UK University Ranking 2023

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Why is the Good University Guide published by the Times a Better University Ranking?

The Good University Guide published by the Times takes into account of a wide range of criteria (such as student satisfaction, research quality, entry standard, graduate prospects, etc) to evaluate the quality of education in an university. The Guide’s more holistic approach is believed to be able to reflect standards in both teaching and learning, as well as academic researches, which is why we have always recommended the Good University Guide as the quantitative reference when students and parents choose the right university.

In this year’s university rankings, there are three key changes that students and parents may like to pay extra attention to:

Three academic disciplines – Bioengineering & Biomedical Engineering, Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences – now have their own subject rankings, providing better reference for students interested in these areas.
With the publication of the latest research assessment framework (REF 2021), there are bigger changes in the research quality data within the rankings. While as a whole there aren’t a lot of big movements, some modern universities – such as Falmouth University、Nottingham Trent University、University of Portsmouth, etc – see bigger jumps in their positions, thanks to their excellent results in REF 2021!
Services/Facilities Spend is no longer included as a ranking criteria, effecting a heavier weighting in other areas.

Overall UK University Ranking (2023)

2023 University Ranking	2022 University Ranking	UK University	Research Quality
1▲	2	University of Oxford	67%
2▼	1	University of St Andrews	53.8%
3	3	University of Cambridge	69.7%
4▲	5	London School of Economics and Political Science	68%
5▼	4	Imperial College London	73.9%
6	6	Durham University	55.9%
7	7	University College London	66.8%
8▲	9	University of Bath	53%
9▼	8	University of Warwick	60.9%
10▲	13	University of Edinburgh	61.5%
11▼	10	Loughborough University	52.5%
12▼	11	Lancaster University	57.4%
13▲	21	University of Exeter	57.5%
14▼	12	University of Glasgow	61.2%
15▼	14	University of Bristol	66.2%
16	16	University of Southampton	60.1%
17▲	19	University of York	62.8%
18▼	17	University of Strathclyde	53.1%
19▲	20	University of Aberdeen	38.7%
20▲	25	University of Birmingham	61.9%
20▲	22	University of Sheffield	59.1%
22▲	32	University of Surrey	53.3%
23▼	15	University of Leeds	57%
24▼	23	University of Manchester	64.4%
25▲	35	Cardiff University	56.7%
26▼	18	King’s College London	64.2%
27	27	University of East Anglia	58%
28▼	24	Queen’s University, Belfast	52%
29▼	26	Royal Holloway, University of London	53.6%
30▼	28	University of Nottingham	56.1%
30▲	34	University of Reading	51.1%
32▲	35	University of Dundee	51.1%
33▲	42	Newcastle University	53.6%
33▼	30	University of Liverpool	55.6%
35▲	37	University of Leicester	53.6%
36▲	40	Queen Mary, University of London	58.7%
37▼	33	SOAS University of London	51.9%
38▲	44	Ulster University	47.8%
38▲	41	University of Stirling	43.8%
40▲	74	University of West London	28.7%
41▼	38	Aberystwyth University	38.7%
42▲	87	Falmouth University	48.8%
42▲	70	Nottingham Trent University	41.9%
42▼	39	Swansea University	47.5%
45	45	Aston University, Birmingham	40.9%
45▲	64	Bangor University	51.3%
47▼	29	Harper Adams University	19.5%
48▼	46	University of Kent	52.9%
49▲	62	Northumbria University	40.6%
50▼	47	University of Sussex	52.9%
51▲	67	St Mary’s University, Twickenham	29.4%
52▲	60	Glasgow Caledonian University	38.5%
53▼	49	University of Lincoln	38.4%
54▼	43	University of Essex	50%
55▼	51	Coventry University	33.8%
56▼	52	University of the Arts, London	46%
57▼	30	Heriot-Watt University	48.7%
57▼	54	Oxford Brookes University	32.8%
59▼	57	Edinburgh Napier University	32.9%
60▲	71	Manchester Metropolitan University	43.7%
61▲	73	University of the West of England	35.7%
62▲	88	University of Portsmouth	39.1%
63▲	69	University for the Creative Arts	41.2%
64▼	48	Keele University	42%
65▼	62	Robert Gordon University	20.8%
66▼	50	University of Chichester	20.1%
67▼	66	Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh	27.3%
68▼	55	City, University of London	51.5%
69▼	52	University of Hull	42.4%
70▼	56	Norwich University of the Arts	38.8%
71▲	103	Leeds Arts University	6%
71▲	93	Liverpool John Moores University	32.8%
73▲	75	University of Huddersfield	31.1%
74▼	58	University of Plymouth	38.6%
75▲	82	Bishop Grosseteste University	11.3%
76▲	79	Arts University Bournemouth	23%
77▲	103	Bath Spa University	29.3%
78▼	58	Edge Hill University	26.3%
79▲	83	York St John University	19.6%
80▲	81	Liverpool Hope University	22.3%
80▲	101	Plymouth Marjon University	17.4%
82▼	72	Sheffield Hallam University	36%
82▼	78	St George’s, University of London	48.8%
84▲	89	University of Greenwich	32.9%
85▲	89	University of Buckingham	n/a%
86▲	118	Teesside University	28%
87▲	106	University of Winchester	22%
88▲	98	University of Salford	37.8%
89▲	94	Abertay University	24.6%
89▲	106	Bournemouth University	30.7%
91▲	96	University of Hertfordshire	39.2%
92▲	101	Kingston University	34.6%
93▼	79	Cardiff Metropolitan University	32%
94▼	83	Birmingham City University	29%
95▼	89	University of Bradford	29.9%
96▼	94	University of Derby	21%
97▼	68	University of Chester	21.1%
98▲	117	University of Brighton	41.4%
98▼	77	University of Sunderland	30.5%
100▲	124	Leeds Trinity University	15.1%
101▼	65	University of Roehampton	45.9%
102▲	116	Royal Agricultural University	24.2%
103▼	99	University of South Wales	27.5%
104▼	83	University of Wales Trinity St David	23.8%
105▲	112	Hartpury University	15.8%
106▼	76	Staffordshire University	30%
107▲	108	University of Central Lancashire	30.4%
108▼	61	Goldsmiths, University of London	45.5%
109▲	115	Anglia Ruskin University	30.2%
110▲	121	Brunel University London	34%
110▼	86	University of Worcester	15.3%
112▼	96	University of Gloucestershire	21%
113▼	112	Leeds Beckett University	26.7%
114▼	112	Solent University	12.6%
115▲	123	Middlesex University	30.4%
115▼	105	University of Suffolk	21.8%
115▲	129	University of Westminster	39.7%
118▲	122	Newman University	13.3%
119	119	Canterbury Christ Church University	26.1%
120▼	110	Wrexham Glyndwr University	13.3%
121▼	119	Buckinghamshire New University	17.6%
122▲	126	De Montfort University	27.4%
122▼	110	University of the West of Scotland	19.2%
124▼	89	University of Bolton	10.6%
125▼	108	University of Northampton	13.8%
126▲	127	London South Bank University	28.8%
127▲	128	University of Wolverhampton	21.6%
128▼	100	London Metropolitan University	29.2%
129▼	125	University of Cumbria	13.6%
130▲	131	Ravensbourne University, London	13.5%
131▼	130	University of East London	22.8%
132	132	University of Bedfordshire	30%

