Oxford Brookes among 13 universities to drop 20+ places in The Times’s new rankings

In The Times and The Sunday Times’s new rankings for 2027, 13 unfortunate universities drop more than 20 positions. Here’s a closer look at which universities’ rank declined, and why their scores became lower.

University of Gloucestershire

The university slipped out of the top 100 places in The Times and the Sunday Times’s league table for 2027. Gloucestershire lost points for research quality and student experience, so fell 20 places. The University is now tied with the University of Wolverhampton for 104th position.

Leeds Arts University

So, The Times awarded the highest score for research quality to Imperial College London. This university scored 73.9. By comparison, Leeds Art University scored 6.0 for research quality. This is the lowest score out of all 130 universities in the league table. Leeds Arts University fell 21 places to 124th out of 130.

University of Suffolk

Although Suffolk University achieved a high score for student experience, The Times gave it just 53 for graduate prospects. It now sits in 118th place, which is 21 positions lower than last year.

Canterbury Christ Church University

Just 70.9 per cent of students achieved a first or a 2:1, and this dragged Canterbury Christ Church University down 22 places to 103rd.

Bournemouth University

Bournemouth University students attempting to study

Bournemouth dropped 28 spots, and is now joint 107th with the University of Westminster. The university received a noticeably low student experience score of just 78.5.

Plymouth Marjon University

The average UCAS score of Freshers is 93, which is equivalent to fewer than three Cs at A-Levels. That’s the second-lowest in the country. The Times ranks Plymouth Marjon as the 102nd best university in the UK, which is 32 places lower than last year.

Leeds Trinity University

This university now ranks 125th, which is one position below Leeds Arts University. Leeds Trinity did receive very high scores for teaching quality and student experience. However, this was outweighed by low scores for research quality and entry standards. Leeds Trinity fell 35 places down the league table in just a year.

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SOAS University of London

According to The Times, SOAS is the second-worst university in the UK for student experience. SOAS plummeted 37 places, to 112th.

Arts University Bournemouth

The Times and the Sunday Times University Guide does adjust the graduate prospect scores to reflect the mix of subjects offered at that university. So, in theory, arts-focused institutions shouldn’t be disadvantaged in The Times’s rankings. However, Arts University Bournemouth still received a low graduate prospects score of 50.3. The university dropped 37 spots, so it now tied for 110th position with Oxford Brookes.

Oxford Brookes University

The architecture department at Oxford Brookes University
(Credit: William77)

This university fell down the rankings by 41 places, and is now ranked in joint 110th position with Arts University Bournemouth. Just 65.2 per cent of students received a first or a 2:1 degree, which deflated the uni’s score.

Southampton Solent University

A low research quality score of 12.6 dragged Southampton Solent University down 45 places, to 121st position.

St Mary’s University Twickenham

Just 73.8 per cent of UK undergrad students at St Mary’s continue with their degrees after a year. St Mary’s fell 45 positions to 113rd.

Bath Spa University

In last year’s university guide, Bath Spa achieved its highest position in eight years. However, in the new league table for 2027, Bath Spa plummeted 46 places, from 77th to 123rd. The graduate prospects score of 53.1 is particularly low. For comparison, the top university for graduate prospects, Imperial College London, got 93. 

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Featured image credit: Griffp via Creative Commons license