Getting into a Top UK University – a How To Guide
Part 4.
League Tables: Deciding on the best university trajectory on leaving school
There are arguably three globally respected guides in ranking British Universities:
The Guardian University Rankings;
The Complete University Guide Rankings; and, probably the best known,
Sunday Times Rankings
The Times Higher Education journal separately defines the status of British Universities in a global context – and also makes a calculation of the most valued University brands for securing places in Industry.
Each of these five league tables use different methodologies to determine universities rank.
We have provided a snapshot of the latest of these reports below to help you weigh up options.
I. The Guardian Overall University Rankings 2017
Ranking | University Name | Average Teaching Score | Expenditure per student / 10 | Student:staff ratio | Career prospects (%) | Value added score/10 |
1st | Cambridge | 100 | 9.7 | 11 | 90 | 5.7 |
2nd | Oxford | 95.4 | 10 | 10.5 | 88 | 6.8 |
3rd | St Andrews | 90.8 | 6.9 | 11.6 | 83 | 7 |
4th | Loughborough | 85 | 6.8 | 14.6 | 83 | 6.4 |
5th | Surrey | 85 | 6.2 | 13.9 | 79 | 6.4 |
6th | Durham | 84.9 | 5.5 | 14.7 | 83 | 7.1 |
7th | Imperial College | 84.4 | 8.4 | 11.1 | 90 | 6.1 |
8th | Lancaster | 82.6 | 7.7 | 13.4 | 83 | 4.5 |
9th | Warwick | 82 | 8.6 | 12.5 | 79 | 5.8 |
10th | Bath | 79.9 | 6 | 15.5 | 85 | 5.9 |
11th | Exeter | 78.2 | 6 | 15.7 | 80 | 6.3 |
12th | London School of Economics | 78.1 | 7.9 | 11.6 | 79 | 5.5 |
13th | Birmingham | 76.6 | 7.3 | 14 | 86 | 6.7 |
14th | UCL | 76.3 | 8.3 | 10.2 | 82 | 6.6 |
15th | Coventry | 75.3 | 4.7 | 14.6 | 74 | 6.9 |
16th | Leeds | 74.9 | 5.7 | 13.5 | 78 | 6.7 |
17th | Southampton | 74.9 | 6.7 | 12 | 78 | 6.5 |
18th | City | 73.8 | 7.8 | 16.6 | 79 | 5.6 |
19th | York | 73.7 | 7.1 | 14.5 | 76 | 4.8 |
20th | Sussex | 73.6 | 7.6 | 15.3 | 84 | 5.3 |
21st | Falmouth | 72.8 | 5.9 | 18.9 | 74 | 6.7 |
22nd | Edinburgh | 72.7 | 9 | 12 | 78 | 6 |
23rd | Kent | 72.5 | 5.1 | 12.7 | 77 | 6 |
24th | UEA | 71.5 | 3.9 | 13.2 | 71 | 6.7 |
25th | Nottingham | 71 | 6.8 | 13.2 | 82 | 6 |
26th | Glasgow | 70.8 | 6.4 | 14.5 | 78 | 5.1 |
27th | Heriot-Watt | 70.4 | 7.3 | 15.6 | 78 | 6.1 |
28th | Dundee | 69.9 | 5.6 | 12.6 | 80 | 5.8 |
29th | Aston | 69.4 | 6.7 | 19 | 77 | 7.5 |
30th | SOAS | 69.3 | 6.9 | 11.1 | 69 | 6.1 |
31st | Manchester | 69.2 | 8 | 13.4 | 78 | 4.5 |