Click to see our university network: Students can apply to over 125 universities and specialist institutions in our university network.

The Importance of Subject Ranking

When looking at the university ranking table, students should be aware that it is based on overall performance of the universities, and therefore may not necessarily reflects a university’s strength in a specific subject area. For many reasons, some universities that are leading in a specific subject area might be ranked relatively low in the overall ranking table. This phenomenon is more common in newly developed subjects (such as hospitality & tourism). For students who have chosen a specific subject, subject ranking tables will be a better reference.

Subject Ranking	Overall Ranking	Accounting & Finance
1	4	LSE
2	18	Strathclyde
3	9	Warwick
4	8	Bath
5	23	Leeds

Subject Ranking	Overall Ranking	Architecture
1	3	Cambridge
2	11	Loughborough
3	25	Cardiff
4	20	Sheffield
5	8	Bath

Subject Ranking	Overall Ranking	Bioengineering
1	1	Oxford
2	32	Dundee
2	5	Imperial College
4	23	Leeds
5	20	Sheffield

Subject Ranking	Overall Ranking	Hospitality & Tourism
1	20	Birmingham
2	10	Edinburgh
3	71	Liverpool John Moores
4	22	Surrey
5	62	Portsmouth

Subject Ranking	Overall Ranking	Physiotherapy
1	52	Glasgow Caledonian
2	65	Robert Gordon
3	16	Southampton
4	27	East Anglia
5	49	Northumbria

Subject Ranking	Overall Ranking	Politics
1	2	St Andrews
2	9	Warwick
2	1	Oxford
4	3	Cambridge
5	4	LSE

Updated: 2022-9-22

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