Best universities in the UK 2023 - University Rankings

Top 10 universities in the UK

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

UK rank 2023	World University Rank 2023	University	City/town
1	1	University of Oxford	Oxford
2	=3	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
3	10	Imperial College London	London
4	22	UCL	London
5	29	University of Edinburgh	Edinburgh
6	35	King’s College London	London
7	37	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
8	=54	University of Manchester	Manchester
9	76	University of Bristol	Bristol
10	=82	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 league table reveals the best UK universities and colleges, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023.

The University of Oxford takes first place, with the University of Cambridge following in second place, while two of London’s best universities and a Scottish university complete the top five.

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Three universities in Scotland appear in the top 25: the University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow and the University of Aberdeen, while the best institution in Wales is Cardiff University, ranked 24th. 

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 UCL, and more recently established universities such as the University of Westminster and the University of Greenwich.

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Top 5 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 there 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 and 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 is made up of 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.

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2. University of Cambridge

In total, 117 Nobel laureates are affiliated with the University of Cambridge and Cambridge-affiliated 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 actress 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.

What life is like at the University of Cambridge

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, it 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. 

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Best universities in the UK 2023

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2023 profile

UK rank 2023	World University Rank 2023	University	City/town
1	1	University of Oxford	Oxford
2	=3	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
3	10	Imperial College London	London
4	22	UCL	London
5	29	University of Edinburgh	Edinburgh
6	35	King’s College London	London
7	37	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
8	=54	University of Manchester	Manchester
9	76	University of Bristol	Bristol
10	=82	University of Glasgow	Glasgow
11	=104	University of Warwick	Warwick
=12	=108	University of Birmingham	Birmingham
=12	=108	University of Southampton	Southampton
14	=114	University of Sheffield	Sheffield
15	122	Lancaster University	Lancaster
16	=124	Queen Mary University of London	London
17	=128	University of Leeds	Leeds
18	130	University of Nottingham	Nottingham
19	=137	University of Exeter	Exeter
20	=139	Newcastle University	Newcastle
21	=139	University of York	York
22	=163	University of Leicester	Leicester
23	=176	University of Liverpool	Liverpool
24	=187	Cardiff University	Cardiff
25	=192	University of Aberdeen	Aberdeen
=26	=198	Durham University	Durham
=26	=198	Queen’s University Belfast	Belfast
=26	=198	University of Reading	Reading
=29	201–250	University of Dundee	Dundee
=29	201–250	University of East Anglia	Norwich
=29	201–250	St George’s, University of London	London
=29	201–250	University of St Andrews	St Andrews
=29	201–250	University of Surrey	Guildford
=29	201–250	University of Sussex	Brighton
=35	251–300	University of Bath	Bath
=35	251–300	Bournemouth University	Bournemouth
=35	251–300	Brighton and Sussex Medical School	Brighton
=35	251–300	Swansea University	Swansea
=39	301–350	Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)	East Anglia
=39	301–350	University of Essex	Essex
=41	351–400	Birkbeck, University of London	London
=41	351–400	City, University of London	London
=41	351–400	University of Kent	Kent
=41	351–400	Loughborough University	Loughborough
=41	351–400	Royal Holloway, University of London	London
=41	351–400	Royal Veterinary College	London
=41	351–400	University of Stirling	Stirling
=48	401–500	Aston University	Birmingham
=48	401–500	Bangor University	Bangor
=48	401–500	Brunel University London	London
=48	401–500	Edinburgh Napier University	Edinburgh
=48	401–500	University of Lincoln	Lincoln
=48	401–500	Liverpool John Moores University	Liverpool
=48	401–500	Middlesex University	Middlesex
=48	401–500	University of Plymouth	Plymouth
=48	401–500	University of Portsmouth	Portsmouth
=48	401–500	SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College)	Edinburgh
=48	401–500	University of Strathclyde	Strathclyde
=48	401–500	University of the West of England	Bristol
=60	501–600	Aberystwyth University	Aberystwyth
=60	501–600	Birmingham City University	Birmingham
=60	501–600	University of Bradford	Bradford
=60	501–600	Goldsmiths, University of London	London
=60	501–600	University of Greenwich	Greenwich
=60	501–600	Heriot-Watt University	Edinburgh
=60	501–600	University of Hull	Hull
=60	501–600	Keele University	Keele
=60	501–600	Northumbria University	Northumbria
=60	501–600	Nottingham Trent University	Nottingham
=60	501–600	SOAS University of London	London
=71	601–800	De Montfort University	Leicester
=71	601–800	University of Derby	Derby
=71	601–800	Glasgow Caledonian University	Glasgow
=71	601–800	University of Hertfordshire	Hatfield
=71	601–800	University of Huddersfield	Huddersfield
=71	601–800	London South Bank University	London
=71	601–800	Manchester Metropolitan University	Manchester
=71	601–800	The Open University	Nationwide
=71	601–800	Oxford Brookes University	Oxford
=71	601–800	Ulster University	Ulster
=71	601–800	University of the West of Scotland	Paisley
=71	601–800	University of Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton
=83	801–1000	University of Bedfordshire	Luton
=83	801–1000	University of Brighton	Brighton
=83	801–1000	Coventry University	Coventry
=83	801–1000	Edge Hill University	Ormskirk
=83	801–1000	Kingston University	London
=83	801–1000	Leeds Beckett University	Leeds
=83	801–1000	University of Roehampton	London
=83	801–1000	University of Salford	Salford
=83	801–1000	Sheffield Hallam University	Sheffield
=83	801–1000	University of Winchester	Winchester
=93	1001–1200	Cardiff Metropolitan University	Cardiff
=93	1001–1200	University of Central Lancashire	Preston
=93	1001–1200	University of East London	London
=93	1001–1200	Robert Gordon University	Aberdeen
=93	1001–1200	University of South Wales	Pontypridd
=93	1001–1200	University of Sunderland	Sunderland
=93	1001–1200	Teesside University	Teesside
=93	1001–1200	University of Westminster	London
=101	1201–1500	Canterbury Christ Church University	Canterbury
=101	1201–1500	University of Chester	Chester
=101	1201–1500	Staffordshire University	Stoke-on-Trent