Best universities in the UK 2024 - University Rankings

By seeta.bhardwa@…, 9 October, 2024

Top ten universities in the UK 2025

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the UK

UK rank 2025	WUR rank 2025	WUR rank 2024	University	City/town
1	1	1	University of Oxford	Oxford
2	5	5	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
3	9	8	Imperial College London	London
4	=22	22	UCL	London
5	29	=30	University of Edinburgh	Edinburgh
6	=36	=38	King’s College London	London
7	=50	46	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
8	=53	51	University of Manchester	Manchester
9	78	81	University of Bristol	Bristol
10	=87	=87	University of Glasgow	Glasgow

Which are the top universities in the UK? If you want to study in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, which universities should you consider?

This list of UK universities (scroll down) reveals the best universities and colleges in the UK, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025.

The University of Oxford takes the first place position, with the University of Cambridge following in second place, while two of London’s best universities and a Scottish university complete the top five. More information on the best universities in England can be found here.

Three universities in Scotland appear in the top 25 – the University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow and the University of St Andrews. More information about the best universities in Scotland can be found here.

Cardiff University is the top-ranked Welsh university, sitting in joint 26th place.

For students looking to study in Northern Ireland, the best university in the ranking is Queen’s University Belfast.

Of the top universities in the UK, about 20 are in London, including well-known institutions such as Imperial College London and King’s College London. Explore more of London’s best universities here.

Top five universities in the UK

5. University of Edinburgh

Founded in 1583, the University of Edinburgh is the sixth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Britain and Ireland’s seven ancient universities.

It is made up of three colleges: arts, humanities and social sciences; science and engineering; and medicine and veterinary medicine. Within these colleges are 20 academic schools.

A range of student clubs and societies is on offer, including a music society, a theatre society and a variety of sports teams including football, rowing, judo and rugby.

The student newspaper, The Student, is one of the oldest student newspapers in the UK. It was founded by the author Robert Louis Stevenson.

4. UCL

UCL’s main campus is in the central London area of Bloomsbury. Nearly half of all UCL students are from outside the UK, with significantly more from Asia than from continental Europe.

UCL was the first university in England to admit students irrespective of class, race or religion, and the first to admit women on equal terms with men, following the educational philosophy of Jeremy Bentham, the university’s “spiritual founder”.

For admission, undergraduate students are required to have achieved top grades in their high school exams. The most competitive degree is the BSc in philosophy, politics and economics, which receives 30 applicants for every place.

Famous alumni include Mahatma Gandhi; Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone; and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who met the other members of his band at the university.

3. Imperial College London

Imperial’s main campus is near Kensington Palace in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, with other campuses around the city. The student cohort is extremely international and comprises more than 125 nationalities.

Imperial College London is consistently ranked among the best universities in the world for science, technology, engineering, medicine and business.

It was formed in 1907 from a merger of three colleges in London and now has 17,000 students and 8,000 staff.

In addition to top scientists, Fields medallists and Nobel prizewinners, Imperial also produces influential government advisers and policymakers. Many graduates go on to achieve breakthrough innovations in industry and business, and are highly sought after by blue-chip companies and start-ups.

The author H. G. Wells and Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, are among Imperial’s famous alumni.

2. University of Cambridge

In total, 117 Nobel laureates are affiliated with the University of Cambridge, and Cambridge-linked mathematicians have won 11 Fields Medals. Notable alumni include actors, athletes, politicians, royals and cultural figures, including biologist Charles Darwin, broadcaster David Attenborough, conservationist Jane Goodall and actor Olivia Colman.

Like Oxford, the University of Cambridge is fundamentally collegiate and is also one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious universities. The town is just an hour from London.

The university is home to more than 19,000 students and 9,000 staff. There are 31 colleges, some of which date back to the 13th century, and more than 100 academic departments.

Cambridge is particularly renowned for excellence in mathematics and has educated some of the most famous British scientists.

Undergraduates are taught via lectures and supervisions – intimate tutorials with only a couple of other students at most. The workload is heavy but terms are shorter than at many other UK universities.

