Durham University has beaten its Oxbridge rivals in our UK university rankings for the first time, and claims the title of The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year 2026. The northeast academic powerhouse, located in a Unesco world heritage site, is England’s third-oldest university, and has climbed two places to rank third overall in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 league table, which is published today.
The success of the cathedral city university, which combines a collegiate structure and high academic achievement, has helped to push both the universities of Oxford and Cambridge outside the top three for the first time in the guide’s 32-year history. The country’s two most famous universities tie in fourth place this year, their performance hampered by tepid feedback from their students in the latest National Student Survey.
University of the Year
- Winner Durham University
Runner-up University of the Year University of Strathclyde
Highly Commended University of the Year University of Bath
Highly Commended University of the Year University of Birmingham - Russell Group University of the Year London School of Economics and Political Science
Highly Commended Russell Group University of the Year University of Warwick - Modern University of the Year Manchester Metropolitan University
Runner-up Modern University of the Year Glasgow Caledonian University - University of the Year for Graduate Employment Imperial College London
Joint Runners-up University of the Year for Graduate Employment London School of Economics and Political Science, Durham University
Where Oxbridge has stumbled, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has made great strides: it is ranked the UK’s No 1 university for the second consecutive year. It has pulled further ahead of the pack this year, securing its lead with soaring levels of satisfaction among undergraduates. LSE is also boosted by its stellar record on helping graduates launch straight into professional careers. The University of St Andrews retains its second-place spot. It scores highly for the calibre and consistency of the student experience and its research quality.
The academic rankings are based on an analysis of graduates’ prospects and students’ satisfaction with teaching and the wider experience, as well as research quality and entry standards. Also included are continuation rates among students and a sustainability metric provided by the student campaign group People & Planet.
An improvement of 30 places year-on-year for students’ evaluation of teaching quality has contributed to Durham’s rise in the main league table, and follows a two-place uplift for the university last year. In the tightly packed top ten such progress is immense. Its vice-chancellor, Professor Karen O’Brien, says: “Durham is an outstanding place to study. We ensure that every student can grow and thrive here. Our loyal, engaged alumni are testament to the impressive career prospects that await our graduates.”
Even Durham, though, is not immune to the financial challenges facing UK universities. It needs to save £20 million over the next two years to ensure a “sustainable financial base” after an £8 million deficit.
The University of Strathclyde is Runner-up University of the Year 2026 and the University of Bath and the University of Birmingham are Highly Commended.
In the spring the Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, reported that 43 per cent of institutions were forecasting a deficit for 2024-25. The rise in tuition fees for UK students to £9,535 a year will do little to improve the challenging situation. Reduced recruitment of international students was cited as the primary reason for the deterioration, compounded by a decline in the real-terms value of tuition fees — which had been frozen at £9,250 since 2017 — and higher running costs for universities including national insurance contributions.
Perhaps that is one reason why 94 out of 130 universities lowered their Ucas entry requirements — the average number of points was 132, compared with 135 last year.
As well as cutting costs by rationalising course provision and making redundancies, universities have been forming partnerships to improve their resilience. City St George’s has been created by the merger of London’s City and St George’s universities, and this month the universities of Greenwich and Kent announced a partnership.
Edward Peck, the chairman of the OfS, says: “This initiative demonstrates that higher education providers are continuing to take significant steps to address in a practical manner the challenges and opportunities that confront them. The OfS’s financial sustainability analysis has demonstrated the challenges facing the sector. More universities taking action to ensure their long-term financial future will likely explore the possibility of working more closely with partners, up to and including mergers.”
University is still a solid option for school-leavers, and UK universities continue to attract strong demand from young people at home and around the world.
Scottish University of the Year
- Winner University of Strathclyde
Runner-up Scottish University of the Year Heriot-Watt University - Scottish University of the Year for Social Inclusion University of the West of Scotland
“It’s always been a feature of the UK’s world-class universities that they attract the best and brightest students from across the world,” says Genia Garrity from Ucas. “This year is no different — we have seen an increase of nearly 6 per cent in undergraduate acceptances via Ucas from international students.”
The trend towards degrees that students hope will offer job security and/or high earnings has continued: “This year’s data also shows that students are continuing to make choices with future careers in mind, particularly in the NHS and Stem-related fields. Acceptances to engineering and technology courses are up 13 per cent, mathematics 9 per cent, and nursing among UK 18-year-olds up 6 per cent,” Garrity says.
Manchester Metropolitan’s eight-place climb up the league table has helped it take the Modern University of the Year 2026 title. The university’s All Saints campus, located near the city centre and bordering Hulme, has been upgraded to the tune of more than £400 million in the past decade. Improvements range from tree and wildflower areas boosting biodiversity to the £115 million Dalton Building, which opened in autumn 2024 to advance Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) education and research.
Helen Davies, the editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, says: “Many more undergraduates are choosing to stay at home and commute. It is why this year we have an award for the top university in each region and the best for scholarships and bursaries.
“It is exciting to see universities across the UK working to deliver extraordinary medical and technical breakthroughs, lead economic regeneration and inspire. New degrees are launching to meet the interests of today’s students and equip the next generation to power industry and progress positive change, such as programmes in electrical and electronic engineering with robotics, and AI and public policy.”
