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Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) has taken first place across the UK in National Student Survey (NSS) rankings for the Learning opportunities, Assessment and feedback, Organisation and management, Student voice and Freedom of expression survey domains.

The six-year programme also ranked first against all Russell Group universities in eight out of the nine survey themes. 

Professor Amir Sam, Head of ICSM, said, “We are incredibly proud to have ranked first nationally in so many survey domains this year. 
 
“The School’s progression from topping London tables in all domains in 2024, then achieving the same plus leading the Russell Group in five domains in 2025, to leading nationally in five domains in 2026 is a huge achievement.  
 
"With nearly 85% of our graduating ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ responding to the survey, even through their busy final exam period, the results are even more encouraging and give us a very strong foundation for our ongoing work to improve the student experience at ICSM.” 

This year’s survey respondents are the second cohort to graduate from the revamped medicine curriculum. The improvement in scores, Professor Sam says, is credit to the continued dedication to delivering this innovative, evidence-based approach to medical education, where a range of key domains run through the entirety of the programme in both clinical and scientific learning, and each year builds directly on knowledge and skills ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ have acquired in the previous one. 

“From our leading scientists to Programme Management, Welfare and Tutoring teams; from our Quality and Digital Education teams to those delivering clinical education on the ground at our partner NHS sites; and across many more roles throughout the Faculty, the support and dedication to our ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ is incredible.  

“My thanks go to everyone, including our ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½, for their ongoing input and contributions to the success of our multifaceted and sector-leading medical education and training.” 

Continuing improvement 

This year’s results showed improvement in every survey theme against the 2025 figures, including a notable 8.4 percentage point increase to 93.5% in the challenging Assessment and feedback domain.  

Consistent improvements are also being maintained in the Student voice theme, rising each year since 2022 from 74% to 2026’s 94.5%, and in Teaching on my course, improving at least two percentage points every year since 2023.  

Since the questions were introduced for the 2023 survey, the Communication of mental wellbeing services and Freedom of expression show increases of 7.7 and 9.2 percentage points respectively. 

The results show an increased average overall performance across all domains, from 91% in 2025 to 95% in 2026. 

Ongoing collaboration 

James Wild, Head of the School of Medicine Secretariat, the team leading quality, governance and student experience areas for undergraduate programmes in the Faculty of Medicine, said, “We are so pleased again this year to see these improvements in a range of NSS domains. 

“Our graduating classes continue to be an essential source of comprehensive student feedback. Having seen a full cycle of the programme, their thoughts about the overarching quality of the programme and experience we offer are incredibly valuable. We really appreciate the willingness with which a significant proportion of this year’s cohort have shared their views with us. 

“We are looking forward to the next stage of our NSS work, analysing the comments and suggestions gathered from ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ via the survey. These guide our areas of focus and planning as well as collaboration with our student community in the year ahead.” 

Sarah Azam, Imperial College School of Medicine Students’ Union (ICSMSU) President, said, “We are very pleased in particular to see continued improvements in ICSM’s Student voice, Freedom of expression and Communication of mental wellbeing services results this year. 

“These figures show the work being done jointly by ICSM and ICSMSU on investing in ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ as individuals and the representation of their views is making a positive impact, and we are committed to maintaining this progress.”