Cambridge libraries are home to extensive collections of medieval manuscripts, and the university museums display collections of archaeological artefacts and zoological specimens.

1. University of Oxford

More than 30 world leaders, 27 British prime ministers, 50 Nobelists and 120 Olympic medallists were educated at Oxford. Stephen Hawking, Hugh Grant and Indira Gandhi are some of its famous graduates.

Undergraduates and postgraduates belong to one of its 44 colleges and often live in the college building or college-owned accommodation.

One of the world’s oldest and most prestigious universities, the University of Oxford attracts top scholars and students. Entry standards are high and admission is competitive; on average, the institution receives five applications for each available place.

Social life and recreational activities – such as rowing, cultural events and societies – also revolve around the college. Undergraduates are taught almost exclusively by tutors in their college, while postgraduate students are primarily served academically by a centralised faculty.

There are more than 100 libraries at Oxford, the most famous of which is the Bodleian, built in 1602. The city also has a number of museums, including the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, which houses the remains of a dodo, and the Museum of the History of Science, which displays a blackboard used by Albert Einstein.

Best universities in the UK 2025

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2025 profile

UK rank 2025	WUR rank 2025	WUR rank 2024	University	City/town
1	1	1	University of Oxford	Oxford
2	5	5	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
3	9	8	Imperial College London	London
4	=22	22	UCL	London
5	29	=30	University of Edinburgh	Edinburgh
6	=36	=38	King’s College London	London
7	=50	46	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
8	=53	51	University of Manchester	Manchester
9	78	81	University of Bristol	Bristol
10	=87	=87	University of Glasgow	Glasgow
11	=93	101	University of Birmingham	Birmingham
12	=98	105	University of Sheffield	Sheffield
13	106	=106	University of Warwick	Warwick
14	115	=97	University of Southampton	Southampton
15	123	129	University of Leeds	Leeds
16	=136	=130	University of Nottingham	Nottingham
17	=141	135	Queen Mary University of London	London
18	=146	147	University of York	York
19	=157	=168	Newcastle University	Newcastle
20	=160	=168	University of Liverpool	Liverpool
21	=168	=155	Lancaster University	Lancaster
=22	=172	174	Durham University	Durham
=22	=172	=177	University of Exeter	Exeter
24	=185	=193	University of St Andrews	St Andrews
25	=191	201–250	University of Leicester	Leicester
=26	201–250	190	Cardiff University	Cardiff
=26	201–250	201–250	Queen’s University Belfast	Belfast
=26	201–250	201–250	University of Aberdeen	Aberdeen
=26	201–250	201–250	University of Reading	Reading
=26	201–250	251–300	University of Surrey	Guildford
=26	201–250	201–250	University of Sussex	Brighton
=32	251–300	251–300	University of Bath	Bath
=32	251–300	251–300	University of East Anglia	Norwich
=34	301–350	301–350	Birkbeck, University of London	London
=34	301–350	251–300	Loughborough University	Loughborough
=34	301–350	301–350	St George’s, University of London	London
=34	301–350	251–300	Swansea University	Swansea
=34	301–350	301–350	University of Dundee	Dundee
=39	351–400	401–500	Aston University	Birmingham
=39	351–400	351–400	Brunel University London	London
=39	351–400	351–400	City, University of London	London
=39	351–400	301–350	University of Essex	Essex
=39	351–400	401–500	University of Kent	Kent
=39	351–400	301–350	University of Strathclyde	Strathclyde
=45	401–500	401–500	Bangor University	Bangor
=45	401–500	401–500	Bournemouth University	Bournemouth
=45	401–500	351–400	Heriot-Watt University	Edinburgh
=45	401–500	501–600	Northumbria University	Northumbria
=45	401–500	301–350	Royal Holloway, University of London	Egham
=45	401–500	401–500	SOAS University of London	London
