University of Birmingham rises four places in new university world rankings

The QS World University Rankings for 2025 have been released, revealing that the University of Birmingham has climbed up in the ranks of world universities.

The University of Birmingham has climbed from 84 to 80 in the QS rankings, maintaining its position in the top 100. The QS World Ranking ranks and compares universities across the world, giving them a score out of 100. In this most recent edition, Birmingham has received a score of 64.1.This rise in ranking aligns with Birmingham’s performance in the Complete University Guide, moving from its 14th position in 2024 to its current 13th position in 2025.

As Birmingham University has improved in the world ranking for 2025, it has ranked higher than heavy-hitters Durham and St Andrews, who both respectively occupy spots 89 and 104. However, its natural rival, Warwick, has ranked higher than Birmingham, occupying rank 69 with a score of 68.2.

via QS

American university MIT, which holds a perfect score of 100, occupies the top position amongst all ranked universities. Following MIT are two UK universities: Imperial College London and the University of Oxford. This edition marks the first time that Imperial College London has ranked higher than Oxford and Cambridge in this guide.

The QS ranking has labelled this list as its “largest ever,” as this ranking features “1,500 universities across 105 higher education systems.” Traditionally, QS rankings have been based on academic, research, and employer reputation indicators. This year, new metrics such as sustainability, employment outcomes, and international research networks have influenced the rankings.

The University of Birmingham being named as the most targeted university by the UK’s top 100 graduate employers, has undoubtedly helped its status this year especially with the new employment outcome indicator.

The University of Birmingham, which has actively been working to improve its status as an elite university recently, is happy with this performance and will undoubtedly seek to continue this upward trajectory. Vice chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Tickle expressed his contentment in a statement. He said: “The rankings highlight the importance and impact of our research, the international experience and outlook of our students, and our global footprint.”

Now let’s see whether Warwick or Birmingham will rank best university in the West Midlands next year around.

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