The QS World University Rankings 2026 are out, so you can see exactly how your uni compares to over universities across the globe. Loads of the UK’s Russell Group unis did really well this year, which is fun for them. All 24 Russell Group unis are ranked within the top 200 universities in the world. Yay.
Believe it or not, Oxbridge aren’t the best ranked Russell Group unis on the QS World University Rankings 2026. Imperial College London beat them both, and ranked as the second best university in the world. Only the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) beat it.
You can read more about where these rankings come from here. The league tables are based on lots of factors, including how much research the uni does, how impressive academics think the uni is, and how employable the grads are.
So, here’s where all the Russell Group unis placed on the QS World University Rankings 2026.
199. Queen’s University Belfast (score of 55.7)
181. Cardiff University (score of 57.8)
169. University of York (score of 59.4)
155. University of Exeter (score of 61.5)
147. University of Liverpool (score of 62.5)
Uni of Liverpool students can celebrate their uni is in the top 150 worldwide *jazz hands*
137. Newcastle University (score of 63.9)
110. Queen Mary University of London (score of 66.6)
97. University of Nottingham (score of 69.4)
94. Durham University (score of 70.1)
92. University of Sheffield (score of 70.9)
87. University of Southampton (score of 71.2)
86. University of Leeds (score of 72)
79. University of Glasgow (score of 73.4)
76. University of Birmingham (score of 73.8)
Real life Brum students
74. University of Warwick (score of 75.2)
56. London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) (score of 80.5)
51. University of Bristol (score of 82.5)
35. University of Manchester (score of 86.4)
34. University of Edinburgh (score of 87.2)
31. King’s College London (KCL) (score of 88.3)
9. University College London (UCL) (score of 95.8)
6. University of Cambridge (score of 97.2)
4. University of Oxford (score of 97.9)
2. Imperial College London (score of 99.4)
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