32nd | Reading | 69.1 | 8.1 | 14.7 | 70 | 6.3 |
33rd | Cardiff | 66.9 | 7.5 | 13.7 | 80 | 4.8 |
34th | Keele | 66.8 | 4.6 | 13.2 | 77 | 3.9 |
35th | Queen Mary | 66.8 | 6.9 | 12.2 | 73 | 4.6 |
36th | Aberdeen | 66.1 | 5.8 | 13.5 | 77 | 6 |
37th | Newcastle | 65.8 | 5.1 | 15.5 | 79 | 5.3 |
38th | Bristol | 65.1 | 5.7 | 13.8 | 79 | 6.2 |
39th | University for the Creative Arts | 64.9 | 8.7 | 12.1 | 51 | 3.4 |
40th | Swansea | 64.9 | 4.9 | 14.7 | 82 | 6.1 |
41st | Sheffield | 64.8 | 5.6 | 14.6 | 76 | 5.7 |
42nd | King’s College London | 64.4 | 5.9 | 11.7 | 84 | 6.2 |
43rd | Portsmouth | 64.3 | 5.4 | 15.4 | 67 | 6.4 |
44th | Robert Gordon | 63.8 | 3.8 | 18.4 | 83 | 4.9 |
45th | Royal Holloway | 63.4 | 5.1 | 15.3 | 62 | 4.7 |
46th | Goldsmiths | 63 | 4.4 | 13.8 | 56 | 7.2 |
47th | Leicester | 62.3 | 7.4 | 12.9 | 72 | 5 |
48th | Derby | 62.2 | 6 | 14.8 | 60 | 5.4 |
49th | Queen’s, Belfast | 62.2 | 4.6 | 15.1 | 79 | 6.2 |
50th | Northumbria | 61.7 | 3.9 | 17.1 | 66 | 6.2 |
51st | Strathclyde | 61.5 | 6.7 | 19.4 | 72 | 4.8 |
52nd | Bradford | 61.2 | 5.3 | 16 | 75 | 6.6 |
53rd | University of the Arts London | 61.1 | 9.9 | 17 | 58 | 5.7 |
54th | Nottingham Trent | 61.1 | 4.2 | 16.7 | 68 | 5.7 |
55th | Bangor | 60.5 | 4.3 | 16.9 | 68 | 4 |
56th | Lincoln | 60.4 | 4.1 | 15.7 | 70 | 4.3 |
57th | Oxford Brookes | 60.3 | 3.9 | 18.3 | 69 | 6.4 |
58th | Stirling | 60.2 | 3.8 | 14.9 | 73 | 6.2 |
59th | Liverpool | 60.1 | 6.8 | 11.8 | 76 | 5.7 |
60th | Manchester Met | 59.5 | 3.5 | 15.6 | 63 | 5.1 |
61st | De Montfort | 58.5 | 4.1 | 18.6 | 77 | 5.9 |
62nd | Essex | 57.7 | 3.6 | 16.5 | 65 | 6.2 |
63rd | Winchester | 57.3 | 2.7 | 16.7 | 62 | 6.2 |
64th | Edge Hill | 57.2 | 4.1 | 14.8 | 64 | 5.4 |
65th | Chester | 57 | 5.4 | 14 | 64 | 4 |
66th | Anglia Ruskin | 56.7 | 8.1 | 17.3 | 65 | 4.9 |
67th | Bath Spa | 56.7 | 5.1 | 18.5 | 55 | 5.3 |
68th | UWE Bristol | 56.5 | 3.7 | 18.5 | 71 | 6.6 |
69th | Staffordshire | 55.3 | 5.8 | 15.7 | 58 | 5.6 |
70th | Edinburgh Napier | 55.1 | 3.7 | 20.1 | 69 | 7.7 |
71st | Hull | 55 | 4.8 | 16.2 | 67 | 5.1 |
72nd | Gloucestershire | 54.9 | 5.7 | 18.3 | 56 | 6.6 |
73rd | Northampton | 54.7 | 5 | 18.6 | 62 | 6.3 |
74th | Middlesex | 54.5 | 7.1 | 16.3 | 64 | 4.6 |
75th | Chichester | 54.3 | 3.1 | 16 | 58 | 5.5 |
76th | Plymouth | 54.2 | 5.2 | 16.4 | 60 | 6 |
77th | Brunel | 54.1 | 4.4 | 15.7 | 63 | 5.3 |
78th | Huddersfield | 54.1 | 3.5 | 20.6 | 74 | 5.1 |
79th | Bournemouth | 53.9 | 5.7 | 17.3 | 66 | 7.1 |
