Best universities in England 2022

Submitted by seeta.bhardwa@… on Thu, 09/23/2021 - 12:07

Higher education institutions in England are some of the most popular around the globe. Each year, more than 200,000 international students choose to study in England.

England, the largest country in the United Kingdom, has a fascinating history that deserves to be explored. As well as the bustling capital of London (home to 9.4 million people), there is a multitude of major cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds – all of which are easily accessible for students.

Thousands of families from all over the world have chosen to live in England. The nightlife and cultural offerings are varied throughout the country, and there is always something to do. Among the entertainments and attractions for students to enjoy are art galleries, concerts, open-air markets, sports matches and pubs.

English scientists and institutions have won more than 100 Nobel prizes, an achievement few other countries can match. Many scholarships, grants and bursaries are available for international students at English institutions, and the cost of living is good – including healthcare, which is provided free of charge by an institutionalised national system.

Below are some of the best universities to study at in England, based on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022.

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The top five universities in England

1. University of Oxford

The University of Oxford’s exact founding date is unknown. There is evidence to suggest that teaching began around 1096 – making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and the world’s second-oldest functioning university.

Spread over Oxford’s medieval city centre, the university consists of 44 colleges and halls, with more than 100 libraries – making it the largest library system in the UK.

Oxford has the youngest population of any city in England and Wales, with a quarter of the residents being students (over 24,000 from more than 140 different countries).

Oxford is a modern, research-driven institution, but its particular strengths lie in sciences, and in medicine in particular. If its medical sciences division were a university in its own right, it would be the fourth largest in the UK. Oxford is also among the top 10 global universities for life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and the arts and humanities.

2. University of Cambridge

Established in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the fourth-oldest surviving university in the world and the second-oldest in the anglophone world.

The campus is in the centre of the city, with other listed buildings on or near the River Cam. There are 31 autonomous colleges, in which students attend small-group teaching sessions called college supervisions.

There are more than 24,000 students at Cambridge – with nearly 4,000 from a range of 120 different countries. It is also home to 100 libraries with more than 15 million books, nine arts, scientific and cultural museums, and a botanical garden.

Cambridge University Press, the university’s publishing business, has more than 50 offices worldwide, producing up to 45,000 titles spanning all kinds of academic research, education and Bible publishing.

Covering every possible category, 92 affiliates of the university have been awarded Nobel prizes.

3. Imperial College London

Established as a university in 1907, Imperial College London was the result of a merger between the Royal College of Science, the Royal School of Mines and the City and Guilds College.

It is a science-based institution in the centre of London, located around the museum district of South Kensington – it formed part of Prince Albert’s mission to make this area a centre for education.

Imperial’s focus is on science, engineering, medicine and business. It is home to the largest concentration of high-impact research of any major UK university. Some 14 Nobel prizewinners, including Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin attended the university.

Notable alumni include the author H. G. Wells, Queen guitarist Brian May and Sir Liam Donaldson, former UK chief medical officer.

4. UCL

Founded in 1826 to bring higher education to those who were typically excluded from it, UCL became the first university in England to admit women on equal terms to men, in 1878.

UCL is a constituent college of the University of London and is a member of the Russell Group. Based in the heart of London, it has a 43,000-strong student body and about 850 professors. International students, from some 150 countries, account for one-third of the population.

The institution has one of the largest systems of postgraduate study in the country, with almost 52 per cent of students involved in graduate programmes.

UCL was the first British university to open a campus in Doha, Qatar, and it also has a presence in Adelaide, South Australia.

With 29 Nobel prizes awarded to UCL alumni or staff, the university has been a hothouse for many significant scientific figures, including William Ramsay, who discovered the noble gases in 1904.

5. London School of Economics and Political Science

Founded in the late 1800s by Fabian Society members Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Graham Wallas and George Bernard Shaw, the purpose of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) was to improve society by “studying poverty issues and analysing inequalities”.

LSE is one of the most prestigious social science universities in the world, specialising in economics, politics, sociology, law and anthropology. It is based near Aldwych in central London, where King George V laid the first stone of its “Old Building” in 1920. It is home to 10,700 students from more than 140 countries.

