Eleven UK universities rank among the top 100 in the world – but not Durham

Eleven of the UK’s universities ranked among the top 100 in the world in Times Higher Education’s new league table for 2027.

The University of Oxford came first in the ranking for the eleventh year in a row. The University of Cambridge wasn’t too far behind – Times Higher Education ranked it as the fifth best university worldwide, behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Princeton University and Stanford University. Imperial College London is also among the best ten universities.

Several of the UK’s well-known universities did not score high enough to be among the world’s best 100 universities. Durham University tied for 157th place, along with the University of Exeter, the University of Nottingham and Italy’s Politecnico di Milano. The University of Andrews came first in The Times‘s new league table, and came fourth in the Guardian’s 2027 league table. However, Times Higher Education put St Andrews in joint 185th place.

Durham University students in their gowns

Times Higher Education’s league tables take into account many factors, including connections with industry, the quality of teaching and how much academics’ research is used. Unlike most UK-focused league tables, Times Higher Education’s world ranking does not take into account how satisfied students are with their experience. This may explain the positions of Durham University and the University of St Andrews, as both these universities scored highly for student experience in UK league tables this year.

Here are the eleven UK universities that made it into Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2027:

1. (1st in the world) University of Oxford

2. (5th in the world) University of Cambridge

3. (8th in the world) Imperial College London 

4. (=17th in the world) University College London (UCL)

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5. (=29th in the world) University of Edinburgh

6. (=40th in the world) King’s College London (KCL)

A King’s College London student pretending to work

7. (=47th in the world) London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

8. (=60th in the world) University of Manchester 

9. (=82nd in the world) University of Bristol

10. (=83rd in the world) University of Glasgow

11. (=97th in the world) University of Birmingham

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