UK University Rankings

Global university rankings

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2027 features over 2000 institutions worldwide and assesses research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching (29.5%), research environment (29%), research quality (30%), international outlook (7.5%), and industry (4%) (Baty and Banette, 2026).

The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2027 features over 1500 higher education institutions around the world, using 9 core performance indicators grouped into 5 broad lenses. These five lenses are Research and Discovery (50%), Employability and Outcomes (20%), Learning Experience (10%), Global Engagement (15%), and Sustainability (5%) (QS Top Universities, 2026a).

The 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranks more than 2500 universities annually and publishes the top 1000. The ARWU uses six objective indicators to rank world universities: the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals, the number of highly cited researchers selected by Clarivate, the number of papers published in Nature and Science, the number of papers indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index in the Web of Science, and the per capita performance of an institution (ShanghaiRanking, 2026).

The U.S. News & World Report: 2026-2027 Best Global Universities Rankings ranks 2250 institutions across 105 countries. Its results are based on 13 indicators such as global research reputation (12.5%), regional research reputation (12.5%), number of publications that are among the 10% most cited (12.5%), percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited (10%), publications (10%), normalised citation impact (10%) and more (Wellington and Brooks, 2026).

Top UK universities in the four major global rankings

THE World University Rankings 2027: Best UK universities overall

1 Oxford

5 Cambridge

8 Imperial College London

17 UCL

29 Edinburgh

40 King’s College London

47 LSE

60 Manchester

82 Bristol

83 Glasgow

97 Birmingham

104 Sheffield

=113 Leeds

=113 Warwick

129 Queen Mary University of London

136 Southampton

=154 Newcastle

=154 Liverpool

=157 Durham

=157 Exeter

=157 Nottingham

168 York

183 Lancaster

185 St Andrews

196 Queen’s University Belfast

209 Leicester

219 Reading

233 Aberdeen

237 Surrey

257 Cardiff

273 Sussex

284 Bath

Source: Times Higher Education (2026).

UK national university rankings

The Complete University Guide (CUG) University League Tables 2027 include 130 UK universities and evaluate institutional performance using 10 weighted indicators, including student satisfaction (1.5), entry standards (1), research quality (1), student-staff ratio (1), continuation (1), graduate prospects-outcomes (0.67), research intensity (0.5), academic services spending (0.5), facilities spending (0.5), and graduate prospects-on track (0.33). The ranking draws on data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the National Student Survey (NSS), and the Research Excellence Framework (REF) (Rogers, 2026).

The Guardian University Guide 2027 includes 123 UK universities across 66 subjects. It evaluates institutional performance using 8 indicators covering the full student lifecycle: entry standards (15%, 24% for medical subjects), teaching quality (10%, 16% for medical subjects), assessment and feedback (10% for both medical and non-medical subjects), student-staff ratio (15%, 24% for medical subjects), expenditure per student (5%, 10% for medical subjects), continuation (15%, 10% for medical subjects), value-added (10%, not used for medical subjects), and carrer prospects (15%, not used for medical subjects). Rankings are calculated at the subject level and then aggregated to produce institution-level rankings using data from the NSS, HESA, Graduate Outcomes, and UCAS tariff records (Hiely-Rayner, 2026).

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2027 evaluates 130 UK universities across 68 subject tables and aggregates scores into an overall institutional ranking. The methodology strongly emphasises student satisfaction with teaching quality and experience, research quality, graduate prospects, entry standards, degree outcomes, continuation rates, student-staff ratio, and services & facilities spend. It draws on data from the NSS, HESA, and the REF 2021 (University of Leicester, 2026).

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 assesses research from 157 UK higher education institutions across 34 subject-based units of assessment. Submissions were evaluated on three components: research outputs (60%), impact (25%), and environment (15%), with quality profiles ranging from 1* (nationally recognised) to 4* (world-leading), plus an Unclassified category. The results can be summarised using grade point average (GPA) and research power, while subject-level profiles indicate individual departments’ strength. REF 2021 outcomes informed the allocation of quality-related public research funding from 2022–23, with funding weighted toward the volume of 4* and 3* research submitted (REF2021, no date; Times Higher Education, 2024).

Top UK universities in the four major UK rankings