Jump to content

Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Three nationalrankings of universities in the United Kingdomare published annually, byThe Complete University Guide,The Guardianand jointly byThe TimesandThe Sunday Times.Rankings have also been produced in the past byThe Daily TelegraphandFinancial Times.UK Universities also rank highly inglobal university rankingswith 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 RankingsandAcademic Ranking of World Universities.

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 Educationhas compiled a "Table of Tables" to combine the results of the 3 mainstream league tables. In the 2022 table, the top 5 universities were theUniversity of Oxford,theUniversity of Cambridge,theUniversity of St Andrews,theLondon School of EconomicsandImperial College.[3]

Rankings

[edit]

The following rankings of British universities are produced annually:

The Complete University Guide

[edit]
Top 40 universities based on the CUG's aggregated results over the past 10 years

The Complete University Guideis 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 theZ-scoreapplied to the results of each.[5]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]

  • "Academic services spend" (weight 0.5) – the expenditure per student on all academic services (data source:Higher Education Statistics Agency(HESA));
  • "Degree completion" (weight 1.0) – a measure of the completion rate of students (data source: HESA);
  • "Entry standards" (weight 1.0) – the averageUCAStariff score of new students under the age of 21 (data source: HESA);
  • "Facilities spend" (weight 0.5) – the expenditure per student on staff and student facilities (data source: HESA);
  • "Good honours" (weight 1.0) – the proportion of firsts and upper seconds (data source: HESA);(now phased out)
  • "Graduate prospects" (weight 1.0) – a measure of the employability of graduates (data source: HESA);
  • "Research quality" (weight 1.0) – a measure of the average quality of research (data source: 2021Research Excellence Framework(REF));
  • Research intensity "(weight 0.5) – a measure of the fraction of staff who are research-active (data sources: HESA & REF);
  • "Student satisfaction" (weight 1.5) – a measure of the view of students on the teaching quality (data source: theNational Student Survey); and
  • "Student–staff ratio" (weight 1.0) – a measure of the average staffing level (data source: HESA).

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

Rank (1–10) University Rank (11–20) University Rank (21–30) University Rank (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

[edit]
Top 40 universities based on The Guardian's aggregated results over the past 10 years

The Guardian'sranking 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 asophisticatedindexing 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]

  • "Entry scores" (15%);
  • "Assessment and feedback" (10%) – as rated by graduates of the course (data source: National Student Survey);
  • "Career prospects" (15%) (data source:Destination of Leavers from Higher Education);
  • "Overall satisfaction" (5%) – final-year students opinions about the overall quality of their course (data source: National Student Survey);
  • "Expenditure per student" (5%);
  • "Student-staff ratio" (15%);
  • "Teaching" (10%) – as rated by graduates of the course (data source: the National Student Survey);
  • "Value added" (15%);
  • "Continuation" (10%).

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

Rank (1–10) University Rank (11–20) University Rank (21–30) University Rank (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

[edit]

The Times/The Sunday Timesuniversity 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 asUniversity of the Year.It ranks institutions using the following eight criteria:[12]

  • "Student satisfaction (+50 to −55 points)" – the results of national student surveys are scored taking a theoretical minimum and maximum score of 50% and 90% respectively (data source: the National Student Survey);
  • "Teaching excellence (250)" – defined as: subjects scoring at least 22/24 points, those ranked excellent, or those undertaken more recently in which there is confidence in academic standards and in which teaching and learning, student progression and learning resources have all been ranked commendable (data source:Quality Assurance Agency;Scottish Higher Education Funding Council;Higher Education Funding Council for Wales);
  • "Heads'/peer assessments (100)" – school heads are asked to identify the highest-quality undergraduate provision (data source:The Sunday Timesheads' survey and peer assessment);
  • "Research quality (200)" – based upon the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (data source:Higher Education Funding Council for England(Hefce));
  • "A-level/Higher points (250)" – nationally audited data for the subsequent academic year are used for league table calculations (data source: HESA);
  • "Unemployment (100)" – the number of students assume to be unemployed six months after graduation is calculated as a percentage of the total number of known desbefore completing their courses is compared with the number expected to do so (the benchmark figure shown in brackets) (data source: Hefce, Performance Indicators in Higher Education).

