The University of Bradford has fallen 12 places in the Complete University Guide, to 73rd out of 115 universities.

The university said the fall can be attributed to the impact of the economic downturn on graduate employment rates. It ranks seventh out of the nine universities in Yorkshire.

Vice-chancellor Professor Mark Cleary said: “Naturally we are disappointed to have dropped a few places.

“As the report states, many of the changes in position can be attributed to the impact of the economic downturn on graduate employment rates.

“Bradford was no different and our local job market – and many of the industries our graduates traditionally go into – were significantly impacted.

“The university has consistently had one of the highest proportions of students gaining graduate employment, and we were recently in the top ten in the UK for graduate level jobs.”

“More recent data indicates we have regained ground in terms of graduate employability rates.

“The university also prides itself on our high quality research-informed teaching, our high staff to student ratio and our strong levels of student satisfaction, all of which means we can offer students an excellent start to their future.”