Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom

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Three national rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by the Complete University Guide and The Guardian , as well as a collaborative list by The Times and The Sunday Times . Rankings have also been produced in the past by The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times .

Contents

British universities rank highly in global university rankings with eight featuring in the top 100 of all three major global rankings as of 2024: QS , Times Higher Education , and ARWU . The national rankings differ from global rankings with a focus on the quality of undergraduate education, as opposed to research prominence and faculty citations.

The primary aim of domestic rankings is to inform prospective undergraduate applicants about universities based on a range of criteria, including: entry standards, student satisfaction, staff–student ratio, expenditure per student, research quality, degree classifications, completion rates, and graduate outcomes. All of the league tables also rank universities in individual subjects.

As of 2025, the top-five ranked universities in the United Kingdom are Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, St Andrews, and Durham, with Imperial, Bath and Warwick also appearing in the top ten of all three rankings.

Summary of national rankings

Bodleian Library and nearby buildings.jpg
20130808 Kings College Chapel 01.jpg
Sir Arthur Lewis Building September 2023.jpg
+ 908 wurde St Andrews bereits Bischohfssitz. 10.jpg
Durham Castle 20180505-4.jpg
Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, St Andrews, and Durham ranked as the top-five British universities in 2025.

From 2008 to 2022, the three main national rankings— Complete , Guardian , and Times —were averaged each year to form an overall league table by the Times Higher Education Table of Tables; in its final edition, the top-five universities were Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, St Andrews, and Imperial. [1]

Rankings published in 2025 for the prospective year 2026 (1–25)

PosUniversityAverage Complete Guardian Times [a]
1 Arms of University of Oxford.svg Oxford 2.3214 Decrease2.svg
2= Coat of Arms of the University of Cambridge.svg Cambridge 2.7134
2= University of St Andrews arms.svg St Andrews 2.7422
2= London School of Economics Coat of Arms.svg LSE 2.7341
5 University of Durham arms.svg Durham 4.35 Increase2.svg5 Increase2.svg3 Increase2.svg
6 Shield of Imperial College London.svg Imperial 66 Decrease2.svg6 Decrease2.svg6 Increase2.svg
7 Arms of the University of Bath.svg Bath 7.788 Decrease2.svg7 Increase2.svg
8 Shield of the University of Warwick.svg Warwick 89 Increase2.svg7 Increase2.svg8 Increase2.svg
9 Shield of Loughborough University.svg Loughborough 107 Decrease2.svg11 Decrease2.svg–
10 UCL 10.713 Decrease2.svg10 Decrease2.svg9 Decrease2.svg
11 University of Lancaster shield.svg Lancaster 131014 Decrease2.svg–
12 Shield of the University of Bristol.svg Bristol 13.315 Increase2.svg15 Increase2.svg10 Increase2.svg
13 Arms of the University of Exeter.svg Exeter 1411 Increase2.svg17 Increase2.svg–
14 Shield of the University of Sheffield.svg Sheffield 1516 Increase2.svg16 Increase2.svg–
15 Shield of the University of Southampton.svg Southampton 1817 Increase2.svg20 Increase2.svg–
16 University of Edinburgh arms.svg Edinburgh 18.718 Decrease2.svg13 Increase2.svg–
17 Shield of the University of Birmingham.svg Birmingham 19.314 Decrease2.svg28 Decrease2.svg–
18 King's College, London arms.svg King's 19.719 Increase2.svg21 Increase2.svg–
19 University of Liverpool Arms (Shield Only).svg Liverpool 20.723 Decrease2.svg21 Increase2.svg–
20 University of Strathclyde arms.svg Strathclyde 22.738 Decrease2.svg19 Decrease2.svg–
21 University of York arms.svg York 23.312 Increase2.svg38 Decrease2.svg–
22 Shield of the University of Aberdeen.svg Aberdeen 23.730 Increase2.svg18 Decrease2.svg–
23 Surrey 24.319 Decrease2.svg23 Decrease2.svg–
24 Shield of the University of Leeds.svg Leeds 2521 Increase2.svg28 Increase2.svg–
25 University of Glasgow arms.svg Glasgow 25.731 Decrease2.svg24 Decrease2.svg–
Sources: [2] [3] [4]

Rankings published in 2024 for the prospective year 2025 (26–130)

League tables and methodologies

There are three main domestic league tables in the United Kingdom: the Complete University Guide, The Guardian , and The Times / The Sunday Times .