Other criteria considered are:

  • "Completion" – the percentage of students who manage to complete their degree;
  • "Entry standards" – the average UCAS tariff score (data source: HESA);
  • "Facilities spending" – the average expenditure per student on sports, careers services, health and counselling;
  • "Good honours" – the percentage of students graduating with a first or 2.1;
  • "Graduate prospects" – the percentage of UK graduates in graduate employment or further study (data source: HESA's survey ofDestination of Leavers from Higher Education(DLHE));
  • "Library and computing spending" – the average expenditure on library and computer services per student (data source: HESA);
  • "Research" (data source: 2021 Research Excellence Framework);
  • "Student satisfaction" (data source: National Student Survey); and
  • "Student-staff ratio" (data source: HESA).

Summary of national rankings

[edit]

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.

University Order by average rank Complete(2025)[7] Guardian(2025)[10] Times/Sunday Times(2025)[13] #a
University of Oxford 1 2 1 3
3b
University of Cambridge 2= 1 3 4
3c
University of St Andrews 2= 4 2 2
3c
London School of Economics 2= 3 4 1
3c
Imperial College London 5 5 5 6
3
Durham University 6 6 6 5
3
University of Bath 7 8 7 8
3
University College London 8 9 9 7
3
University of Warwick 9= 10 8 9
3
Loughborough University 9= 7 10 10
3

Notes:
aNumber of times the university is ranked within the top 10 of one of the three national rankings.
bThe university is ranked within the top 3 of all three national rankings.
cThe university is ranked within the top 5 of all three national rankings.

Disparity with global rankings

[edit]

It has been commented byThe Sunday Timesthat a number of universities which regularly feature in the top ten of British university league tables, such asSt Andrews,DurhamandLSE(in the case of LSE 3rd to 4th nationally whilst only 101–150th in theARWU Rankings/ 56th in theQS Rankings/ 37th in theTHE Rankings), "inhabit surprisingly low ranks in the worldwide tables", whilst other universities such asManchester,EdinburghandKCL"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 ofglobal university rankingssuch as theAcademic Ranking of World Universities,QS World University Rankings,andTimes 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 (afterENS Paris) and St Andrews ranks second in the world out of all small to medium-sized fully comprehensive universities (afterBrown University) using metrics from theQS Intelligence Unitin 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.LSEfor 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 theTimes Higher EducationandQSrankings and 100 percent of the weighting for theARWUranking. HEPI also found thatARWUmade 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

[edit]

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

See also:College and university rankings
University ARWU(2024)[22] QS(2025)[23] THE(2024)[24] #a
University of Cambridge 4 5 5
3b
University of Oxford 6 3 1
3b
University College London 16 9 22
3b
Imperial College London 25 2 8
3b
University of Edinburgh 40 27 30=
3c
University of Manchester 52 34= 51
3
King's College London 53 40= 38=
3
University of Bristol 97 54 81
3
University of Glasgow 101–150 78 87=
2
London School of Economics 151–200 50= 46
2
University of Southampton 151–200 80= 97=
2

Notes:
aNumber of times the university is ranked within the top 100 of one of the three global rankings.
bThe university is ranked within the top 25 of all three global rankings.
cThe university is ranked within the top 50 of all three global rankings.

Criticism

[edit]

Accuracy and neutrality

[edit]

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 theUniversity of Leedsargues 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 undermining Universities values.[26]

The Guardiansuggests 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 ofSouthampton Solent University,highlights perceived limitations in comparative data between Universities.[28]

Writing inThe Guardian,Professor Geoffrey Alderman makes the point that including the percentage of 'good honours' can encouragegrade inflationso 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, theInstitute 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, alongsideOxford 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

[edit]

League tables, which usually focus on thefull-timeundergraduate student experience, commonly omit reference toBirkbeck, University of London,and theOpen 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 2008Research Assessment Exercise,according to theTimes Higher Education,Birkbeckwas placed equal 33rd, and theOpen University43rd, out of 132 institutions.[33]The 2009 student satisfaction survey placed theOpen University3rd andBirkbeck13th out of 153 universities and higher education institutions (1st and 6th, respectively, among multi-faculty universities).[34]In 2018, Birkbeck announced that it will 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

