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, The Guardian and jointly by The Times and The Sunday Times . Rankings have also been produced in the past by The Daily Telegraph and Financial Times . UK Universities also rank highly in global university rankings with 8 UK Universities ranking in the top 100 of all three major global rankings as of 2023/24: QS World University Rankings , Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Academic Ranking of World Universities .

Contents

The primary aim of the rankings is to inform potential undergraduate applicants about UK universities based on a range of criteria, including entry standards, student satisfaction, staff/student ratio, academic services and facilities expenditure per student, research quality, proportion of Firsts and 2:1s, completion rates and student destinations. [1] [2] All of the league tables also rank universities on their strength in individual subjects.

Each year since 2008, Times Higher Education has compiled a "Table of Tables" to combine the results of the 3 mainstream league tables. In the 2022 table, the top 5 universities were the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, the University of St Andrews, the London School of Economics and Imperial College. [3]

Rankings

The following rankings of British universities are produced annually:

The 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. [4]

The ranking uses ten criteria, with a statistical technique called the Z-score applied to the results of each. [5] 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: [6]

CriterionWeightingDescriptionData source(s)Note
Academic services spend0.5Expenditure per student on all academic services Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
Degree completion1.0A measure of the completion rate of studentsHESA
Entry standards1.0Average UCAS tariff score of new students under the age of 21HESA
Facilities spend0.5Expenditure per student on staff and student facilitiesHESA
Good honours1.0The proportion of firsts and upper secondsHESANow phased out
Graduate prospects1.0A measure of the employability of graduatesHESA
Research quality1.0A measure of the average quality of research2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF)
Research intensity0.5A measure of the fraction of staff who are research-activeHESA & REF
Student satisfaction1.5A measure of the view of students on the teaching quality National Student Survey
Student–staff ratio1.0A measure of the average staffing levelHESA

The most recent league table (2025) ranked the top 40 (out of 130) British universities as follows: [7]

Rank (1–10)UniversityRank (11–20)UniversityRank (21–30)UniversityRank (31–40)University
1 University of Cambridge 11 Lancaster University 21 University of East Anglia 31 University of Essex
2 University of Oxford 12= University of Birmingham 22 University of Manchester 32 Harper Adams University
3 London School of Economics 12= University of Surrey 23 University of Leeds 33 University of Strathclyde
4 University of St Andrews 14 University of Exeter 24 King's College London 34 Northumbria University
5 Imperial College London 15 University of Edinburgh 25 Queen's University Belfast 35 University of Reading
6 Durham University 16 University of Bristol 26 Newcastle University 36 University of Leicester
7 Loughborough University 17 University of York 27 Cardiff University 37 Royal Holloway, University of London
8 University of Bath 18= University of Sheffield 28 University of the Arts London 38 City, University of London
9 University College London 18= University of Liverpool 29 University of Glasgow 39 Swansea University
10 University of Warwick 20 University of Southampton 30 University of Nottingham 40 University of Aberdeen

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. [8] 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". [1] 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: [9]

The most recent league table (2025) ranked the top 40 (out of 122) British universities as follows: [10]

Rank (1–10)UniversityRank (11–20)UniversityRank (21–30)UniversityRank (30–40)University
1 University of Oxford 11 Lancaster University 21 Aston University 31 University of Manchester
2 University of St Andrews 12 University of Aberdeen 22 University of Southampton 32 University of Bolton
3 University of Cambridge 13 University of the Arts London 23 University of Essex 33 University of Sunderland
4 London School of Economics 14 University of Glasgow 24 Ulster University 34 University of Leicester
5 Imperial College London 15 University of Edinburgh 25 University of York 35 University of Reading
6 Durham University 16 University of Bristol 26 University of Chichester 36 University of Birmingham
7 University of Bath 17 University of Strathclyde 27 University of Liverpool 37 University of Leeds
8 University of Warwick 18 University of Exeter 28 King's College London 38= Northumbria University
9 University College London 19 University of Surrey 29 Swansea University 38= City, University of London
10 Loughborough University 20 University of Sheffield 30 University of West London 38= Oxford Brookes University

The Times/The Sunday Times

The Times/The Sunday Times university league table, known as the Good University Guide, [11] 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: [12]

Other criteria considered are:

Summary of national rankings

The following universities rank in the top 10 in at least two of the most recent national rankings (the three discussed above: the Complete, Guardian and Times/Sunday Times). The table is ordered according to the average rank in the tables for that year. [a] The last column gives the number of league tables (not including the Table of Tables) which include that university in their top ten.

