These eight Russell Group unis are some of the best in the world, according to new rankings

The annual QS World University Ranking for 2025 is out and whilst eight Russell Group universities made the top 50 overall, more than half of all British unis declined down the rankings this year.

Jessica Turner, chief executive of QS, said the results suggested that British universities are feeling the squeeze from funding shortages and a recent fall in international applications and warned that future governments would need to take action to stop this.

But for the first time ever, Imperial College London has beaten BOTH Oxford and Cambridge in the rankings, coming in at second place, below only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Meanwhile, Cambridge is fifth overall and Oxford third.

The QS World rankings looks at 1,500 unis worldwide to tell us the very best universities in the world right now based on factors such as academic reputation to how well they are respected by employers.

So these are the Russell Group unis that made it into the QS World Ranking 2025:

50. London School of Economics

Just squeezing into the top 50 rankings is the London School of Economics. This is down five places from last year.

40. King’s College London

At 4oth is King’s College London, which has stayed in the same place from last year’s rankings.

34. University of Manchester

Tied with McGill University in Canada, Manchester is the 34th best university in the world for 2025. This is down two spaces from last year.

27. University of Edinburgh

The highest Scottish uni on the ranking, Edinburgh is down five spaces from last year at 27th. It scores very highly for academic reputation with 98.3 out of 100.

9. University College London

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As the fourth-best Russell Group to make the World Ranking, UCL is ninth overall. University College London has stayed in the same spot as last year and scores well in its student to staff ratio.

5. University of Cambridge

Normally one to top every single uni ranking out there, Cambridge is the fifth best university in the world for 2025, according to the QS World Ranking.

3. University of Oxford

Beating it’s rival, Oxford is third overall. This is the same spot as last year but has gradually moved down from second in 2022. Oxford gets a perfect score of 100 for employment outcomes, employer reputation, academic reputation and staff to student ratio.

2. Imperial College London

For the first time ever, Imperial has beaten Oxford and Cambridge in the world rankings, securing the second spot below only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Imperial has risen four spots up the ranking this year from sixth last year.

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• These are the Russell Group unis where students are least likely to finish their degrees