80th | Liverpool Hope | 53.9 | 2.6 | 16.2 | 54 | 3.7 |
81st | Ulster | 53.9 | 4.3 | 17.1 | 64 | 5.2 |
82nd | Sunderland | 53.9 | 6.9 | 16.3 | 63 | 4.6 |
83rd | Salford | 53.6 | 4 | 16.7 | 59 | 5.5 |
84th | Liverpool John Moores | 53.5 | 3.5 | 18.1 | 63 | 6 |
85th | Abertay Dundee | 53.4 | 2.6 | 19.3 | 66 | 6.7 |
86th | Sheffield Hallam | 53.1 | 5.3 | 16.5 | 62 | 6.1 |
87th | Central Lancashire | 52.6 | 5.8 | 16.8 | 63 | 4.7 |
88th | Kingston | 52.4 | 5 | 19.3 | 61 | 4.9 |
89th | Leeds Trinity | 52.4 | 2.9 | 21.6 | 66 | 7 |
90th | Roehampton | 52.3 | 5.9 | 14.9 | 61 | 5.7 |
91st | Brighton | 51.3 | 3.7 | 17.4 | 67 | 5.1 |
92nd | Cardiff Met | 51.3 | 4.5 | 17.9 | 61 | 5.8 |
93rd | Bolton | 51.1 | 4.3 | 15.9 | 60 | 4.4 |
94th | Hertfordshire | 51 | 4.2 | 17.5 | 75 | 4.9 |
95th | Worcester | 50.6 | 2.9 | 17.3 | 64 | 6.4 |
96th | West London | 50.3 | 5.6 | 15.6 | 61 | 5.4 |
97th | University Campus Suffolk | 48.7 | 20 | 55 | 2.3 | |
98th | Greenwich | 48.6 | 3.7 | 18.6 | 58 | 5.3 |
99th | Glasgow Caledonian | 48.4 | 3.9 | 21.1 | 70 | 5.6 |
100th | Southampton Solent | 48.2 | 4.3 | 16.9 | 55 | 5.7 |
101st | Queen Margaret | 47.4 | 2.6 | 18.3 | 60 | 6.5 |
102nd | Teesside | 47.3 | 5.8 | 17.4 | 60 | 3.7 |
103rd | West of Scotland | 47.2 | 3.2 | 19.8 | 66 | 5.9 |
104th | York St John | 46.8 | 4.2 | 18.5 | 66 | 4.2 |
105th | Birmingham City | 45.2 | 4.8 | 19.1 | 65 | 5.5 |
106th | St Mary’s, Twickenham | 45.1 | 4.6 | 20.2 | 67 | 3.3 |
107th | London South Bank | 44.5 | 4.3 | 17.2 | 68 | 5.2 |
108th | Aberystwyth | 43.6 | 4.7 | 19.1 | 63 | 3.5 |
109th | Canterbury Christ Church | 43.5 | 3 | 16 | 58 | 5.4 |
110th | Newman | 43.3 | 3.4 | 16.9 | 55 | 3.3 |
111th | South Wales | 42.6 | 3.2 | 16.8 | 58 | 4.7 |
112th | Westminster | 40.9 | 4.1 | 19.8 | 55 | 6.2 |
113th | Bedfordshire | 40.5 | 5.9 | 17.4 | 59 | 3.4 |
114th | Leeds Beckett | 40.2 | 3.7 | 20.7 | 58 | 5 |
115th | East London | 37.7 | 4.9 | 20 | 46 | 5.8 |
116th | Bucks New University | 37 | 3.4 | 17.6 | 57 | 3.5 |
117th | Cumbria | 36.2 | 2.6 | 19.7 | 65 | 4.4 |
118th | London Met | 35.7 | 2.9 | 17.4 | 47 | 3.9 |
119th | Glyndŵr | 30.5 | 3 | 22.1 | 67 | 3.9 |
2. Complete University Guide Rankings 2017
Ranking | University Name | Entry Requirement | Student Satisfaction | Research Quality | Career prospects (%) | Overall Score |
1st | Cambridge | 600 | 4.17 | 3.33 | 89 | 1000 |
2nd | Oxford | 574 | 4.17 | 3.34 | 86.7 | 998 |
