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World University Rankings 2026: United Kingdom

90 universities ranked in the United Kingdom, out of 2,280 worldwide. Admissions and graduate earnings figures for the United Kingdom come from official national data; each university’s page links to its sources.

#1University of OxfordUnited Kingdom

#2University of CambridgeUnited Kingdom

#3London School of Economics and Political ScienceUnited Kingdom

#4Imperial College LondonUnited Kingdom

#5University College LondonUnited Kingdom

Photos via Wikimedia Commons. University of Oxford: Julian Herzog · CC BY 4.0; University of Cambridge: Christopher Hilton · CC BY-SA 2.0; London School of Economics and Political Science: Shadowssettle · CC BY-SA 4.0; Imperial College London: Shadowssettle · CC BY-SA 4.0; University College London: Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0.

National rankRank	University	World rank	Overall score	Research	Alumni outcomes	Admissions & earnings (in country)	World rank range
1	University of Oxford	8	96.3	100	99	1 of 90	1–13
2	University of Cambridge	=9	96.0	100	99	2 of 90	1–13
3	London School of Economics and Political Science	12	91.7	95	99	3 of 90	5–17
4	Imperial College London	=15	89.2	100	99	4 of 90	10–19
5	University College London	45	67.0	100	95	5 of 90	27–85
6	The University of Manchester	=61	61.5	97	97	22 of 90	39–141
7	King's College London	63	61.2	98	94	9 of 90	37–128
8	The University of Edinburgh	66	60.6	98	95	12 of 90	36–131
=9	The University of Warwick	=103	53.0	94	92	11 of 90	68–276
=9	University of Bristol	=103	53.0	96	91	13 of 90	66–273
11	University of Birmingham	112	51.0	98	91	20 of 90	76–298
12	Queen Mary University of London	122	49.7	97	86	17 of 90	80–352
13	University of Leeds	=123	49.6	96	90	19 of 90	85–292
14	University of Glasgow	126	49.3	97	89	23 of 90	81–290
15	University of Bath	132	48.5	92	76	7 of 90	78–410
16	University of St Andrews	143	47.5	85	86	6 of 90	69–339
17	Durham University	=147	47.1	94	78	10 of 90	93–429
18	University of Liverpool	=169	45.5	94	89	33 of 90	106–387
=19	University of Nottingham	=174	45.3	93	83	18 of 90	115–418
=19	University of Surrey	=174	45.3	93	85	24 of 90	104–474
21	University of Exeter	177	45.2	97	77	25 of 90	109–504
22	University of Sussex	187	44.5	92	92	50 of 90	95–538
23	University of East Anglia	=215	42.8	88	92	44 of 90	115–545
24	The University of Sheffield	=218	42.6	94	81	35 of 90	134–528
25	Queen's University Belfast	226	42.2	94	80	36 of 90	136–499
=26	Newcastle University	=234	41.8	93	73	21 of 90	146–570
=26	University of York	=234	41.8	93	84	39 of 90	134–572
28	Loughborough University	=242	41.5	86	81	16 of 90	139–582
29	University of Dundee	=250	41.3	88	86	27 of 90	134–535
30	Cardiff University	264	40.6	92	78	30 of 90	161–582
31	City St George's, University of London	=273	40.2	92	21	15 of 90	157–620
32	University of Southampton	=279	40.1	94	71	34 of 90	172–677
33	University of Leicester	=307	38.9	91	74	31 of 90	175–637
34	Lancaster University	=319	38.7	90	79	38 of 90	176–726
35	Brunel University London	=342	37.9	89	80	46 of 90	168–857
36	University of Strathclyde	=348	37.8	83	69	14 of 90	178–615
37	University of Essex	=358	37.5	82	92	68 of 90	165–778
38	University of Reading	=373	37.1	88	78	41 of 90	205–819
39	University of Aberdeen	=404	35.9	79	82	28 of 90	239–781
40	Swansea University	=487	33.8	88	64	52 of 90	259–922
41	University of Kent	=506	33.4	78	87	60 of 90	266–978
42	Northumbria University	530	32.5	88	64	62 of 90	280–1043
43	Heriot-Watt University	=534	32.3	78	79	45 of 90	294–1030
44	University of Portsmouth	=549	31.8	86	60	51 of 90	304–1049
45	Manchester Metropolitan University	=601	30.5	84	70	76 of 90	308–1142
46	Liverpool John Moores University	=609	30.3	85	70	80 of 90	310–1216
47	Aston University	=637	29.4	76	60	29 of 90	385–1217
