Students praise school’s teaching and support in latest NSS results
PRHS students responded positively to questions on teaching and academic support
The School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (PRHS) has received strong feedback from final-year undergraduates in the 2025 National Student Survey (NSS), with high levels of satisfaction across teaching quality, academic support, and learning resources.
The National Student Survey is a UK-wide survey of undergraduate finalists, inviting students to reflect on their experience of studying at university.
PRHS students responded positively to questions on teaching, with 85% overall satisfaction in this theme. An impressive 96% agreed that teaching staff are good at explaining things, while 91% said their course is intellectually stimulating.
Academic support also received high praise (88%), with 91% of students saying it was easy to contact teaching staff when needed. Learning resources were another strength (90%), and students gave a strong score of 82% when asked if they received feedback on time.
Other high-performing areas include assessment and feedback (75%), organisation and management (80%), and student voice (80%).
Several programmes within the School received particularly strong scores:
- BA Liberal Arts: Scored highest in academic support (93%) and both teaching and learning resources (92%).
- BA Philosophy: Received particularly strong scores for student voice (88%) and organisation and management (86%).
- BA Philosophy, Ethics and Religion: Achieved an excellent 97% for learning resources and 86% for student voice.
- BA Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Thought: Scored highest in academic support (94%) and organisation and management (83%).
Professor Julian Dodd, Head of School, said:
“We’re delighted with these results, which reflect the energy and care our staff put into delivering a stimulating, challenging and supportive student experience. It is clear that our students value the School’s quality of teaching, the richness of academic engagement, and the access they have to meaningful support throughout their time with us.”
These results reflect a wider pattern of success across the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, which saw improvements across every theme in the 2025 National Student Survey.
Dr Matthew Lickiss and Professor Sascha Stollhans, Pro-Deans for Student Education at the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures, said:
“We’re absolutely delighted to see such positive progress across all areas of the NSS. While there’s always more to do, this year’s results give us real confidence that we’re heading in the right direction. The results are also a testament to the value of close partnership working with Leeds University Union, which remains a vital part of the wider student experience at Leeds. Together with our students, schools, and the brilliant teams across the Faculty, we’re excited to keep improving the learning experience in meaningful and lasting ways.
