The EA Top 50 UK University Rankings
There is a lot of interest in which universities are ranked highest in the UK. This often relates to which of the elite universities are the best. Is Cambridge better than Oxford? Is Imperial better than UCL? Are all Russell Group Unis in the top 25? For the average university student, it is probably more relevant as to whether a university is in the top quartile. Additionally, it is important to see where a university ranks for their target degree course.
The popular league tables are The Times, The Guardian, the Complete University Guide (CUG) or the QS World Rankings. They rank on their own chosen measurements such as entry standards, research quality, student satisfaction, work prospects, added value and so on. Some of these measurements seem chosen only for one publisher to claim their league table is different or better than another. This results in some very dubious rankings – for example why is St Andrews No 3 in the Guardian table and 35 in the Times? Why is Harper Adams number 33 in CUG and non-existent in the others? We would rather not get mixed up in these dubious differentiations and we have simply averaged all of the top quartile rankings and come up with the current Top 50 UK universities.
It is natural that parents or students will aim for the top 5 (sometimes referred to as the G5 or Loxbridge); Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, LSE, UCL, but remember that the elite universities are substantially over-subscribed and typically want very high grades at A-Level or IB and it makes sense to select a range of universities to ensure you get more than one offer. Even if you have an excellent application and the highest predicted grades, this done not guarantee an offer.
Talk to us about your aspirations and our experts will help you to target the most suitable universities.
Please contact us on info@educationadvisers.co.uk / +44(0)303 003 2259 to discuss how Education Advisers Ltd can support your pathway to university.
| position | university | ucas average min | student roll | % accepted | intl % | website URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford | 360 | 27500 | 18 | 42 | https://www.ox.ac.uk |
| 2 | Cambridge | 380 | 22500 | 19.6 | 39 | https://www.cam.ac.uk |
| 3 | LSE | 340 | 12500 | 9 | 72 | https://www.lse.ac.uk |
| 4 | Imperial | 410 | 17565 | 15 | 59 | https://www.imperial.ac.uk |
| 5 | UCL | 380 | 43800 | 63 | 57 | https://www.ucl.ac.uk |
| 6 | Warwick | 390 | 27000 | 14 | 43 | https://warwick.ac.uk |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 360 | 37500 | 51 | 44 | https://www.ed.ac.uk |
| 8 | Durham | 320 | 17700 | 41 | 33 | https://www.durham.ac.uk |
| 9 | Glasgow | 340 | 32500 | 70 | 40 | https://www.gla.ac.uk |
| 10 | Lancaster | 320-360 | 13500 | 64 | 37 | https://www.lancaster.ac.uk |
| 11 | St Andrews | 340 | 12500 | 9 | 47 | https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk |
| 12 | Bristol | 360 | 24000 | 68 | 30 | https://www.bristol.ac.uk |
| 13 | Bath | 360 | 14500 | 15 | 34 | https://www.bath.ac.uk |
| 14 | Southampton | 340 | 21500 | 75 | 36 | https://www.southampton.ac.uk |
| 15 | Exeter | 360 | 27500 | 7 | 28 | https://www.exeter.ac.uk |
| 16 | Manchester | 360 | 42500 | 59 | 43 | https://www.manchester.ac.uk |
| 17 | Kings | 410 | 32500 | 13 | https://www.kcl.ac.uk | |
| 18 | Leeds | 340 | 37500 | 76 | 32 | https://www.leeds.ac.uk |
| 19 | Birmingham | 340 | 37500 | 74 | 32 | https://www.birmingham.ac.uk |
| 20 | Sheffield | 320 | 32500 | 85 | 38 | https://www.sheffield.ac.uk |
| 21 | York | 320 | 17500 | 79 | 26 | https://www.york.ac.uk |
| 22 | Loughborough | 340 | 15500 | 27 | 27 | https://www.lboro.ac.uk |
| 23 | Aberdeen | 300 | 13000 | 78 | 44 | https://www.abdn.ac.uk |
| 24 | East Anglia | 300 | 16000 | 81 | 26 | https://www.uea.ac.uk |
| 25 | Dundee | 13000 | 35 | 24 | https://www.dundee.ac.uk | |
| 26 | Swansea | 320 | 17500 | 22 | 22 | https://www.swansea.ac.uk |
| 27 | Cardiff | 340 | 32500 | 73 | 28 | https://www.cardiff.ac.uk |
| 28 | Queens Belfast | 340 | 18500 | 35 | 37 | https://www.qub.ac.uk |
| 29 | Nottingham | 340 | 32500 | 11 | 30 | https://www.nottingham.ac.uk |
| 30 | Liverpool | 320 | 28,700 | 14 | 35 | https://www.liverpool.ac.uk |
| 31 | Leicester | 320 | 17500 | 72 | 31 | https://le.ac.uk |
| 32 | QMUL | 320 | 22500 | 44 | 46 | https://www.qmul.ac.uk |
| 33 | Royal Holloway | 320 | 10000 | 17 | 36 | https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk |
| 34 | Sussex | 17300 | 83 | 37 | https://www.sussex.ac.uk | |
| 35 | Strathclyde | 320 | 19,500 | 42 | 27 | https://isc.strath.ac.uk |
| 36 | Newcastle | 360 | 27500 | 87 | 27 | https://www.ncl.ac.uk |
| 37 | Aston | 11500 | 50 | 24 | https://www.aston.ac.uk | |
| 38 | Stirling | 260 | 10000 | 20 | 26 | https://www.stir.ac.uk |
| 39 | Surrey | 320 | 14500 | 65 | 36 | https://isc.surrey.ac.uk |
| 40 | Essex | 13500 | 74 | 40 | https://www.essex.ac.uk | |
| 41 | Northumbria | 300 | 21500 | 63 | 19 | https://www.northumbria.ac.uk |
| 42 | Kent | 340 | 17500 | 85 | 30 | https://www.kent.ac.uk |
| 43 | UWE | 23500 | NA | 21 | https://www.uwe.ac.uk | |
| 44 | Plymouth | 240 | 9500 | 85 | 37 | https://www.plymouth.ac.uk |
| 45 | Bournemouth | 14000 | 50 | 19 | https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk | |
| 46 | St Georges | 3500 | 39 | 21 | https://www.sgul.ac.uk | |
| 47 | Bangor | 9000 | 23 | 23 | https://www.bangor.ac.uk | |
| 48 | Goldsmiths | 9500 | 67 | 37 | https://www.gold.ac.uk | |
| 49 | SOAS | 5000 | 63 | 54 | https://www.soas.ac.uk | |
| 50 | Reading | 15,400 | 31 | https://www.reading.ac.uk |