At the University of Exeter, we welcome over 30,000 students from more than 150 countries to our beautiful, green campuses in Exeter in Devon, and Penryn and Truro in Cornwall. We are a leading UK university with global impact, placed 153rd in the world in the 2024 QS World University Rankings and 30th in the world in the 2024 QS Sustainability Rankings. As a member of the UK’s prestigious Russell Group of research-intensive universities, we combine excellence in research with outstanding teaching and student experience. Exeter is also one of the few Russell Group universities to be awarded triple gold by the UK’s Teaching Excellence Framework (2023).
The UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 review showed that we are doing more research, of better quality, with a bigger impact on the world than ever before. More than 99 percent of our research was rated of international quality1 and 12 of our subjects were in the Top 10 for world-leading impact.2
We challenge and inspire our community of learners to thrive, develop the skills they will need for the future and lead the change the world needs. Our ambitious Strategy 2030 aims to use our outstanding education, research and global connections to lead meaningful action against the climate emergency and ecological crisis; make key breakthroughs to transform human health and wellbeing; and progress towards creating a fair, socially just and inclusive society.
Exeter is a global leader in sustainable development and our research and policy expertise on the climate emergency and ecological crisis is exceptionally strong. Over 1,500 Exeter academics work in these fields, and the University is home to five of the world’s top 25 most influential climate scientists.
The University of Exeter has been a long-standing partner with Iraq for more than 20 years. Pro-Vice Chancellor Gareth Stansfield was awarded an OBE in 2023 for Services to Iraq; is Honorary President of the Iraq Energy Institute; and a Special Advisor to the UN and UK FCO on Iraq. President Abdul Latif Rashid is an Honorary Professor, and Exeter PhD graduates include several former Iraqi and KRG Ministers.
From 2006 to 2017, Exeter chaired the British Universities in Iraq Consortium, providing consultancy to the Iraqi government on re-building the Higher Education sector, and more recently advising on post-conflict reconstruction after the defeat of ISIS.
Our Institute of Arab & Islamic Studies hosts the Centre for Kurdish Studies, funded by the Ibrahim Ahmed Foundation, and we have agreements in place with several universities, including the University of Baghdad; American University of Iraq Baghdad (AUIB), and American University of Iraq – Sulaimani (AUIS). Exeter have worked closely with the Prime Minister’s Higher Committee for Education Development (HCED) since its inception in 2012/13 and have graduated more than 350 sponsored Iraqi students since 2006.