Best universities in England 2024

By seeta.bhardwa@…, 5 January, 2024

The top five universities in England 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in England

England Rank 2024	World University Rank 2024	World University Rank 2023	University	City/Town
1	1	1	University of Oxford	Oxford
2	5	=3	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
3	8	10	Imperial College London	London
4	22	22	UCL	London
5	=38	35	King’s College London	London

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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.

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 2024.

5. King’s College London

Established in 1829 by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington, King’s College London is the fourth oldest university in England.

King’s College London has become the largest healthcare learning centre in Europe, with three teaching hospitals and serving as a hub for over 27,000 students, including nearly 10,500 postgraduates, from 150 different countries.

Situated at the heart of London on the Strand, along the north bank of the River Thames, the university's main campus is complemented by four additional campuses at Guy’s Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital, and in Waterloo and Denmark Hill.

King’s College London is associated with 12 Nobel Prize winners, including Maurice Wilkins, credited with the discovery of the DNA structure, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who received the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts against South Africa's apartheid regime.

With a network of more than 150 partner institutions, the university offers diverse study abroad programmes in collaboration with higher education institutions globally, such as Humboldt University in Berlin and Sorbonne University in France.

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. It is based in the heart of London. 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.

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

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 prize-winners, 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.

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.

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.

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Top universities in England 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

England Rank 2024	World University Rank 2024	World University Rank 2023	University	City/Town
1	1	1	University of Oxford	Oxford
2	5	=3	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
3	8	10	Imperial College London	London
4	22	22	UCL	London
5	=38	35	King’s College London	London
6	46	37	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
7	51	=54	University of Manchester	Manchester
8	81	76	University of Bristol	Bristol
9	=97	=108	University of Southampton	Southampton
10	101	=108	University of Birmingham	Birmingham
11	105	=114	University of Sheffield	Sheffield
12	=106	=104	University of Warwick	Coventry
13	129	=128	University of Leeds	Leeds
14	=130	130	University of Nottingham	Nottingham
15	135	=124	Queen Mary University of London	London
16	147	=139	University of York	York
17	=155	122	Lancaster University	Lancaster
=18	=168	=176	University of Liverpool	Liverpool
=18	=168	=139	Newcastle University	Newcastle
20	174	=198	Durham University	Durham
21	=177	=137	University of Exeter	Exeter
=22	201–250	=163	University of Leicester	Leicester
=22	201–250	=198	University of Reading	Reading
=22	201–250	201–250	University of Sussex	Brighton
=25	251–300	251–300	University of Bath	Bath
=25	251–300	201–250	University of East Anglia	Norwich
=25	251–300	351–400	Loughborough University	Loughborough
=25	251–300	201–250	University of Surrey	Guildford
=29	301–350	301–350	University of Essex	Colchester
=29	301–350	351–400	Royal Holloway, University of London	Egham
=29	301–350	201–250	St George’s, University of London	London
=32	351–400	401–500	Brunel University London	Uxbridge
=32	351–400	351–400	City, University of London	London
=34	401–500	401–500	Aston University	Birmingham
=34	401–500	251–300	Bournemouth University	Bournemouth
=34	401–500	501–600	Goldsmiths, University of London	London
=34	401–500	501–600	University of Hull	Hull
=34	401–500	351–400	University of Kent	Canterbury
=34	401–500	401–500	University of Plymouth	Plymouth
=34	401–500	401–500	University of Portsmouth	Portsmouth
=34	401–500	351–400	Royal Veterinary College	London
=34	401–500	501–600	SOAS University of London	London
=43	501–600	301–350	Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)	Cambridge
=43	501–600	501–600	University of Bradford	Bradford
=43	501–600	251–300	Brighton and Sussex Medical School	Brighton
=43	501–600	501–600	University of Greenwich	London
=43	501–600	601–800	University of Huddersfield	Huddersfield
=43	501–600	501–600	Keele University	Keele
=43	501–600	401–500	University of Lincoln	Lincoln
=43	501–600	401–500	Liverpool John Moores University	Liverpool
=43	501–600	601–800	Manchester Metropolitan University	Manchester
=43	501–600	401–500	Middlesex University	London
=43	501–600	501–600	Northumbria University	Newcastle
=43	501–600	501–600	Nottingham Trent University	Nottingham
=43	501–600	401–500	University of the West of England	Bristol
=56	601–800	501–600	Birmingham City University	Birmingham
=56	601–800	801–1000	Coventry University	Coventry
=56	601–800	601–800	De Montfort University	Leicester
=56	601–800	601–800	University of Derby	Derby
=56	601–800	601–800	University of Hertfordshire	Hatfield
=56	601–800	601–800	London South Bank University	London
=56	601–800	601–800	The Open University	Milton Keynes
=56	601–800	601–800	Oxford Brookes University	Oxford
=56	601–800	601–800	University of Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton
=65	801–1000	801–1000	University of Brighton	Brighton
=65	801–1000	NR	University of Gloucestershire	Gloucester
=65	801–1000	801–1000	Kingston University	Kingston upon Thames
=65	801–1000	801–1000	Leeds Beckett University	Leeds
=65	801–1000	801–1000	University of Roehampton	London
=65	801–1000	801–1000	University of Salford	Salford
=65	801–1000	801–1000	Sheffield Hallam University	Sheffield
=65	801–1000	1001–1200	University of Westminster	London
=73	1001–1200	801–1000	University of Bedfordshire	Bedford
=73	1001–1200	1201–1500	Canterbury Christ Church University	Canterbury
=73	1001–1200	1001–1200	University of Central Lancashire	Preston
=73	1001–1200	1001–1200	University of East London	London
=73	1001–1200	801–1000	Edge Hill University	Ormskirk
=73	1001–1200	1201–1500	Staffordshire University	Stoke-on-Trent
=73	1001–1200	1001–1200	Teesside University	Middlesbrough
=73	1001–1200	NR	University of West London	London
=73	1001–1200	801–1000	University of Winchester	Winchester
=82	1201–1500	1201–1500	University of Chester	Chester
=82	1201–1500	1001–1200	University of Sunderland	Sunderland