As well as associations with 16 Nobel prizewinners, the LSE counts 37 past or present world leaders among its alumni. British prime minister Clement Attlee was an assistant lecturer in 1912, and Lord Beveridge was appointed director in 1937, going on to publish the famous Beveridge report, a keystone of the UK’s welfare state.

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Top universities in England 2022

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2022 results

World University Rank 2022	England Rank 2022	University	City/Town
1	1	University of Oxford	Oxford
=5	2	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
=18	3	Imperial College London	London
4	4	UCL	London
27	5	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
=35	6	King’s College London	London
50	7	University of Manchester	Manchester
=78	8	University of Warwick	Warwick
92	9	University of Bristol	Bristol
=105	10	University of Birmingham	Birmingham
110	11	University of Sheffield	Sheffield
=117	12	Queen Mary University of London	London
=122	13	Lancaster University	Lancaster
124	14	University of Southampton	Southampton
=127	15	University of Leeds	Leeds
141	16	University of Nottingham	Nottingham
=143	17	University of Exeter	Exeter
=146	18	Newcastle University	Newcastle
=151	19	University of Sussex	Brighton
=162	20	Durham University	Durham
169	21	University of York	York
=178	22	University of Liverpool	Liverpool
182	23	University of East Anglia	Norwich
=185	24	University of Leicester	Leicester
201-250	=25	University of Bath	Bath
201-250	=25	Brighton and Sussex Medical School	Brighton
201-250	=25	University of Reading	Reading
201-250	=25	St George's, University of London	London
201-250	=25	University of Surrey	Guildford
301-350	=30	Anglia Ruskin University ARU	East Anglia
301-350	=30	University of Essex	Essex
351-400	=32	Birkbeck, University of London	London
351-400	=32	Bournemouth University	Bournemouth
351-400	=32	Brunel University of London	London
351-400	=32	City, University of London	London
351-400	=32	University of Kent	Kent
351-400	=32	Loughborough University	Loughborough
351-400	=32	Royal Holloway, University of London	London
401-500	=39	Aston University	Birmingham
401-500	=39	Goldsmiths, University of London	London
401-500	=39	Liverpool John Moores University	Liverpool
401-500	=39	Middlesex University	London
401-500	=39	Northumbria University	Northumbria
401-500	=39	University of Plymouth	Plymouth
401-500	=39	Royal Veterinary College	London
401-500	=39	SOAS University of London	London
401-500	=39	University of the West of England	Bristol
501-600	=48	Birmingham City University	Birmingham
501-600	=48	Keele University	Keele
501-600	=48	University of Lincoln	Lincoln
501-600	=48	Nottingham Trent University	Nottingham
501-600	=48	University of Portsmouth	Portsmouth
601-800	=53	University of Bradford	Bradford
601-800	=53	University of Brighton	Brighton
601-800	=53	Coventry University	Coventry
601-800	=53	De Montfort University	Leicester
601-800	=53	University of Derby	Derby
601-800	=53	University of Greenwich	London
601-800	=53	University of Hertfordshire	Hatfield
601-800	=53	University of Hull	Hull
601-800	=53	Manchester Metropolitan University	Manchester
601-800	=53	The Open University	Nationwide
601-800	=53	Oxford Brookes University	Oxford
801-1000	=64	University of Bedfordshire	Luton
801-1000	=64	University of Central Lancashire	Preston
801-1000	=64	University of East London	London
801-1000	=64	Edge Hill University	Ormskirk
801-1000	=64	Kingston University	London
801-1000	=64	Leeds Beckett University	Leeds
801-1000	=64	London South Bank University	London
801-1000	=64	University of Roehampton	London
801-1000	=64	University of Salford	Salford
801-1000	=64	Sheffield Hallam University	Sheffield
801-1000	=64	University of Westminster	London
1001-1200	=75	Canterbury Christ Church University	Canterbury
1001-1200	=75	Staffordshire University	Stoke-on-Trent
1001-1200	=75	Teesside University	Teesside
1001-1200	=75	University of Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton
1201+	79	University of Chester	Chester