0.59
University of Aberdeen: 0.58
University of York: 0.57
University of Kent: 0.56
Keele University: 0.54
Canterbury Christ Church University: 0.52
University of Huddersfield: 0.49
University of St Andrews: 0.43
London South Bank University: 0.42
Nottingham Trent University: 0.4
University of the West of England, Bristol: 0.39
Bath Spa University: 0.39
City, University of London: 0.34
University of Bath: 0.32
Staffordshire University: 0.31
University of Lincoln: 0.3
University of Edinburgh: 0.29
University of Westminster: 0.26
University of Winchester: 0.24
Loughborough University: 0.21
Aberystwyth University: 0.2
University of Sussex: 0.2
University of Wolverhampton: 0.18
University of Hertfordshire: 0.18
Manchester Metropolitan University: 0.15
Coventry University: 0.14
Lancaster University: 0.12
University of Derby: 0.08
Anglia Ruskin University: 0.07
Brunel University London: 0.05
Liverpool John Moores University: 0.06
Sheffield Hallam University: 0.08
Liverpool Hope University: 0.1
Queen's University Belfast: 0.12
London Metropolitan University: 0.16
The Glasgow School of Art: 0.21
The Royal Veterinary College: 0.22
University of Greenwich: 0.22
Buckinghamshire New University: 0.22
Swansea University: 0.28
University of Gloucestershire: 0.3
Birkbeck, University of London: 0.31
University of Chichester: 0.33
Robert Gordon University: 0.34
Falmouth University: 0.34
University of Bradford: 0.34
University of Hull: 0.37
Edinburgh Napier University: 0.4
University of Southampton: 0.42
University of Strathclyde: 0.43
University of the West of Scotland: 0.45
University of Roehampton: 0.47
Norwich University of the Arts: 0.47
University of Sunderland: 0.49
The Open University: 0.49
University of East London: 0.53
Aston University: 0.54
University of South Wales: 0.55
Bournemouth University: 0.59
Heriot-Watt University: 0.63
University of Northampton: 0.64
Bangor University: 0.66
Cardiff University: 0.66
Birmingham City University: 0.68
University of Worcester: 0.68
Edge Hill University: 0.77
Glasgow Caledonian University: 0.78
Plymouth Marjon University: 0.82
University of Suffolk: 0.85
Guildhall School of Music and Drama: 0.9
University of the Highlands and Islands: 0.92
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance: 0.93
University of Chester: 0.98
Ulster University: 0.99
Leeds Trinity University: 1.01
Queen Margaret University: 1.04
Solent University: 1.07
Wrexham University: 1.1
University of London: 1.13
Northumbria University: 1.23
Kingston University: 1.25
University of Wales Trinity Saint David: 1.33
University of Bedfordshire: 1.38
Royal College of Art: 1.4
St George's, University of London: 1.4
University of Bolton: 1.41
London Business School: 1.43
The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama: 1.48
Cardiff Metropolitan University: 1.48
Bishop Grosseteste University: 1.55
The University of West London: 1.82
Cranfield University: 1.85
Teesside University: 1.95
Royal College of Music, London: 1.96
University of Cumbria: 1.98
The University of Buckingham: 1.98
Regent's University London (score not specified)
Source: Civitas
However you feel about it, the table offers a snapshot of how universities are approaching progressive teaching and campus policy — handy context whether you're already studying or weighing up where to apply.
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