Insights
Universities ranked by subject 2026
We rank universities in 74 subject tables. Find out which university ranks top for each table, and how many times they feature in the top tens.
Sophie Rogers
01 Sep 2025
Top universities by subject
Click on a subject name to see the full league table.
Click on a university name to read its profile – includes accommodation, student stats, and student services and facilities.
Which universities rank top of the subject tables?
Discover how many times universities appear in a subject table, take the top places and feature in a top 10.
Click on a university name to read their profile.
| Rank | Institution | Appearances in subject tables | Top places | Times in top ten | Percentage in top ten |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge | 42 | 26 | 42 | 100.0 |
| 2 | Imperial College London | 14 | 3 | 14 | 100.0 |
| 3 | London School of Economics | 13 | 3 | 13 | 100.0 |
| 4 | Oxford | 39 | 11 | 39 | 100.0 |
| 5 | St Andrews | 26 | 2 | 24 | 92.3 |
| 6 | Durham | 32 | 2 | 28 | 87.5 |
| 7 | Bath | 28 | 1 | 23 | 82.1 |
| 8 | University College London | 41 | 2 | 30 | 73.2 |
| 9 | Bristol | 42 | 1 | 27 | 64.3 |
| 10 | Warwick | 30 | 1 | 19 | 63.3 |
| 11 | York | 30 | 0 | 16 | 53.3 |
| 12 | Exeter | 40 | 0 | 21 | 52.5 |
| 13 | Birmingham | 48 | 1 | 25 | 52.1 |
| 14 | Loughborough | 31 | 4 | 16 | 51.6 |
| 15 | Edinburgh | 47 | 0 | 24 | 51.1 |
| 16 | Guildhall School of Music and Drama | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 |
| 17 | Harper Adams | 4 | 0 | 2 | 50.0 |
| 18 | Royal Veterinary College | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50.0 |
| 19 | Sheffield | 43 | 0 | 20 | 46.5 |
| 20 | King's College London | 37 | 1 | 16 | 43.2 |
| 21 | Manchester | 52 | 1 | 22 | 42.3 |
| 22 | Leeds | 52 | 1 | 21 | 40.4 |
| 23 | Lancaster | 35 | 0 | 13 | 37.1 |
| 24 | Glasgow | 45 | 1 | 16 | 35.6 |
| 25 | Royal Agricultural University | 3 | 0 | 1 | 33.3 |
| 26 | Nottingham | 49 | 0 | 16 | 32.7 |
| 27 | Queen's, Belfast | 40 | 2 | 13 | 32.5 |
| 28 | Cardiff | 44 | 1 | 14 | 31.8 |
| 29 | Southampton | 38 | 1 | 12 | 31.6 |
| 30 | Strathclyde | 35 | 1 | 10 | 28.6 |
| 31 | Newcastle | 44 | 1 | 12 | 27.3 |
| 32 | Surrey | 33 | 2 | 9 | 27.3 |
| 33 | Liverpool | 43 | 0 | 10 | 23.3 |
| 34 | Glasgow Caledonian | 27 | 0 | 6 | 22.2 |
| 35 | Bangor | 28 | 0 | 6 | 21.4 |
| 36 | SOAS, University of London | 10 | 0 | 2 | 20.0 |
| 37 | Ulster | 45 | 1 | 9 | 20.0 |
| 38 | Reading | 38 | 2 | 7 | 18.4 |
| 39 | Plymouth | 44 | 0 | 8 | 18.2 |
| 40 | East Anglia UEA | 35 | 2 | 6 | 17.1 |
| 41 | Arts University Bournemouth | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16.7 |
| 42 | Swansea | 43 | 1 | 7 | 16.3 |
| 43 | Dundee | 27 | 1 | 4 | 14.8 |
| 44 | Royal Holloway, University of London | 27 | 0 | 4 | 14.8 |
| 45 | Plymouth Marjon | 7 | 0 | 1 | 14.3 |
| 46 | Queen Margaret | 14 | 0 | 2 | 14.3 |
| 47 | Lincoln | 37 | 0 | 5 | 13.5 |
| 48 | Queen Mary, University of London | 32 | 0 | 4 | 12.5 |
| 49 | Leeds Beckett | 33 | 0 | 4 | 12.1 |
| 50 | Edge Hill | 26 | 0 | 3 | 11.5 |
| 51 | Northumbria | 35 | 0 | 4 | 11.4 |
| 52 | City St George's, University of London | 27 | 0 | 3 | 11.1 |
| 53 | Manchester Metropolitan | 39 | 0 | 4 | 10.3 |
| 54 | Bristol UWE | 39 | 0 | 4 | 10.3 |
| 55 | Huddersfield | 40 | 0 | 4 | 10.0 |
| 56 | Bradford | 22 | 0 | 2 | 9.1 |
| 57 | Oxford Brookes | 35 | 0 | 3 | 8.6 |
| 58 | Aston | 24 | 0 | 2 | 8.3 |
| 59 | Stirling | 24 | 1 | 2 | 8.3 |
| 60 | Hertfordshire | 37 | 0 | 3 | 8.1 |
| 61 | Aberystwyth | 27 | 0 | 2 | 7.4 |
| 62 | Northampton | 27 | 0 | 2 | 7.4 |
| 63 | Abertay | 14 | 0 | 1 | 7.1 |
| 64 | Keele | 28 | 0 | 2 | 7.1 |
| 65 | Sunderland | 28 | 0 | 2 | 7.1 |
| 66 | Nottingham Trent | 43 | 0 | 3 | 7.0 |
| 67 | South Wales | 29 | 0 | 2 | 6.9 |
| 68 | Suffolk | 15 | 0 | 1 | 6.7 |
| 69 | Aberdeen | 33 | 0 | 2 | 6.1 |
| 70 | Sussex | 33 | 0 | 2 | 6.1 |
| 71 | Birmingham City | 34 | 0 | 2 | 5.9 |
| 72 | Kent | 34 | 0 | 2 | 5.9 |
| 73 | Goldsmiths, University of London | 18 | 0 | 1 | 5.6 |
| 74 | Liverpool John Moores | 37 | 0 | 2 | 5.4 |
| 75 | Cardiff Metropolitan | 20 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 |
| 76 | Heriot-Watt | 21 | 0 | 1 | 4.8 |
| 77 | Middlesex | 22 | 0 | 1 | 4.5 |
| 78 | Robert Gordon | 22 | 0 | 1 | 4.5 |
| 79 | Sheffield Hallam | 44 | 0 | 2 | 4.5 |
| 80 | West of Scotland | 25 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 |
| 81 | Worcester | 26 | 0 | 1 | 3.8 |
| 82 | Gloucestershire | 27 | 0 | 1 | 3.7 |
| 83 | Kingston | 30 | 0 | 1 | 3.3 |
| 84 | Bournemouth | 31 | 0 | 1 | 3.2 |
| 85 | Teesside | 32 | 0 | 1 | 3.1 |
| 86 | Essex | 34 | 0 | 1 | 2.9 |
| 87 | Hull | 34 | 0 | 1 | 2.9 |
| 88 | Wolverhampton | 34 | 0 | 1 | 2.9 |
| 89 | Salford | 36 | 0 | 1 | 2.8 |
| 90 | Portsmouth | 41 | 0 | 1 | 2.4 |
| 91 | Lancashire | 44 | 0 | 1 | 2.3 |
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