University Ranking 2027: The Best Universities In The UK Today

Explore the top universities in the United Kingdom with our 2027 University Ranking guide. We break down key insights and show which universities stand out for academic quality, research, and student satisfaction.

The Complete University Guide Rankings Methodology

The Complete University Guide rankings are based on ten indicators drawn from publicly available sources, including the National Student Survey (NSS), the Research Excellence Framework (REF), HESA, and the Graduate Outcomes Survey.

Key measures include entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality, graduate prospects, continuation rates, student-staff ratios, and spending on academic services and facilities. Each indicator is weighted and combined to produce an overall score, with student satisfaction carrying the greatest weight.

The rankings also account for differences in subject mix between universities to enable fairer comparisons. Universities are then assigned a score relative to the highest-performing institution, which is set at 1,000 points.

For subject-specific rankings, a modified methodology is used, placing greater emphasis on teaching quality, graduate outcomes, and continuation rates within individual disciplines.

Best Universities in the UK 2027: UK University League Table

Here are the best universities in the UK according to The Complete University Guide 2027 rankings.

Rank	University	Student Satisfaction	Research Quality	Facilities Spend	Student-staff Ratio	Graduate Prospects - Outcomes
1	University of Cambridge	3.17	3.53	1421	10.7	89.1
2	University of Oxford	3.19	3.49	654	9.3	88.1
3	London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London	3.21	3.53	828	11.5	89.0
4	University of St Andrews	3.32	3.31	879	11.0	87.8
5	Imperial College London	3.18	3.63	678	11.7	92.4
6	Durham University	3.21	3.34	1254	12.5	83.1
7	University of Warwick	3.21	3.42	1189	11.7	85.2
8	Loughborough University	3.16	3.30	2048	13.3	84.9
9	University of Bath	3.17	3.31	1093	15.2	86.1
10	Lancaster University	3.19	3.37	1223	12.6	78.3
11	University of Exeter	3.10	3.35	1466	13.1	83.6
12	University of Birmingham	3.15	3.43	1333	12.8	79.6
13=	University of Sheffield	3.23	3.40	722	13.4	79.9
13=	UCL (University College London)	3.12	3.50	608	10.7	82.5
15	University of Southampton	3.13	3.41	983	12.6	80.6
16	King's College London, University of London	3.07	3.46	990	12.0	85.1
17	University of Bristol	3.11	3.51	855	13.1	78.4
18	University of Leeds	3.08	3.35	625	12.9	79.9
19	The University of Edinburgh	2.98	3.42	597	10.9	83.0
20	University of York	3.09	3.45	1126	12.7	76.4
21	University of Surrey	3.19	3.29	773	13.1	80.3
22	University of Liverpool	3.19	3.34	932	12.8	78.8
23	Queen's University Belfast	3.14	3.27	999	14.4	83.6
24	University of Manchester	3.06	3.47	669	13.2	79.7
25	University of Dundee	3.23	3.23	846	11.9	81.4
26	University of Nottingham	3.11	3.34	836	13.0	79.7
27=	Cardiff University	3.12	3.36	1072	12.6	80.7
27=	University of the Arts London	3.13	3.18	458	9.9	57.4
29	University of Glasgow	3.04	3.43	905	12.0	79.5
30	University of Essex	3.21	3.23	1953	12.0	70.3
31	Heriot-Watt University	3.07	3.22	2083	13.4	75.4
32	University of Aberdeen	3.21	3.03	971	12.7	78.5
33	University of Leicester	3.19	3.30	724	13.5	76.9
34	University of East Anglia UEA	3.13	3.38	1248	13.6	76.3
35	Newcastle University	3.05	3.29	795	13.9	77.8
36	University of Sussex	3.13	3.29	1034	14.4	67.9
37	Northumbria University, Newcastle	3.13	3.06	896	13.6	75.1
38	Harper Adams University	3.05	2.61	2461	13.0	76.8
39	University of Strathclyde	3.19	3.29	698	17.2	80.2
40	Queen Mary University of London	3.09	3.39	849	13.2	69.8
41	Swansea University	3.18	3.20	783	14.7	79.7
42	Royal Holloway, University of London	3.14	3.30	934	15.7	68.3
43	University of Reading	3.12	3.24	644	16.0	74.9
44	University of Suffolk	3.17	2.69	2556	12.2	62.4
45	Oxford Brookes University	3.16	2.87	867	12.5	72.2
46	Nottingham Trent University	3.18	3.10	990	13.7	69.0
47	Ulster University	3.20	3.20	898	18.0	75.3
48	Brunel University of London	3.12	2.88	599	13.0	67.0
49	Bangor University	3.15	3.23	924	14.3	70.8
50=	University of Lincoln	3.13	2.98	1077	13.9	68.1
50=	University of Portsmouth	3.17	3.00	1080	14.4	71.7
52	Aston University, Birmingham	3.12	3.06	693	17.3	76.2
53	Manchester Metropolitan University	3.20	3.11	813	17.6	68.5
54	Keele University	3.18	3.07	554	13.7	77.5
55	University of Stirling	3.07	3.11	1224	18.2	68.2
56	Aberystwyth University	3.25	3.00	575	13.7	65.5
57	Coventry University	3.21	2.90	800	12.7	69.2
58	Edge Hill University	3.22	2.67	790	14.5	74.7
59	City St George's, University of London	3.14	3.24	590	17.0	79.7
60	Norwich University of the Arts	3.09	2.96	859	14.2	56.8
61	Goldsmiths, University of London	3.04	3.11	999	11.6	58.1
62	University of Kent	3.04	3.26	957	15.5	65.1
63	University of Chichester	3.25	2.41	781	15.3	69.3
