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 |
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.
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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 |
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