3rd | London School of Economics | 518 | 3.89 | 3.35 | 78.5 | 940 |
4th | Imperial College London | 567 | 4.15 | 3.36 | 90.8 | 938 |
5th | St Andrews | 520 | 4.23 | 3.13 | 83.2 | 927 |
6th | Durham | 524 | 4.14 | 3.14 | 83.6 | 916 |
7th | Loughborough | 410 | 4.26 | 2.95 | 83.6 | 897 |
8th | Warwick | 485 | 4.09 | 3.22 | 79.5 | 889 |
9th | Lancaster | 423 | 4.17 | 3.15 | 82.6 | 885 |
10th | University College London | 505 | 3.95 | 3.22 | 82.9 | 880 |
11th | Bath | 478 | 4.18 | 3.17 | 85.1 | 870 |
11th | Surrey | 431 | 4.31 | 2.98 | 78.7 | 870 |
13th | Exeter | 466 | 4.18 | 3.08 | 79.6 | 855 |
14th | East Anglia (UEA) | 423 | 4.17 | 3.11 | 70.1 | 841 |
15th | Birmingham | 423 | 4.08 | 3.07 | 86.5 | 832 |
16th | Leeds | 430 | 4.16 | 3.13 | 78.5 | 827 |
17th | Southampton | 417 | 4.08 | 3.15 | 77.9 | 821 |
18th | Sussex | 375 | 4.06 | 3.01 | 84.2 | 817 |
19th | Edinburgh | 485 | 3.93 | 3.18 | 78.6 | 808 |
20th | York | 430 | 4.14 | 3.17 | 75.7 | 807 |
21st | King’s College London | 462 | 3.91 | 3.23 | 85.7 | 799 |
21st | Nottingham | 424 | 4.06 | 3.09 | 81.2 | 799 |
23rd | Kent | 358 | 4.12 | 2.95 | 76.6 | 796 |
24th | Bristol | 476 | 3.96 | 3.18 | 79.5 | 791 |
25th | Manchester | 433 | 4.05 | 3.16 | 78.4 | 773 |
25th | Newcastle | 430 | 4.14 | 3.09 | 79.3 | 773 |
27th | Reading | 371 | 4.09 | 3.03 | 70.2 | 764 |
27th | Sheffield | 415 | 4.14 | 3.17 | 75.5 | 764 |
29th | Glasgow | 467 | 4.12 | 3.1 | 79.5 | 762 |
30th | Aston | 353 | 4.17 | 3.05 | 78.8 | 761 |
31st | Queen Mary, University of London | 404 | 4.12 | 3.18 | 73 | 756 |
32nd | Leicester | 390 | 4.03 | 2.93 | 72.1 | 755 |
33rd | Queen’s, Belfast | 385 | 4.13 | 2.99 | 78.4 | 754 |
34th | Heriot-Watt | 406 | 4.12 | 3.06 | 77.9 | 751 |
35th | Cardiff | 399 | 4.09 | 3.27 | 79.8 | 747 |
35th | Dundee | 426 | 4.19 | 3.03 | 79.9 | 747 |
37th | Royal Holloway, University of London | 402 | 4.15 | 3.09 | 62.4 | 743 |
38th | Liverpool | 383 | 4.01 | 3.06 | 75.8 | 742 |
39th | Stirling | 374 | 3.99 | 2.96 | 72.8 | 730 |
40th | City, University of London | 371 | 4.2 | 2.95 | 78 | 727 |
41st | Essex | 297 | 4.22 | 3.05 | 63.7 | 726 |
42nd | Aberdeen | 441 | 4 | 2.97 | 76 | 718 |
43rd | SOAS University of London | 397 | 3.98 | 2.82 | 68.1 | 714 |
44th | St George’s, University of London | 429 | 4 | 2.99 | 93.4 | 713 |
45th | Swansea | 311 | 4.13 | 3.09 | 81.1 | 702 |
46th | Harper Adams | 338 | 4.11 | 2.66 | 73.7 | 691 |