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

References

[edit]
  1. ^abc"The Guardian University League Table 2011 – Methodology"(PDF).The Guardian.London. 8 June 2010.Archived(PDF)from the original on 5 July 2010.Retrieved15 September2010.
  2. ^"The University League Table methodology 2011".The Complete University Guide.Archivedfrom the original on 24 August 2010.Retrieved15 September2010.
  3. ^abEllie Bothwell (29 November 2021)."THE 'Table of Tables' 2022: London universities rise".Times Higher Education.
  4. ^"League Table Methodology".Archivedfrom the original on 7 February 2011.Retrieved19 February2018.
  5. ^"League Table Key – Complete University Guide".Archived fromthe originalon 18 August 2010.Retrieved19 February2018.
  6. ^"University League Tables Methodology".Retrieved21 March2020.
  7. ^ab"Complete University Guide 2025".The Complete University Guide. 14 May 2024.
  8. ^MacLeod, Donald (1 May 2007)."What the tables mean".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on 21 August 2008.Retrieved7 May2010.
  9. ^Matt Hiely-Rayner (7 June 2019)."Methodology behind The Guardian University Guide 2020".The Guardian.
  10. ^ab"Guardian University Guide 2025".The Guardian.7 September 2024.
  11. ^"The Times & The Sunday Times".Retrieved19 February2018.
  12. ^"How the guide was compiled".The Times.London. 11 September 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 16 July 2011.Retrieved11 September2011.
  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 fromthe originalon 16 July 2011.Retrieved28 September2010.
  15. ^"About ARWU".Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. Archived fromthe originalon 30 January 2013.Retrieved15 September2010.
  16. ^"QS World University Rankings 2010".QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. Archived fromthe originalon 16 September 2010.Retrieved15 September2010.
  17. ^"Global rankings system methodology reflects universities' core missions".Times Higher Education.7 September 2010.Archivedfrom the original on 11 September 2010.Retrieved15 September2010.
  18. ^"QS World University Rankings: World Map Results (Filter by Institution Profile)".Quacquarelli Symonds Intelligence Unit.Archivedfrom the original on 6 January 2016.Retrieved30 December2015.
  19. ^"The University League Table methodology 2011".The Complete University Guide.Archivedfrom the original on 24 August 2010.Retrieved28 September2010.
  20. ^Science, London School of Economics and Political."About LSE".Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved19 February2018.
  21. ^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.Retrieved26 May2017.
  22. ^"Academic Ranking of World Universities 2024".Shanghai Ranking Consultancy. 15 August 2024.
  23. ^"QS World University Rankings 2025".Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. 4 June 2024.
  24. ^"THE World University Rankings 2024".Times Higher Education.28 September 2022.
  25. ^ab"Reporter 485 - 28 October 2002 - University league tables".reporter.leeds.ac.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 4 March 2016.Retrieved19 February2018.
  26. ^McNamara, Adam."BULL: A new form of propaganda in the digital age".Archived fromthe originalon 17 December 2015.Retrieved6 August2015.
  27. ^MacLeod, Donald (19 April 2007)."Funding council to investigate university league tables".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on 21 July 2008.Retrieved7 May2010.
  28. ^Brown, Roger (10 April 2007)."Tables can turn".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on 21 July 2008.Retrieved7 May2010.
  29. ^Alderman, Geoffrey (24 April 2007)."League tables rule – and standards inevitably fall".The Guardian.London.Archivedfrom the original on 21 July 2008.Retrieved7 May2010.
  30. ^"Times Higher Education RAE tables"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 20 August 2012.Retrieved19 February2018.
  31. ^"RAE 2008: education results".The Guardian.18 December 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2017.Retrieved19 February2018.
  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.Retrieved19 February2018.
  34. ^"Student survey results 2009".BBC News. 6 August 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 13 March 2012.Retrieved19 February2018.
  35. ^"Birkbeck to leave UK university league tables".Bbk.ac.uk. 9 October 2018.Retrieved23 June2019.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rankings_of_universities_in_the_United_Kingdom&oldid=1246769137"