=45	401–500	401–500	University of Hull	Hull
=45	401–500	401–500	University of Portsmouth	Portsmouth
=45	401–500	401–500	University of Stirling	Stirling
=54	501–600	501–600	Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)	East Anglia
=54	501–600	501–600	Edinburgh Napier University	Edinburgh
=54	501–600	401–500	Goldsmiths, University of London	London
=54	501–600	501–600	Keele University	Keele
=54	501–600	501–600	Middlesex University	London
=54	501–600	401–500	Royal Veterinary College	London
=54	501–600	501–600	University of Bradford	Bradford
=54	501–600	501–600	University of Greenwich	London
=54	501–600	501–600	University of Huddersfield	Huddersfield
=54	501–600	401–500	University of Plymouth	Plymouth
=64	601–800	501–600	Aberystwyth University	Aberystwyth
=64	601–800	601–800	Coventry University	Coventry
=64	601–800	601–800	De Montfort University	Leicester
=64	601–800	501–600	Liverpool John Moores University	Liverpool
=64	601–800	NR	London Metropolitan University	London
=64	601–800	601–800	London South Bank University	London
=64	601–800	501–600	Manchester Metropolitan University	Manchester
=64	601–800	501–600	Nottingham Trent University	Nottingham
=64	601–800	601–800	Oxford Brookes University	Oxford
=64	601–800	601–800	SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College)	Edinburgh
=64	601–800	601–800	Ulster University	Ulster
=64	601–800	801–1000	University of Brighton	Brighton
=64	601–800	601–800	University of Derby	Derby
=64	601–800	601–800	University of Hertfordshire	Hatfield
=64	601–800	501–600	University of Lincoln	Lincoln
=64	601–800	501–600	University of the West of England	Bristol
=64	601–800	601–800	University of the West of Scotland	Paisley
=81	801–1000	601–800	Birmingham City University	Birmingham
=81	801–1000	601–800	Glasgow Caledonian University	Glasgow
=81	801–1000	801–1000	Kingston University	Kingston
=81	801–1000	801–1000	Leeds Beckett University	Leeds
=81	801–1000	801–1000	Robert Gordon University	Aberdeen
=81	801–1000	801–1000	Sheffield Hallam University	Sheffield
=81	801–1000	1001–1200	Teesside University	Teesside
=81	801–1000	601–800	The Open University	Nationwide
=81	801–1000	1001–1200	University of Central Lancashire	Preston
=81	801–1000	801–1000	University of Roehampton	Roehampton
=81	801–1000	801–1000	University of Salford	Salford
=81	801–1000	801–1000	University of Westminster	London
=81	801–1000	601–800	University of Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton
=94	1001–1200	1201–1500	Cardiff Metropolitan University	Cardiff
=94	1001–1200	1001–1200	Edge Hill University	Ormskirk
=94	1001–1200	1001–1200	University of Bedfordshire	Luton
=94	1001–1200	1001–1200	University of East London	London
=94	1001–1200	801–1000	University of Gloucestershire	Cheltenham
=94	1001–1200	1001–1200	University of West London	London
=100	1201–1500	1001–1200	Canterbury Christ Church University	Kent
=100	1201–1500	1001–1200	Staffordshire University	Stoke-on-Trent
=100	1201–1500	NR	University of Northampton	Northampton
=100	1201–1500	1001–1200	University of South Wales	Pontypridd
=100	1201–1500	1201–1500	University of Sunderland	Sunderland
=100	1201–1500	1001–1200	University of Winchester	Winchester
=100	1201–1500	NR	University of Worcester	Worcester
107	1501+	1201–1500	University of Chester	Chester

Study in the UK

The UK remains one of the most popular destinations for international students. The application process is quite straightforward for international students because the UK has a central application system called Ucas. Students can apply to up to five universities in the UK through Ucas. More information on applying to study in the UK and applying for a UK student visa can be found here.

Tuition fees vary depending on whether you are taking an undergraduate or postgraduate course and which subject you are choosing to study. We’ve created guides on how much it costs to study in the UK and scholarships for international students in the UK.

Best universities in the UK 2025 - University Rankings