Ranked: 24 Russell Group vice-chancellors by pay package in 2025

Ranked: All 24 Russell Group vice-chancellors by pay package – the highest gets £666k

The University of Oxford’s vice-chancellor has the largest total package at £666k, which is more than double that of the University of Glasgow’s VC

1 hour ago

All 24 Russell Group vice-chancellors received total pay packages ranging from £248,000 to £666,000 in 2024/25, with the University of Oxford’s VC taking home the largest.

Among Russell Group vice-chancellors, the average salary increased three per cent in 2024/25, from £339,500 to £349,500.

Kim Peters, professor of management at the University of Exeter, found the average ratio between a university leader’s salary and a median employee has actually risen, and is now 8.6:1 at Russell Group institutions.

She compared higher education institutions to other kinds of business, saying: “It shows that it is not just corporate CEOs who are being awarded an increasing piece of the organisational pie. VCs are too.”

Chris Watts makes gruesome admission of his crimes in detailed letters written from prison

Ranked: All 24 Russell Group universities by how much of their income they lost last year

The driver’s licenses Rue finds in Euphoria have a hidden meaning you definitely missed

There are multiple different explanations for the high figures, including pay awards offered to all university staff, as well as one-off payments. For example, at the University of Oxford, the vice-chancellor’s pay package for 2024-25 included an unusually large payment of £91,460, which is a reimbursement for tax liabilities on the property in which she lives.

Here are all 24 Russell Group vice-chancellors ranked by total pay package, including salary, pension contributions and benefits, for 2024/25. Where a vice-chancellor took up post partway through the year, the figure reflects their time in the role only and will be lower as a result.

24. University of Leeds — £248,000 (1st November 2024 – 31st July 2025)

23. University of Nottingham — £251,351 (1st January 2025 – 31st July 2025)

22. University of Glasgow — £300,000

21. University of York — £316,485

20. Durham University — £354,000

19. Queen Mary University of London — £356,561

18. University of Liverpool — £358,000

17. Queen’s University Belfast — £359,000

16. Cardiff University — £364,000

15. University of Sheffield — £376,572

14. University of Warwick — £389,000

13. University of Exeter — £392,000

12. Newcastle University — £397,000

11. University of Southampton — £397,000

10. University of Bristol — £398,000

9. University of Manchester — £417,000 (1st August 2024 – 31st July 2025)

8. University of Edinburgh — £426,000

7. King’s College London — £446,000

6. University of Birmingham — £453,000

5. Imperial College London — £461,000

4. University of Cambridge — £507,000

3. London School of Economics and Political Science — £530,000 (1st August 2024 – 31st July 2025)

2. University College London — £531,100

1. University of Oxford — £666,000

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image via Unsplash

Ranked: All 24 Russell Group vice-chancellors by pay package – the highest gets £666k

Most Read

Chris Watts makes gruesome admission of his crimes in detailed letters written from prison

Ranked: All 24 Russell Group universities by how much of their income they lost last year

The driver’s licenses Rue finds in Euphoria have a hidden meaning you definitely missed

You’ve been using AI all wrong, so here’s how to make studying a whole lot easier

Ranked: All 24 Russell Group vice-chancellors by pay package – the highest gets £666k

Most Read

Read Next

Latest