UK award winners
- Welsh University of the Year Cardiff University
Runner-up Welsh University of the Year Swansea University - University of the Year in the East University of Cambridge
- University of the Year in London London School of Economics and Political Science
- University of the Year in the Midlands University of Warwick
- University of the Year in the North and Northeast Durham University
- University of the Year in Northern Ireland Queen’s University Belfast
- University of the Year in the Northwest Lancaster University
- University of the Year in the Southeast University of Oxford
- University of the Year in the Southwest University of Bath
The universities that occupy the top tier of the academic league table have the highest entry standards, best job prospects and most competition for places. They also tend to place in the bottom tier of our social inclusion rankings. The highly selective Russell Group universities occupy 16 of the lowest 20 places in the diversity measure for England and Wales, with Exeter in last place, Cambridge second from bottom, and Oxford up three places to rank seventh from the bottom. Birmingham Newman University tops the social inclusion index, having gained four places. These rankings are based on measures reflecting the diversity of the student intake and their success in their degrees.
Key findings
- Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, was the biggest riser and jumped 39 places from 105 to 66, followed by Canterbury Christ Church University (up 28 places) and the University of Suffolk (up 27 places). The biggest faller was the University for the Creative Arts, which dropped 40 places from 87 to 127th.
- Ten universities didn’t move rank at all — including LSE (1), the University of St Andrews (2), the University of Cambridge (4=) and Imperial College London (6).
- Loughborough University (12) was the only institution to drop out of the top ten.
- All universities bar six had an increase in teaching quality. The highest rise was Leeds Trinity University, which went up 13 per cent.
- Leeds Trinity University also had the biggest improvement in student experience, up 19 per cent year-on-year.
- The continuation rate went down for 117 of the 130 universities. The institutions with the largest decrease are the University for the Creative Arts (minus 11 per cent), the University of Buckingham (minus 10 per cent) and Leeds Trinity University (minus 10 per cent).
- The proportion of “good honours” went down at most universities this year, including all the top ten. At LSE and the University of St Andrews it went down 4 per cent, while at Durham University it was 2 per cent down. By contrast Southampton Solent University enjoyed a 19 per cent increase in good honours.
- Ucas entry requirements were lowered at 94 of the 130 universities this year, the average number of points was 132 across all universities, compared with 135 last year.
The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026: top ten
1. London School of Economics and Political Science
LSE is Britain’s No 1 university in our league table and wins the University of the Year for Academic Performance 2026 title. Competition for a place at LSE is fierce; it is one of the few universities not to enter clearing.
Last year’s rank: 1
2. University of St Andrews
The first university to break the Oxbridge duopoly at the top of our academic league table when crowned University of the Year 2022, St Andrews is the No 1 Scottish university in 2026. Pubs, societies, balls and sport are the mainstays of its social scene.
Last year’s rank: 2
3. Durham University
Rising two places and named The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide University of the Year 2026, Durham outshines many Russell Group rivals on teaching and research, student experience and graduate outcomes. The university is also named University of the Year in the North and Northeast.
Last year’s rank: 5
4=. University of Cambridge
Founded in 1209, Cambridge — the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world — had an eight-year reign as No 1 in our league table, but this year it ranks joint fourth alongside Oxford. The university leads in 19 of our subject tables, more than any other university. It is University of the Year in the East 2026, and Runner-up University of the Year for Scholarships and Bursaries 2026.
Last year’s rank: 4
4=. University of Oxford
A global academic powerhouse, Oxford has produced 56 Nobel prizewinners and is the alma mater of 31 British prime ministers, including Sir Keir Starmer. It has claimed the title of University of the Year in the Southeast 2026 and Medical School of the Year 2026.
Last year’s rank: 3
6. Imperial College London
Britain’s only higher-education specialist in Stemb (science, technology, engineering, medicine and business) is a global leader in interdisciplinary research, driving innovation and entrepreneurship. It consistently tops our graduate prospects index and is our University of the Year for Graduate Employment 2026.
Last year’s rank: 6
7. University of Bath
The University of Bath has been in the top ten for a decade. It is named Sports University of the Year 2026; the £35 million Sports Training Village is a national training centre for several Olympic and Paralympic sports, and students have free use of most of its facilities.
Last year’s rank: 8
8. University of Warwick
The No 1 university in the Midlands has moved up one place in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 and is Highly Commended in Russell Group University of the Year 2026. It was awarded triple gold in the latest Teaching Excellence Framework.
Last year’s rank: 9
9. University College London
London’s first university, UCL has championed a pioneering spirit: it was the first British university to accept students regardless of religion or social background and the first to admit women on equal terms. The research heavyweight has opened a campus in the East End and celebrates its bicentenary next year.
Last year’s rank: 7
10. University of Bristol
Returning to the top ten, the University of Bristol is a leading research institute set in a charming cosmopolitan city that’s within easy reach of most of the country. This winning combination makes it consistently one of the most popular student destinations.
Last year’s rank: 11
Specialist universities of the year
- University of the Year for Student Experience University of Sheffield
Runner-up of the Year for Student Experience University of Suffolk - University of the Year for Teaching Quality University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Runner-up of the Year for Teaching Quality University of Suffolk - University of the Year for Bursaries and Scholarships University of Reading
Runner-up University of the Year for Bursaries and Scholarships University of Cambridge - University of the Year for Sustainability Aberystwyth University
Runner-up University of the Year for Sustainability University of Exeter - University of the Year for Social Inclusion Birmingham Newman University
Runner-up University of the Year for Social Inclusion London Metropolitan University
Highly Commended University of the Year for Social Inclusion University College London - Medical School of the Year University of Oxford
- University of the Year for Academic Performance London School of Economics and Political Science
- Sports University of the Year University of Bath
Runner-up Sports University of the Year Loughborough University - Specialist University of the Year Hartpury University
Runner-up Specialist University of the Year Arts University Bournemouth
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Additional reporting: Yenna Smart