46th | Keele | 350 | 4.28 | 2.88 | 75.6 | 691 |
48th | Strathclyde | 470 | 4.01 | 3.04 | 71.7 | 688 |
49th | Lincoln | 339 | 4.09 | 2.54 | 70.5 | 683 |
50th | Coventry | 316 | 4.28 | 2.67 | 73.8 | 679 |
51st | Goldsmiths, University of London | 353 | 3.98 | 2.9 | 55.5 | 677 |
52nd | Brunel University London | 349 | 4.06 | 2.67 | 63 | 672 |
53rd | Bradford | 321 | 4.08 | 2.95 | 75 | 656 |
54th | De Montfort | 292 | 4.14 | 2.67 | 76.8 | 648 |
55th | Buckingham | 311 | 4.36 | n/a | 83.3 | 641 |
56th | Bournemouth | 321 | 3.9 | 2.72 | 65.8 | 638 |
57th | Manchester Metropolitan | 349 | 4.1 | 2.74 | 63.2 | 637 |
58th | Falmouth | 310 | 4.14 | 2.04 | 73.5 | 634 |
59th | Northumbria | 361 | 4.11 | 2.71 | 66 | 633 |
59th | University for the Creative Arts | 316 | 4.08 | 2.72 | 51.7 | 633 |
61st | Portsmouth | 321 | 4.14 | 2.75 | 66.8 | 631 |
62nd | Bangor | 342 | 4.26 | 2.99 | 67.2 | 629 |
63rd | Nottingham Trent | 305 | 4.15 | 2.59 | 66.3 | 627 |
64th | Robert Gordon | 385 | 4.09 | 2.35 | 82.8 | 625 |
65th | Oxford Brookes | 335 | 4.15 | 2.66 | 68.6 | 624 |
66th | Norwich University of the Arts | 343 | 4.15 | 2.69 | 63.1 | 621 |
67th | West of England, Bristol | 323 | 4.03 | 2.7 | 70.4 | 614 |
68th | Hull | 335 | 4.05 | 2.7 | 66.5 | 606 |
69th | Roehampton | 275 | 4.02 | 2.83 | 60 | 604 |
70th | Ulster | 307 | 4.18 | 2.91 | 62.3 | 600 |
71st | Edge Hill | 327 | 4.16 | 2.22 | 63.1 | 599 |
72nd | Cardiff Metropolitan | 315 | 4.03 | 3 | 59 | 598 |
72nd | Sheffield Hallam | 304 | 4.03 | 2.76 | 64.7 | 598 |
74th | Liverpool John Moores | 342 | 4.12 | 2.79 | 63 | 596 |
74th | Winchester | 293 | 4.17 | 2.32 | 60.5 | 596 |
76th | Arts University Bournemouth | 322 | 4.07 | 2.3 | 61.4 | 586 |
76th | Bath Spa | 321 | 4.2 | 2.52 | 54.5 | 586 |
78th | Middlesex | 297 | 4.02 | 2.58 | 64.7 | 580 |
79th | Hertfordshire | 302 | 4.01 | 2.61 | 74.7 | 577 |
80th | Chichester | 298 | 4.17 | 2.5 | 56.9 | 575 |
81st | Huddersfield | 331 | 4.13 | 2.65 | 73.6 | 572 |
82nd | Glasgow Caledonian | 385 | 3.98 | 2.67 | 70.1 | 568 |
83rd | Liverpool Hope | 307 | 4.28 | 2.21 | 53.4 | 567 |
84th | Plymouth | 314 | 4.08 | 2.74 | 60.1 | 566 |
85th | University of the Arts, London | 314 | 3.92 | 3.12 | 59 | 561 |
86th | Abertay | 338 | 4.04 | 2.16 | 65.6 | 557 |
87th | Aberystwyth | 289 | 4.01 | 2.84 | 62.3 | 555 |
87th | Northampton | 280 | 4.14 | 2.09 | 59.4 | 555 |
89th | Gloucestershire | 319 | 4.06 | 2.38 | 55.2 | 551 |
