Bristol Uni places 78th in the world overall university rankings for 2025

You can officially say you went to a top 100 university

2 months ago | UPDATED 1 month ago

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings have been announced, and the University of Bristol, in a display of its trademark “almost, but not quite Oxbridge” energy, jumped up from 81st to 78th.

Often referred to as THE Rankings, annually publishes university rankings, including more than 2,000 institutions across 115 countries and territories. Jumping three spots is a modest victory, but hey, a win’s a win.

To put it in understandable terms, if THE Rankings were university exams, Bristol would be that student who just about scraped a first-class honour with a cheeky 70.0 overall. Just enough to smugly tell everyone they “got a first,” but with a lingering question about whether they actually learned anything along the way.

Bear in mind, that the University of Oxford, which has maintained the top spot for nine consecutive years (because who else would have…) has an overall score of 98.5, for comparison.

THE’s criteria for its ranking consists of 18 indicators to assess these institutions across five key areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry engagement and international outlook. For Bristol, it’s a mixed bag. The teaching score sits at a frankly laughable 50.8, which, believe it or not, is a vast improvement from the tragic 40.3 in 2021.

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But don’t fret just yet. Bristol redeems itself with a colossal 96.8 in research quality, showing the world that while students may be confused in class, the academics are cooking up groundbreaking research. The research environment? A slightly more respectable 56.9, with industry engagement coming in at 71.1. But where Bristol truly shines is in its international outlook, scoring a whopping 92.6. Clearly, Bristol is the academic equivalent of Mr. Worldwide, bringing in big numbers on the global stage. If you’re an international student reading this, consider yourself validated.

Subject-wise, Bristol’s Arts & Humanities subject area came in 75th, Law in 89th and engineering in 96th, to name a few. Education, and Clinical and Health students have the best humble brags with the highest subject placements for Bristol, both sitting at 59th in the world. As Bristol climbs the rankings, it’s only fitting that the humanities girly and economics boy archetype can now share a latte, navigating the fine line between existential crises and inflation rates, all with the knowledge they’re at a top 100 uni.

And it’s not just THE Rankings where Bristol can strut its stuff. The QS World University Rankings puts Bristol at a lovely 54th globally, 9th in the UK, and 11th in Europe. So, when you’re updating your CV or LinkedIn, throw in the humble brag: “Attended the 78th best university in the world, no big deal.” Just try not to think about Oxford sitting pretty at the top (as per).

But amidst all this high-ranking glory, a warning lingers in the background: according to THE, “the reputations of the UK and US higher education sectors are declining.” Despite 11 UK universities making it to the top 100, the historical prestige walls of British academia are apparently showing some cracks. But for now, Bristol students can take pride in their beloved alma mater.

So, next time someone asks where you study, hit them with the facts: 78th in the world, top 10 in the UK, and globally admired for its research prowess. You might not be attending Hogwarts (sorry, Oxford), but Bristol’s doing just fine, thank you very much.