University of Exeter drops by 16 places in new university world ranking for 2025

The University of Exeter has ranked 169th in the world in QS World University Rankings 2025, a significant 16 places lower than it’s previous position in the 2024 rankings.

This influential world ranking 2025 saw Exeter University fall from 149th in 2022 to 163rd in 2023, back up to 153rd in 2024 and now, 169th in 2025.

Exeter University placed 26th out of all other UK Russell Group universities in the world ranking 2025.

The university received an overall score of 50.5 out of 100 which was based on employer reputation, academic reputation and overall sustainability. This places Exeter 169th globally and 29th nationally.

Apart from this, Exeter stands out for its own accomplishments in the UK’s top employability in The Graduate Market report and being the best in Europe for Climate Action and Zero Hunger for The Times Higher Education Rankings.

Exeter also earned a “solid gold” standard for teaching in the UK with an overall “gold” in student experience and student outcomes according to TEF 2023.

The university also placed 8th in the world for geography, followed by ecology at 11th, atmospheric science at 25th and earth sciences at 47th.

Alongside this academic recognition are the top performing subjects including biological sciences, agricultural sciences, economics, psychology, business administration and water resources.

This comes after Exeter placed in the top 15 at 14th place in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.

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