1 August 2005

Dundee named most cost-effective Scottish City for study

Dundee has been named the most cost-effective place to study in Scotland in a new survey carried out by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The survey - the RBS Student Living Index - ranks major university towns by the cost of living for students, plotting average student expenditure on living and housing costs against income from term-time employment.

Dundee was the best performing Scottish city in the survey, and also ranked ninth in the UK.

A spokesman for the University of Dundee said , "There are many great reasons for coming to study in Dundee, and the fact this survey shows the city as the most cost-effective in Scotland to study in only adds to the appeal."

"The University of Dundee is always striving to ensure our 18,000 students get as good a deal as possible across all aspects of their time spent here, and finding Dundee as an affordable place to study is obviously very important to them."

"Part of this is the extremely competitive rates for staying in halls-of-residence attached to the University, and we are in the midst of a £40 million investment in residences to ensure that our student population benefit in future. This investment will provide 1100 new rooms ready for the start of the academic year in 2006."

"There is also a plentiful supply of good quality private accommodation in the city, and it is easy for our students to live within walking distance of the main campus, which is in the heart of the city and its cultural quarter."

"We also have a highly successful Job Shop for students, and do everything we can to help students find employment during the course of their studies."

"The University has one of the best students' association facilities in the country, located at the centre of the main campus, and a wide range of affordable and accessible sports facilities."

"Student recruitment at the University is growing at the rate of 15% per year, above the national average, reflecting Dundee's popularity as a city and as a university."

"Inevitably, with issues such as student fees to the fore, students are becoming more discerning about what constitutes a good value for money proposition, and if you combine this cost-effectiveness with the fact the University has the highest graduate salaries outside of London and Oxbridge and has also been ranked number one in the UK for teaching quality, then Dundee has obvious appeal."

By Roddy Isles, Head of Press 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, r.isles@dundee.ac.uk