90th | Brighton | 301 | 4 | 2.84 | 66.6 | 550 |
91st | Derby | 302 | 4.16 | 2.07 | 59.1 | 546 |
92nd | Edinburgh Napier | 337 | 4.05 | 2.52 | 68.6 | 544 |
93rd | Queen Margaret | 350 | 4.02 | 2.65 | 58.2 | 540 |
94th | Chester | 303 | 4.12 | 2.08 | 63.1 | 539 |
95th | Birmingham City | 316 | 3.96 | 2.64 | 64.3 | 535 |
95th | Salford | 316 | 4.05 | 2.54 | 59.2 | 535 |
97th | Worcester | 300 | 4.09 | 2.08 | 63.1 | 526 |
98th | Greenwich | 337 | 4.08 | 2.33 | 58.1 | 525 |
99th | Central Lancashire | 317 | 4.06 | 2.51 | 62.3 | 515 |
99th | South Wales | 321 | 3.97 | 2.51 | 58.4 | 515 |
101st | Staffordshire | 274 | 4.11 | 2.2 | 57.7 | 506 |
102nd | Westminster | 315 | 3.96 | 2.74 | 54.9 | 503 |
103rd | Leeds Trinity | 284 | 4.11 | 2.01 | 65.8 | 502 |
103rd | Royal Agricultural University | 301 | 4.01 | 1.4 | 69.7 | 502 |
103rd | Sunderland | 289 | 4.1 | 2.12 | 62.2 | 502 |
106th | West London | 301 | 3.99 | 1.92 | 60 | 498 |
107th | Teesside | 305 | 4.13 | 2.58 | 59.2 | 490 |
107th | York St John | 300 | 4.11 | 2.04 | 64.8 | 490 |
109th | Kingston | 288 | 3.97 | 2.7 | 60.6 | 485 |
110th | Anglia Ruskin | 254 | 4.14 | 2.37 | 64.7 | 483 |
110th | West of Scotland | 316 | 4.08 | 2.36 | 65.1 | 483 |
112th | Canterbury Christ Church | 270 | 4.02 | 2.38 | 57.6 | 475 |
113th | Buckinghamshire New | 256 | 4.07 | 2.19 | 57.1 | 460 |
114th | Leeds Beckett | 288 | 3.98 | 2.16 | 58.3 | 446 |
115th | London South Bank | 254 | 3.99 | 2.52 | 67.4 | 443 |
115th | Southampton Solent | 275 | 4.02 | 1.63 | 54.1 | 443 |
117th | Newman | 298 | 4.15 | 2.13 | 52.6 | 442 |
118th | St Mary’s, Twickenham | 291 | 4.13 | 1.98 | 66.6 | 440 |
119th | Bishop Grosseteste | 284 | 4.07 | 1.96 | 67.8 | 438 |
120th | Bedfordshire | 234 | 4.08 | 2.52 | 57.9 | 423 |
121st | Cumbria | 286 | 3.93 | 2.13 | 64.5 | 422 |
122nd | Bolton | 283 | 4.1 | 2.04 | 59.9 | 406 |
123rd | University of Wales Trinity Saint David | 284 | 3.99 | 2.39 | 50.2 | 397 |
124th | Plymouth Marjon | 288 | 3.92 | n/a | 60.5 | 379 |
125th | Glyndwr | 236 | 4.1 | 2.15 | 66.1 | 378 |
126th | East London | 277 | 3.93 | 2.71 | 45.2 | 376 |
127th | London Metropolitan | 247 | 4 | 2.44 | 47 | 322 |
3. The Times And Sunday Times UK University Rankings 2017
4. Times Higher Education World University Rankings
5. Times Higher Education World University Reputation Rankings
Next: The Top British universities in detail
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