The award recognises the university's sustained rise up the rankings to 38th overall, the highest-ranked modern university in this year’s table, with more than three quarters of Staffordshire graduates going on to high-skilled jobs and graduate salaries.
It follows heavy recent investment in immersive and simulation-based learning and comes weeks ahead of the opening of the university's £100m Student Village, which will provide accommodation for 1,000 students alongside a new student hub.
Announcing the award, Alastair McCall, Editor of the Daily Mail University Guide, said Staffordshire had risen in the league table for three successive years, this year ranking the highest of all modern universities. He said the achievement extended far beyond data, being backed up by substance that impacts the daily lives and wider experience of all its students.
He said: “The university makes a compelling case to students inevitably concerned about the costs of higher education and their job prospects afterwards. Three quarters of Staffordshire’s graduates land high-skilled jobs and graduate salaries place the university in the top 30 nationally.
"The rollout of a new curriculum framework from next year will further embed employability into courses, many of which already benefit from the institution’s heavy recent investment in immersive and simulation-based learning.
“The university is also paying attention to the wider student experience with next month’s opening of a £100m student village and student hub providing accommodation for 1,000 and a gateway for student support.
“This is a good moment for prospective students to consider the dynamic higher education offered by Staffordshire, which was the standout candidate to be the Daily Mail Modern University of the Year 2027.”
Professor Philip Plowden, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Staffordshire, said: "We're delighted to receive this award, and hugely proud of what our students and staff have achieved together.
“Our subjects cover everything from Fine Art to Policing, Computer Games to Accountancy, and our students want the same outcomes: a genuine sense of belonging while they're here, a good job and a stable professional future when they graduate.
“We’re incredibly proud of being a modern university, where real skills and learning are embedded into our curriculum and industry-ready facilities. That's why we’ve invested in extensive simulation-based learning through our Centre for Health Innovation and on our Stoke-on-Trent campus, giving students professional experience before they graduate, and in our new Student Village created around community and wellbeing.
“It’s working: almost nine in ten of our graduates are in work or further study within 15 months of finishing their course. Being named Daily Mail Modern University of the Year 2027 is superb validation that our students are benefitting from this, and that the results back it up.”
The news comes at the end of a strong year for the university, was University of the Year at the Academic Employability Awards 2026, recognising its sector-leading approach to preparing students for successful careers.
Natasha Cork, 25, from Stoke-on-Trent and President of University of Staffordshire Students’ Union, said: “This is a really proud moment for our university.
“It comes at the end of a brilliant year for our students, who helped us climb to 7th in the UK for overall student positivity in the National Student Survey, outperforming the sector average on every single measure. Recognition like this means so much because it shows what students already know, that this is a university where people genuinely thrive.”