Picking unis purely on vibes? These are officially the most beautiful Russell Group unis

Minus a lot of ugly, 1960s brutalist buildings, a lot of Russell Group uni campuses can be actually GORGEOUS and end up being the perfect addition to your Insta feed.

So much so that a lot of UK uni campuses have been used for filming films and TV shows, including Saltburn at Oxford, and One Day at Edinburgh. But which ones are the most beautiful?

Well, Immerse Education has looked at the number of Instagram and TikTok posts in the locations of the top unis in the UK to work out which ones are the most picturesque. So you can finally work out who’s got the bragging rights.

These are officially the most beautiful Russell Group uni campuses, in 2024:

10. University of Nottingham

Via Alicja Ziaj on Unsplash

Lenton might have also ranked in the most dangerous Russell Group student areas, but at least it made the list as one of the most beautiful campuses. Notts has 108,704 posts on Insta and 2,390 on TikTok making it the 10th most picturesque.

9. Newcastle University

Via Charlie Green on Unsplash

Big up the North! With 113,924 posts under its Instagram hashtag and 2,445 on TikTok, Newcastle University is the 9th most beautiful Russell Group university campus in the UK.

8. University of Edinburgh

Via Elena Jiang on Unsplash

Of One Day fame, Edinburgh Uni is a fancy campus. So much so that 103,270 people decided to post it on their Insta feeds and 3,649 featured it in a TikTok. I’m just still crying about Dex and Emma tbh.

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7. University of Leeds

Via Korng Sok on Unsplash

Not only is Leeds Uni just a bloody good time but it also looks VIBES. So very vibey in fact that there are 134,663 Insta pics under the #UniversityofLeeds hashtag and 2,623 videos on TikTok.

6. King’s College London

Via Canva

Despite there being 40 universities based in London, KCL is the only lucky one to make the list. UCL students everywhere crying right now. King’s has over 113,588 posts on Instagram of people admiring its campus and 4,595 TikTok videos.

5. University of Glasgow

Via Johnny Briggs on Unsplash

Beating Edinburgh by a fair amount, the University of Glasgow is the fifth most beautiful university according to the number of Instagram and TikTok posts of it. In total, there are 146,499 Instagram posts and 2,354 TikToks of the campus.

4. University of Manchester

Via Canva

A great night out, amazing vibes of a city and one of the prettiest campuses? It’s a win-win. Manchester is officially the fourth most aesthetic Russell Group uni with 151,899 posts under its hashtag on Instagram and 2,422 on TikTok.

3. University of Birmingham

Via Canva

Okay bit of a rogue one, but you can guarantee that at LEAST 96 per cent of the people posting pics of the Birmingham campus are posting pics of Old Joe. Because, well what else? Birmingham has 160,482 Insta posts and 2,850 TikTok videos, making it the third most beautiful UK uni.

2. University of Cambridge

Via  Jean-Luc Benazet on Unsplash

Via Evy Prentice on Unsplash

Yawn! What else were you expecting? As the oldest university in the UK, of course Oxford made the top spot. There are 459,408 Instagram posts tagged #OxfordUniversity, as well as 33,500 on TikTok.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• It’s official: These are the most dangerous Russell Group student areas you can live in

• Want to romanticise your life? Here are the most boujee uni libraries in the UK

• Ranked: The university cities where it’s going to be hardest to secure a bed

Featured image via Korng Sok on Unsplash, Johnny Briggs on Unsplash and Canva.