The University of Sheffield is the best place to study journalism with the most satisfied students, according to new research.

The 2009 Times Good University Guide places the South Yorkshire institute overall top of a list of 86 centres offering journalism, media and communications courses.

The list also gives the university a student satisfaction ranking of 90pc based on the latest National Students Survey – again the highest in The Times' table.

University of Huddersfield students gave an 86pc satisfaction ranking while York St John University received 83pc – yet they finished in 31st and 60th place in the table for the overall quality of their media and journalism courses.

The best centres for the prospects of media graduates are Queen Mary, University of London, with 91pc and Keele University, Staffordshire, with 80pc of students going on to find employment within the industry.

Professor Peter Cole, director of journalism at the University of Sheffield, said: "It means a great deal to us and the students to get this external recognition from the most-respected of league tables.

"This includes media studies courses as well as vocational courses like our own and we still came top of the pile.

"It's a tribute to our staff and students alike. We've long thought of ourselves as the best but now it comes from outside, it's official."

The National Student Survey has been running annually since 2005 and questions mostly final year undergraduates. It aims to aid prospective students when they make choices of where and what to apply for in further education.

It is conducted across all publicly-funded higher education institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and some in Scotland as well as some privately-funded centres.

The survey asks 22 questions about students' experiences in their final undergraduate year in areas such as assessment, teaching and feedback.

Cardiff University was one of those centres which featured among the highest ranked in the UK for journalism courses.

Its BA Journalism degree achieved a 91pc satisfaction score, up 2pc on last year, while its Media Studies course received a 90pc satisfaction rating.

Head of School Professor Justin Lewis said: "We are delighted with these results. It's particularly pleasing to remain highly placed. They reflect the high quality of teaching on the degree."