Complete University Guide

Top 40 universities based on the CUG's aggregated results over the past 10 years CUG 10 Years.png
Top 40 universities based on the CUG's aggregated results over the past 10 years

The Complete University Guide is compiled by Mayfield University Consultants and was published for the first time in 2007. [8]

The ranking uses ten criteria, with a statistical technique called the Z-score applied to the results of each. [9] The effect of this is to ensure that the weighting given to each criterion is not distorted by the choice of scale used to score that criterion. The ten Z-scores are then weighted (as given below) and summed to give a total score for each university. These total scores are then transformed to a scale where the top score is set at 1,000, with the remainder being a proportion of the top score. The ten criteria are: [10]

The Guardian

Top 40 universities based on The Guardian's aggregated results over the past 10 years Guardian 10 Years.png
Top 40 universities based on The Guardian's aggregated results over the past 10 years

The Guardian's ranking uses nine different criteria, each weighted between 5 and 15 per cent. Unlike other annual rankings of British universities, the criteria do not include a measure of research output. [11] A "value-added" factor is included which compares students' degree results with their entry qualifications, described by the newspaper as being "[b]ased upon a sophisticated indexing methodology that tracks students from enrolment to graduation, qualifications upon entry are compared with the award that a student receives at the end of their studies". [12] Tables are drawn up for subjects, with the overall ranking being based on an average across the subjects rather than on institutional level statistics. The nine criteria are: [13]

The Times/The Sunday Times

The Times/The Sunday Times university league table, known as the Good University Guide, [14] is published in both electronic and print format. Since 1999, the guide also recognises one university annually as University of the Year. It ranks institutions using the following eight criteria: [15]

Other criteria considered are:

Disparity with global rankings

It has been commented by The Sunday Times that a number of universities which regularly feature in the top ten of British university league tables, such as St Andrews, Durham and LSE (in the case of LSE 3rd to 4th nationally whilst only 101–150th in the ARWU Rankings / 56th in the QS Rankings / 37th in the THE Rankings), "inhabit surprisingly low ranks in the worldwide tables", whilst other universities such as Manchester, Edinburgh and KCL "that failed to do well in the domestic rankings have shone much brighter on the international stage". [16] The considerable disparity in rankings has been attributed to the different methodology and purpose of global university rankings such as the Academic Ranking of World Universities , QS World University Rankings , and Times Higher Education World University Rankings . International university rankings primarily use criteria such as academic and employer surveys, the number of citations per faculty, the proportion of international staff and students and faculty and alumni prize winners. [17] [18] [19] When size is taken into account, LSE ranks second in the world out of all small to medium-sized specialist institutions (after ENS Paris) and St Andrews ranks second in the world out of all small to medium-sized fully comprehensive universities (after Brown University) using metrics from the QS Intelligence Unit in 2015. [20] The national rankings, on the other hand, give most weighting to the undergraduate student experience, taking account of teaching quality and learning resources, together with the quality of a university's intake, employment prospects, research quality and drop-out rates. [12] [21]

The disparity between national and international league tables has caused some institutions to offer public explanations for the difference. LSE for example states on its website that 'we remain concerned that all of the global rankings – by some way the most important for us, given our highly international orientation – suffer from inbuilt biases in favour of large multi-faculty universities with full STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) offerings, and against small, specialist, mainly non-STEM universities such as LSE.' [22]

Research by the UK's Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) in 2016 found that global rankings fundamentally measure research performance, with research-related measures accounting for over 85 percent of the weighting for both the Times Higher Education and QS rankings and 100 percent of the weighting for the ARWU ranking. HEPI also found that ARWU made no correction for the size of an institution. There were also concerns about the data quality and the reliability of reputation surveys. National rankings, while said to be "of varying validity", have more robust data and are "more highly regarded than international rankings". [23]

British universities in global rankings

The following universities rank in the top 100 in at least two global rankings:

University ARWU
2025
(Global) [24] 		QS
2026
(Global) [25] 		THE
2026
(Global) [26] 		#a
University of Cambridge 463=
3b
University of Oxford 641
3b
University College London 14922
3b
Imperial College London 2628
3b
University of Edinburgh 373429
3c
University of Manchester 463556
3
King's College London 613138
3
University of Bristol 985180=
3
University of Glasgow 101–1507984
2
London School of Economics 151–2005652
2
University of Birmingham 151–2007698=
2

Notes:
a Number of times the university is ranked within the top 100 of one of the three global rankings.
b The university is ranked within the top 25 of all three global rankings.
c The university is ranked within the top 50 of all three global rankings.