64	University of Hull	3.21	3.10	755	15.7	78.0
65	Falmouth University	3.09	3.17	503	14.7	57.3
66	University of Salford	3.14	3.00	730	17.0	68.8
67	University of Plymouth	3.14	3.01	505	17.2	78.7
68=	University of Huddersfield	3.08	2.80	772	14.9	68.4
68=	University of Sunderland	3.28	2.75	652	13.1	65.0
70	University of Hertfordshire	3.19	3.02	895	17.0	71.6
71	University of Derby	3.22	2.52	589	13.5	72.1
72=	Cardiff Metropolitan University	3.13	2.83	938	16.6	73.2
72=	Arts University Bournemouth	3.14	2.63	676	14.7	56.2
74	Bristol, UWE	3.14	2.96	674	16.1	73.7
75	Robert Gordon University	3.20	2.54	648	19.0	82.0
76	Liverpool John Moores University	3.18	2.82	495	16.8	69.5
77	Bournemouth University	3.03	2.77	968	18.0	73.1
78	University of Chester	3.11	2.50	788	16.8	74.7
79	St Mary's University, Twickenham	3.21	2.72	983	13.1	72.2
80	University of Worcester	3.17	2.32	602	17.0	81.9
81=	Sheffield Hallam University	3.03	2.93	541	17.1	72.5
81=	Edinburgh Napier University	3.12	2.86	445	17.1	75.3
83	Liverpool Hope University	3.31	2.52	1382	15.4	58.8
84	University of West London	3.28	2.67	840	15.7	62.1
85	University for the Creative Arts	3.02	3.06	222	13.1	56.8
86	Leeds Beckett University	3.16	2.68	902	16.8	68.2
87	Teesside University	3.23	2.76	516	16.1	77.2
88	Kingston University	3.17	2.89	715	17.3	66.4
89	Glasgow Caledonian University	3.14	2.95	251	22.8	76.8
90	University of Lancashire	3.21	2.81	533	15.3	72.6
91	University of South Wales	3.18	2.66	172	15.2	70.5
92=	Bath Spa University	3.14	2.71	624	14.6	62.6
92=	Canterbury Christ Church University	3.13	2.72	809	14.1	69.2
94	SOAS University of London	2.96	3.24	634	15.9	65.8
95	Birmingham City University	3.15	2.70	374	17.6	68.8
96	University of East London	3.30	2.58	948	22.4	70.7
97	University of Winchester	3.10	2.53	707	17.1	71.5
98=	University of Gloucestershire	3.12	2.43	541	15.7	73.7
98=	University of Bradford	3.06	2.85	469	18.4	78.7
98=	University of Wales Trinity Saint David	3.34	2.50	599	16.5	58.1
101	University of Wolverhampton	3.19	2.56	550	18.9	72.2
102=	Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh	3.15	2.59	508	20.5	76.1
102=	University of Greenwich	3.14	2.86	587	16.9	67.3
104	University of Brighton	3.11	3.04	463	17.0	70.2
105	Abertay University	3.21	2.66	697	22.2	67.5
106	University of Bedfordshire	3.19	2.71	560	15.6	61.7
107	Leeds Arts University	3.20	1.74	515	15.9	52.8
108	York St John University	3.18	2.43	472	19.3	65.1
109	Royal Agricultural University	2.90	2.33	690	19.6	69.7
110	De Montfort University	3.12	2.69	946	18.0	69.6
111	University of Staffordshire	3.10	2.78	748	20.0	68.8
112	London South Bank University	3.13	2.78	393	15.7	68.1
113	Anglia Ruskin University	3.07	2.81	561	16.0	63.5
114	Lincoln Bishop University	3.37	1.92	838	16.7	72.9
115=	University of Westminster, London	3.14	3.00	648	19.7	59.0
115=	Southampton, Solent University	3.21	2.16	519	16.5	61.7
117	University of Cumbria	2.98	2.30	320	15.8	82.1
118	University of Greater Manchester	3.18	1.89	729	13.4	66.1
119	Arts University Plymouth	3.29	n/a	744	12.8	45.5
120	Buckinghamshire New University	3.17	2.25	1423	14.5	55.9
121	University of Northampton	3.18	2.22	367	16.2	67.9
122	Middlesex University	3.20	2.78	421	16.8	57.6
123	University of Roehampton	3.16	3.11	706	22.1	62.5
124	University of Buckingham	2.99	n/a	538	n/a	83.8
125=	Leeds Trinity University	3.16	2.11	801	15.8	59.4
125=	Plymouth Marjon University	3.28	2.49	138	15.0	71.1
127	Birmingham Newman University	3.28	2.03	367	17.6	64.4
128	University of the West of Scotland	3.19	2.48	366	18.9	63.3
129	London Metropolitan University	3.21	2.63	713	19.4	54.3
130	Wrexham University	3.17	2.19	245	24.0	69.7

Best Universities in the UK in 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

Do university rankings change significantly from year to year?

Rankings can fluctuate, but significant changes are often gradual. Institutions may invest in improving certain aspects to enhance their position, but consistency over several years is a more reliable indicator.

How can international students use rankings to choose the right university?

International students should consider rankings alongside factors like location, cultural fit, and available support services. Researching specific programmes and faculty can help make a well-informed decision.

Are there differences between undergraduate and postgraduate rankings?

Some ranking systems offer separate evaluations for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. It’s essential to explore rankings relevant to your academic level and field of study.

Do university rankings consider employability after graduation?

Yes, employability is often a component in university rankings. Factors like alumni success, employer feedback, and internship opportunities contribute to this aspect.

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