The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge take the top two spots in the recent UK university league table by The Times Higher Education.
This UK university league table reveals the best UK universities and colleges, according to the trusted Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021.
The University of Oxford is top in a list of the best universities in the UK.
Best universities in the UK 2021
Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2021 results:
| World University Rank 2021 | UK Rank 2021 | University | City/town |
| 1 | 1 | University of Oxford | Oxford |
| 6 | 2 | University of Cambridge | Cambridge |
| 11 | 3 | Imperial College London | London |
| 16 | 4 | UCL | London |
| 27 | 5 | London School of Economics and Political Science | London |
| 30 | 6 | University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh |
| 35 | 7 | King’s College London | London |
| =51 | 8 | University of Manchester | Manchester |
| 77 | 9 | University of Warwick | Warwick |
| 91 | 10 | University of Bristol | Bristol |
| =92 | 11 | University of Glasgow | Glasgow |
| =107 | 12 | University of Birmingham | Birmingham |
| 110 | 13 | Queen Mary University of London | London |
| =121 | 14 | University of Sheffield | Sheffield |
| =127 | 15 | University of Southampton | Southampton |
| =133 | 16 | University of York | York |
| =136 | 17 | Lancaster University | Lancaster |
| =149 | 18 | Durham University | Durham |
| =158 | 19 | University of Nottingham | Nottingham |
| =160 | =20 | University of Leeds | Leeds |
| =160 | =20 | University of Sussex | Brighton |
| 163 | 22 | University of Liverpool | Liverpool |
| =170 | 23 | University of Leicester | Leicester |
| =174 | 24 | University of Exeter | Exeter |
| =178 | =25 | University of Aberdeen | Aberdeen |
| =178 | =25 | Newcastle University | Newcastle |
| =191 | 27 | Cardiff University | Cardiff |
| =200 | =28 | University of East Anglia | Norwich |
| =200 | =28 | Queen’s University Belfast | Belfast |
| 201–250 | =30 | University of Bath | Bath |
| 201–250 | =30 | University of Dundee | Dundee |
| 201–250 | =30 | University of Reading | Reading |
| 201–250 | =30 | St George’s, University of London | London |
| 201–250 | =30 | University of St Andrews | St Andrews |
| 251–300 | =35 | Brighton and Sussex Medical School | Brighton |
| 251–300 | =35 | University of Surrey | Guildford |
| 251–300 | =35 | Swansea University | Swansea |
| 301–350 | =38 | Anglia Ruskin University ARU | East Anglia |
| 301–350 | =38 | University of Essex | Essex |
| 301–350 | =38 | University of Kent | Kent |
| 301–350 | =38 | Royal Holloway, University of London | London |
| 301–350 | =38 | University of Stirling | Stirling |
| 351–400 | =43 | Birkbeck, University of London | London |
| 351–400 | =43 | Brunel University London | London |
| 351–400 | =43 | City, University of London | London |
| 351–400 | =43 | Heriot-Watt University | Edinburgh |
| 351–400 | =43 | Loughborough University | Loughborough |
| 351–400 | =43 | Northumbria University | Northumbria |
| 401–500 | =49 | Aberystwyth University | Aberystwyth |
| 401–500 | =49 | Aston University | Birmingham |
| 401–500 | =49 | Bangor University | Bangor |
| 401–500 | =49 | Bournemouth University | Bournemouth |
| 401–500 | =49 | Goldsmiths, University of London | London |
| 401–500 | =49 | Liverpool John Moores University | Liverpool |
| 401–500 | =49 | Middlesex University | London |
| 401–500 | =49 | University of Plymouth | Plymouth |
| 401–500 | =49 | Royal Veterinary College | London |
| 401–500 | =49 | SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) | Edinburgh |
| 401–500 | =49 | University of Strathclyde | Strathclyde |
| 401–500 | =49 | University of the West of England | Bristol |
| 501–600 | =61 | University of Hull | Hull |
| 501–600 | =61 | Keele University | Keele |
| 501–600 | =61 | University of Lincoln | Lincoln |
| 501–600 | =61 | University of Portsmouth | Portsmouth |
| 501–600 | =61 | SOAS University of London | London |
| 501–600 | =61 | University of the West of Scotland | Paisley |
| 601–800 | =67 | Birmingham City University | Birmingham |
| 601–800 | =67 | University of Bradford | Bradford |
| 601–800 | =67 | University of Brighton | Brighton |
| 601–800 | =67 | Coventry University | Coventry |
| 601–800 | =67 | De Montfort University | Leicester |
| 601–800 | =67 | Edinburgh Napier University | Edinburgh |
| 601–800 | =67 | Glasgow Caledonian University | Glasgow |
| 601–800 | =67 | University of Greenwich | London |
| 601–800 | =67 | University of Huddersfield | Huddersfield |
| 601–800 | =67 | Manchester Metropolitan University | Manchester |
| 601–800 | =67 | Nottingham Trent University | Nottingham |
| 601–800 | =67 | The Open University | Nationwide |
| 601–800 | =67 | Oxford Brookes University | Oxford |
| 601–800 | =67 | Ulster University | Ulster |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Bedfordshire | Luton |
| 801–1000 | =81 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | Cardiff |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Central Lancashire | Preston |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Derby | Derby |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of East London | London |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Hertfordshire | Hatfield |
| 801–1000 | =81 | Kingston University | London |
| 801–1000 | =81 | Leeds Beckett University | Leeds |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Roehampton | London |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Salford | Salford |
| 801–1000 | =81 | Sheffield Hallam University | Sheffield |
| 801–1000 | =81 | Teesside University | Teesside |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Westminster | London |
| 801–1000 | =81 | University of Wolverhampton | Wolverhampton |
| 1001+ | =95 | Canterbury Christ Church University | Canterbury |
| 1001+ | =95 | University of Chester | Chester |
| 1001+ | =95 | Edge Hill University | Ormskirk |
| 1001+ | =95 | London South Bank University | London |
| 1001+ | =95 | Robert Gordon University | Aberdeen |
| 1001+ | =95 | University of South Wales | Pontypridd |
| 1001+ | =95 | Staffordshire University | Stoke-on-Trent |
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Image: All Souls College at the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, by Andrei Nekrassov / Adobe Stock