Reception

Accuracy and neutrality

There has been criticism of attempts to combine different rankings on for example research quality, quality of teaching, drop out rates and student satisfaction. Sir Alan Wilson, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, argues that the final average has little significance and is like trying to "combine apples and oranges". [27] He also criticised the varying weights given to different factors, the need for universities to "chase" the rankings, the often fluctuating nature of a university's ranking, and the catch-22 that the government's desire to increase access can have negative effects on league table rankings. [27] Further worries have been expressed regarding marketing strategies and propaganda used to chase tables, thus undermining universities' values. [28]

The Guardian suggests that league tables may affect the nature of undergraduate admissions in an attempt to improve a university's league table position. [29]

Roger Brown, the former Vice-Chancellor of Southampton Solent University, highlights perceived limitations in comparative data between Universities. [30]

Writing in The Guardian, Professor Geoffrey Alderman makes the point that including the percentage of 'good honours' can encourage grade inflation so that league table position can be maintained. [31]

The rankings are also criticised for not giving a full picture of higher education in the United Kingdom. There are institutions which focus on research and enjoy a prestigious reputation but are not shown in the table for various reasons. For example, the Institute of Education, University of London (now part of UCL), was not usually listed in the undergraduate rankings despite the fact that it offered an undergraduate BEd and was generally recognised as one of the best institutions offering teacher training and Education studies (for example, being given joint first place, alongside Oxford University, in the 2008 Research Assessment 'Education' subject rankings, according to both Times Higher Education and The Guardian). [32] [33]

The INORMS Research Evaluation Group have developed an initiative called More Than Our Rank [34] which allows universities to describe in a narrative format their activities, achievements and ambitions not captured by any university ranking.

Full-time bias

League tables, which usually focus on the full-time undergraduate student experience, commonly omit reference to Birkbeck, University of London, and the Open University, both of which specialise in teaching part-time students. These universities, however, often make a strong showing in specialist league tables looking at research, teaching quality, and student satisfaction. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, according to the Times Higher Education , Birkbeck was placed equal 33rd, and the Open University 43rd, out of 132 institutions. [35] The 2009 student satisfaction survey placed the Open University 3rd and Birkbeck 13th out of 153 universities and higher education institutions (1st and 6th, respectively, among multi-faculty universities). [36] In 2018, Birkbeck announced that it would withdraw from UK university rankings because their methodologies unfairly penalise it, since "despite having highly-rated teaching and research, other factors caused by its unique teaching model and unrelated to its performance push it significantly down the ratings". [37]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Entries 11–130 have been omitted due to copyright.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Member institution of the University of London.
  3. ↑ City, University of London was ranked tied-39th; St George's, University of London was ranked 69th.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "THE 'Table of Tables' 2022: London universities rise" . Times Higher Education. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "University League Tables 2026". www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  3. ↑ "The Guardian University Guide 2026 – the rankings". The Guardian. 13 September 2025. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "UK university rankings 2026: League table". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "University League Tables 2025". Complete University Guide. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "The best UK universities 2025 – rankings". The Guardian. 7 September 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "UK University Rankings 2025: League table". The Times. 20 September 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  8. ↑ "League Table Methodology". Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  9. ↑ "League Table Key – Complete University Guide". Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "University League Tables Methodology" . Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  11. ↑ MacLeod, Donald (1 May 2007). "What the tables mean". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  12. 1 2 "The Guardian University League Table 2011 – Methodology" (PDF). The Guardian. London. 8 June 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  13. ↑ Matt Hiely-Rayner (7 June 2019). "Methodology behind The Guardian University Guide 2020". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ "The Times & The Sunday Times" . Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  15. ↑ "How the guide was compiled". The Times. London. 11 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  16. ↑ Thomas, Zoe (11 October 2009). "UK universities top the league table in Europe". The Sunday Times. London. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  17. ↑ "About ARWU". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  18. ↑ "QS World University Rankings 2010". QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. Archived from the original on 16 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  19. ↑ "Global rankings system methodology reflects universities' core missions". Times Higher Education. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  20. ↑ "QS World University Rankings: World Map Results (Filter by Institution Profile)". Quacquarelli Symonds Intelligence Unit. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "The University League Table methodology 2011". The Complete University Guide. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  22. ↑ Science, London School of Economics and Political. "About LSE". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  23. ↑ Bahram Bekhradnia (15 December 2016). "International university rankings: For good or ill?" (PDF). Higher Education Policy Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  24. ↑ "Academic Ranking of World Universities 2025". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
  25. ↑ "QS World University Rankings 2026". Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  26. ↑ "THE World University Rankings 2026". Times Higher Education. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  27. 1 2 "Reporter 485 - 28 October 2002 - University league tables". reporter.leeds.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  28. ↑ McNamara, Adam. "BULL: A new form of propaganda in the digital age". Archived from the original on 17 December 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  29. ↑ MacLeod, Donald (19 April 2007). "Funding council to investigate university league tables". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  30. ↑ Brown, Roger (10 April 2007). "Tables can turn". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  31. ↑ Alderman, Geoffrey (24 April 2007). "League tables rule – and standards inevitably fall". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  32. ↑ "Times Higher Education RAE tables" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  33. ↑ "RAE 2008: education results". The Guardian. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  34. ↑ "More Than Our Rank | INORMS". 12 July 2022.
  35. ↑ "Times Higher Education RAE 2008 tables" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  36. ↑ "Student survey results 2009". BBC News. 6 August 2009. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  37. ↑ "Birkbeck to leave UK university league tables". Bbk.ac.uk. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
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