The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has retained its position as the top ranked university in the world, according to the QS world university rankings 2015/16. Here we list the top ranked UK universities in the league tables.
10. University of Warwick
World ranking: 48
World ranking 2014: 61
Founded in 1965, Warwick rose 13 places in the tables to 48th in the world. The Coventry based university boasts international partnerships with Columbia University, Wharton Business School and Sciences Po Paris. Notable alumni include Emmy Award winner Stephen Merchant, veteran Conservative right-winger David Davis and Oscar nominated musician Sting.
9. University of Bristol
World ranking: 37
World ranking 2014: 29
Receiving its Royal Charter in 1909, Bristol has links with 11 Nobel laureates including Sir Winston Churchill. A member of the prestigious Russell Group, its academics include numerous fellows from the British Academy and Royal Society. Bristol holds an Erasmus Charter and sends more than 500 students per annum to European partner institutions.
8. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
World ranking: 35
World ranking 2014: =71
Established in 1895, the LSE joined the University of London in 1900 with an emphasis on the fields of law, economics and politics. A Golden Triangle and Russell Group member, the Holborn based university is notable for educating or hiring a quarter of all Economics Nobel Prize winners. Businessmen George Soros and David Rockefeller are amongst their esteemed alumni, with 28 former students currently sitting in the House of Commons.
7. University of Manchester
World ranking: 33
World ranking 2014: 30
Manchester is the largest single-site university in the UK, home to the biggest student population. It currently has an unrivalled four Nobel laureates amongst its faculty and includes actor Benedict Cumberbatch, computer science founding father Alan Turing and presenter Brian Cox within its alumni network.
6. University of Edinburgh
World ranking: 21
World ranking 2014: =17
The leading Scottish university is Edinburgh, ranked 17th in the world. Dating back to 1582, it is the sixth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and boasts the largest endowment in the UK of any non-Oxbridge university. Three UK Prime Ministers – Gordon Brown, Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell – are among its notable alumni, as are three signatories of the American declaration of independence, philosopher David Hume and naturalist Charles Darwin.
5. King's College London (KCL)
World ranking: =19
World ranking 2014: 16
King’s College London was established in 1829, becoming one of the two founding colleges of the University of London. Based on the Strand, it is a Golden Triangle member and is the largest centre for health care education in Europe. Alumni include 18 current MPs, Desmond Tutu, Thomas Hardy and Florence Nightingale.
4. Imperial College London
World ranking: 8
World ranking 2014: =2
Consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the world, South Kensington based Imperial College is a member of the Russell Group, G5 and Golden Triangle of UK universities. World leading in engineering and life sciences, notable alumni include Scottish biologist Sir Alexander Fleming, Queen band member Brian May and former PM of India Rajiv Gandhi.
3. University College London (UCL)
World ranking: 7
World ranking 2014: =5
Founded in 1826 as the first university in London, UCL was also notably the first secular university. Located in Bloomsbury, UCL has satellite campuses in Adelaide and Doha. UCL is the largest university in London and has the largest postgraduate cohort in the UK. Alumni includes inventor of the telephone Alexander Bell, comedian Ricky Gervais and Olympic 400 metres gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu.
2. University of Oxford
World ranking: 6
World ranking 2014: =5
Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, operates the largest university press in the world and the largest academic library system in the UK. Oxford is a collegiate university comprising 38 colleges with a rich heritage dating back to 1096. Oxford has been the university of choice for 27 Nobel laureates, 50 Olympic medal-winners and 26 British Prime Ministers (including the incumbent David Cameron).
1. University of Cambridge
World ranking: =3
World ranking 2014: =2
Boasting the largest endowment of any university outside the US, Cambridge was founded in 1209 and has the accolade of the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. It operates a collegiate system comprising 31 colleges. Cambridge is renowned for distinguished alumni in the fields of mathematics and the sciences, including Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Francis Bacon and Stephen Hawking.