48	University of Plymouth	=643	29.2	82	21	49 of 90	332–1196
49	Nottingham Trent University	=695	28.0	81	63	74 of 90	413–1330
50	Royal Veterinary College, University of London	=752	26.4	55	21	8 of 90	340–1291
51	University of Ulster	=762	26.1	76	56	58 of 90	491–1395
52	University of Huddersfield	=784	25.7	80	49	85 of 90	426–1502
53	University of the West of England, Bristol	=836	24.5	71	61	48 of 90	509–1441
54	Birkbeck, University of London	=918	23.0	64	80	69 of 90	573–1680
=55	University of Greenwich	=932	22.8	67	70	55 of 90	581–1614
=55	University of Hull	=932	22.8	60	84	72 of 90	515–1570
57	Coventry University	=966	22.0	73	49	81 of 90	652–1765
=58	Aberystwyth University	=1001	20.9	47	92	89 of 90	523–1835
=58	Keele University	=1001	20.9	57	74	40 of 90	625–1659
60	Royal Holloway, University of London	=1033	20.1	58	76	66 of 90	704–1852
61	University of Stirling	=1039	20.0	61	70	63 of 90	722–1798
62	Goldsmiths, University of London	=1070	19.5	54	84	79 of 90	617–1898
63	Bangor University	=1080	19.3	56	82	84 of 90	643–1815
64	University of Bradford	=1116	18.9	54	85	88 of 90	658–1905
65	Glasgow Caledonian University	=1128	18.8	47	67	26 of 90	655–1767
=66	Teesside University	=1138	18.6	60	59	56 of 90	655–1821
=66	University of Hertfordshire	=1138	18.6	57	58	42 of 90	767–1818
68	Middlesex University	=1152	18.3	54	77	70 of 90	734–1896
69	Edinburgh Napier University	=1158	18.1	56	56	43 of 90	778–1835
70	University of Westminster	=1165	18.0	50	80	71 of 90	800–1906
71	University of Brighton	=1200	17.3	50	74	57 of 90	845–1944
72	Leeds Beckett University	=1231	17.0	54	74	78 of 90	815–1960
=73	Oxford Brookes University	=1290	16.3	49	65	47 of 90	924–1942
=73	Robert Gordon University	=1290	16.3	44	49	32 of 90	866–1969
75	London South Bank University	=1298	16.2	40	66	37 of 90	882–1968
76	The University of Salford	=1317	16.0	47	73	61 of 90	801–1949
77	University of Central Lancashire	=1358	15.6	50	67	65 of 90	823–1985
=78	Sheffield Hallam University	=1384	15.3	47	62	53 of 90	886–1970
=78	University of Lincoln	=1384	15.3	55	47	73 of 90	887–2012
80	Anglia Ruskin University	=1410	15.1	52	58	64 of 90	953–2028
81	Kingston University	=1472	14.5	38	72	59 of 90	987–2061
82	Bournemouth University	=1483	14.4	48	48	54 of 90	1036–2088
83	Cardiff Metropolitan University	=1512	14.1	43	71	77 of 90	903–2095
84	University of the West of Scotland	=1548	13.8	49	47	67 of 90	881–2091
85	De Montfort University	=1759	12.5	48	64	86 of 90	1112–2144
86	Birmingham City University	=1836	12.0	38	59	75 of 90	1122–2158
87	Edge Hill University	=1861	11.8	43	61	82 of 90	1111–2161
88	University of Derby	=1931	11.4	51	53	90 of 90	1167–2208
89	University of Wolverhampton	=1950	11.3	44	62	87 of 90	1138–2188
90	University of South Wales	=2133	9.8	32	47	83 of 90	1209–2228
No university matches.

90 universities

Business schools in the United Kingdom

Business Schools 2026

25London Business SchoolUniversity of London (federal; LBS is a member institution)
49Saïd Business SchoolUniversity of Oxford
51Cambridge Judge Business SchoolUniversity of Cambridge
52Warwick Business SchoolThe University of Warwick
61Imperial Business SchoolImperial College London
74Alliance Manchester Business SchoolThe University of Manchester
90Durham University Business SchoolDurham University
106Cranfield School of ManagementCranfield University

8 schools; rank among 107 full-time MBA programmes worldwide.

Research Index for the United Kingdom · All of Europe · All countries

National rank follows the world ranking: universities are listed in world-rank order and keep a shared rank where their world rank is shared. Research and Alumni outcomes are percentiles among all 2,280 ranked universities; Admissions & earnings is the position within the university’s own country (est. where no official data exists). How the ranking works.