Glasgow Caledonian University
Glasgow Caledonian University, the University for the Common Good, is a vibrant, values-led, multi-cultural, civic University with a global outlook and strong commitment to delivering social innovation and sustainable development in its education and research.
We are ranked fourth in the world and first in the UK for promoting gender equality, and 70th globally in the 2022 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings out of over 1,400 institutions. We are also ranked 21st in the world and first in Scotland for reduced inequalities, 39th globally for decent work and economic growth, and first in Scotland for health and wellbeing.
GCU is the top performing modern university in Scotland, with the highest increase in rankings of any Scottish university according to the Guardian and Times/Sunday Times university guides. We are ranked 52nd overall in the UK in both and the Times Good University Guide 2023 also cited us as 1st in the UK for our Physiotherapy, Radiography, and Food Science programmes.
For environmental sustainability we are the only Scottish university with EcoCampus Platinum accreditation and were ranked second in Scotland for sustainability in the most recent People and Planet league table.
GCU is unsurpassed by any other Scottish modern university for the level of research (72%) considered to be world leading or internationally excellent, our health research is surpassed only by King’s College London for outstanding impact, and 100% of our communications, culture and media research is rated as having an outstanding or very considerable impact (REF2021).
A recent independent report by BiGGAR Economics concluded that GCU contributed £1.7 billion and 14,360 jobs globally in 2020-21. It highlighted that GCU is a valuable asset to the City of Glasgow, not only bringing economic and employment opportunities, but working to address the deep-rooted economic, social and health inequalities in the city.
GCU was the first University to align its research strategy and among the first to align its organisational strategies to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promoted by the United Nations. Central to our Strategy 2030 is the ambition to be recognised as world leading in social innovation through our research and teaching. Achieving these ambitions will involve building on our flagship research centres, such as our Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice and our Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health, with a common good suite of taught Masters’ programmes including the MSc Social Innovation.
Our research expertise spans our three Schools (the School of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment, the Glasgow School for Business and Society, and our School of Health and Life Sciences) and various centres. These contribute strongly, with our globally recognised researchers regularly advising governments, industry and international bodies on policy development and delivering impact.
Our welcoming university community of 1,500 staff and more than 22,000 students from nearly 130 countries enjoy state-of-the-art facilities across each of our campuses in Glasgow, London and our postgraduate college in New York, with transnational partnerships in China, South Africa, Oman, Bangladesh and Mauritius. Our success as a globally connected university is demonstrated by the large number of international students studying at our UK campuses.
We are leaders in widening participation to Higher Education. Scottish Funding Council figures highlight that in 2020-21, 23% of our Scottish full-time, first degree entrants were drawn from the country's 20% most-disadvantaged backgrounds, well above the sector average of 16.7%, with an outstanding retention rate of 93%. We deliver positive outcomes for our students, with 84.5% of our students projected to complete their degrees - above both the UK and Scottish sector averages - and 93% are in employment or further study within fifteen months of graduating, the strongest outcome in the Scottish sector. GCU also has the highest proportion of undergraduate level graduates in highly skilled occupations compared to other Scottish modern universities (HESA, 2022).
GCU is also Scotland’s leading provider of Graduate Apprenticeships, with a wide range of professionally accredited courses and links with over 300 Industry Partners.
Our College Connect Team delivers a dedicated service to help students transition from college to university. GCU’s Caledonian Club, an award-winning outreach initiative, has reached 20,000 local children, families and carers, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, and our Advanced Higher Hub gives important opportunities to senior school pupils across Glasgow to access higher and further education.
Guided by our values – integrity, responsibility, creativity and confidence – we work with others to transform the lives of the people and communities we serve.
Contact Details
If you have a query about any of the positions being advertised by Glasgow Caledonian University, or their recruitment processes and timeframes, please contact: recruitment@gcu.ac.uk