Rankings published in 2024 for the prospective year 2025
UniversityOrder by average rank Complete [7] Guardian [10] Times/Sunday Times [13] #a
University of Oxford 1213
3b
University of Cambridge 2=134
3c
University of St Andrews 2=422
3c
London School of Economics 2=341
3c
Imperial College London 5556
3
Durham University 6665
3
University of Bath 7878
3
University College London 8997
3
University of Warwick 9=1089
3
Loughborough University 9=71010
3

Notes:
a Number of times the university is ranked within the top 10 of one of the three national rankings.
b The university is ranked within the top 3 of all three national rankings.
c The university is ranked within the top 5 of all three national rankings.

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". [14] 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. [15] [16] [17] 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. [18] 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. [1] [19]

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.' [20]

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". [21]

British Universities in global rankings

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

University ARWU (2024) [22] QS (2025) [23] THE (2025) [24] #a
University of Cambridge 455
3b
University of Oxford 631
3b
University College London 16922=
3b
Imperial College London 2529
3b
University of Edinburgh 402729
3c
University of Manchester 5234=53=
3
King's College London 5340=36=
3
University of Bristol 975478
3
University of Glasgow 101–1507887=
2
London School of Economics 151–20050=50=
2
University of Birmingham 151–20080=93=
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.

Criticism

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". [25] 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. [25] Further worries have been expressed regarding marketing strategies and propaganda used to chase tables, thus undermining universities' values. [26]

The Guardian suggests that league tables may affect the nature of undergraduate admissions in an attempt to improve a university's league table position. [27]

Roger Brown, the former Vice-Chancellor of Southampton Solent University, highlights perceived limitations in comparative data between Universities. [28]

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. [29]

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). [30] [31]

The INORMS Research Evaluation Group have developed an initiative called More Than Our Rank [32] 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. [33] 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). [34] 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". [35]

Notes

  1. ↑ This follows the methodology established by the Times Higher Education Table of Tables, last produced in 2021. [3]

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References

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  2. ↑ "The University League Table methodology 2011". The Complete University Guide. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  3. 1 2 Ellie Bothwell (29 November 2021). "THE 'Table of Tables' 2022: London universities rise". Times Higher Education.
  4. ↑ "League Table Methodology". Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. ↑ "League Table Key – Complete University Guide". Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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  7. 1 2 "Complete University Guide 2025". The Complete University Guide. 14 May 2024.
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  9. ↑ Matt Hiely-Rayner (7 June 2019). "Methodology behind The Guardian University Guide 2020". The Guardian.
  10. 1 2 "Guardian University Guide 2025". The Guardian. 7 September 2024.
  11. ↑ "The Times & The Sunday Times" . Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  12. ↑ "How the guide was compiled". The Times. London. 11 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "Good University Guide 2025". The Times. 20 September 2024. Alt URL
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "About ARWU". Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
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  20. ↑ Science, London School of Economics and Political. "About LSE". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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  23. ↑ "QS World University Rankings 2025". Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. 4 June 2024.
  24. ↑ "THE World University Rankings 2025". Times Higher Education. 9 October 2024.
  25. 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.
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  28. ↑ Brown, Roger (10 April 2007). "Tables can turn". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 July 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  29. ↑ 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.
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  31. ↑ "RAE 2008: education results". The Guardian. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  32. ↑ "More Than Our Rank | INORMS". 12 July 2022.
  33. ↑ "Times Higher Education RAE 2008 tables" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  34. ↑ "Student survey results 2009". BBC News. 6 August 2009. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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