Here’s where every London university ranked in the Complete University Guide 2026

This year’s first major UK university ranking has dropped: The Complete University Guide 2026.

While the top spots have remained stable, the rest of the ranking has had a major shakeup compared to last year, with London unis undergoing some of the biggest changes. 

21 London unis are featured in the table, all the way from the top 10 to the bottom 10. So, here’s exactly where they all ranked, and how they scored overall out of a possible 1,000 points.

Top 50

3. London School of Economics and Political Science: 927

Defending bronze is the highest-ranking London uni: LSE. Despite only being topped by Oxbridge overall, it failed to make the top 50 for student satisfaction, posing the age-old question: Is a super-prestigious degree worth the stress of a super-prestigious uni?

Nevertheless, its overall ranking was boosted by a massive 98 per cent score in continuation (the proportion of first year students who continue their studies, leave with a qualification or transfer to another uni).

It also beat Oxford to come joint second with Cambridge in research quality, and beat both Oxford and Cambridge for second place in graduate prospects – both categories in which Imperial stole the top spot.

6. Imperial College London: 899

Imperial via Pexels

Despite high rankings in specific categories, Imperial fell to sixth overall, losing last year’s number five spot to Durham.

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Alongside first place positions in research quality and graduate prospects, it also achieved top five scores in research intensity and academic services spend. Those rankings were pulled down by a 61st place ranking for student satisfaction, and 78th for facilities spend. 

13. University College London: 785

Further down the table, the gap between rivals UCL and KCL has closed significantly.

UCL lost its top 10 spot, falling four places to 13th, while King’s climbed five spots to take 19th. Part of the reason for UCL’s fall from grace is a massive 32 spot drop in student satisfaction, placing it at 106th out of 130. Regardless, it managed to maintain a fifth place ranking in research quality and sixth in student-staff ratio.

19. King’s College London: 763

KCL via Pexels

King’s also bombed in student satisfaction, falling nine places to 126th, but managed to climb up regardless with improvements in entry standards, academic services spend, student-staff ratio and continuation.

The overall ranking of 19th marks the uni’s first time breaking into the top 20 in the history of the Complete University Guide. 

34. University of the Arts London: 698

Long renowned as one of the world’s leading arts unis, UAL fell five spots in the overall rankings. However, it did achieve two top five category rankings: Third in student-staff ratio and fifth in academic services spend.

35. Royal Holloway University of London: 696

Jumping three spots to fall just behind UAL, Royal Holloway performed fairly consistently across all categories, with its highest ranking being 13th in research intensity.

41. Queen Mary, University of London: 659

QMUL jumped an impressive nine spots to secure its place in the top 50. Its best category rankings are 16th place for research quality and 31st for entry standards.

Top 100

58. City St George’s University of London: 590

City St George’s dropped 19 places to receive its lowest ranking since the 2024 merging of St George’s, previously known as one of the UK’s best medical schools, with City University of London.

62. SOAS University of London: 585

SOAS tied at 62nd with fellow southern unis Falmouth and Bristol’s UWE.

67. Brunel University of London: 569

Brunel via Unsplash

Brunel jumped 12 spots to achieve its highest ranking since becoming the 18th member of the University of London in 2024.

69. St Mary’s University, Twickenham: 565

St Mary’s jumped three spots overall, and moved up by six spots to reach 12th place for student satisfaction.

70. University of West London: 564

The University of West London fell 12 spots overall, and also suffered an 11 spot drop in student satisfaction, down to 15th from fourth last year.

71. Goldsmiths, University of London: 562

Just behind the University of West London is Goldsmith’s, who also suffered a significant fall with a ranking 11 spots lower than last year.

89. Kingston University: 516

Kingston stayed fairly consistent, dropping just one place to 89th and maintaining its position in the top 100.

Top 130

Not every UK uni is included in the rankings: Some unis request to be excluded, while others choose not to release the data needed to be featured. This is why some London unis such as Birkbeck and Ravensbourne aren’t listed here.

However, here’s the rest of the London universities that made it into the 130 unis featured in the tables.

106. Greenwich University: 468

Greenwich climbed four spots overall with improvements in research quality, academic services spend and student-staff ratio.

109. London South Bank University: 453

London South Bank achieved its highest ranking in five years, with a 23 spot jump in student satisfaction.

112. Middlesex University: 444

Middlesex jumped 14 spots in student satisfaction to rank 15th- unsurprising given its recent second place ranking in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards.

115. University of Roehampton: 424

Roehampton also made a huge improvement in student satisfaction, jumping a massive 66 places to rank 14th.

123. University of Westminster: 393

Despite small improvements across several categories, Westminster fell five spots overall.

126. University of East London: 352

The University of East London secured a top 10 spot for student satisfaction, ranking seventh.

128. London Metropolitan University: 331

London Metropolitan stayed consistent across most categories, falling one spot overall.