The Times University Rankings: UCL 3rd in London and 7th Nationally

For students looking to apply to universities in the UK and employers searching for students with the best qualifications, there are many ways to judge the prestige of a university and the education it provides. One of these ways is through companies screening for graduates from a Russell Group university in their application process, or scouting students from some of the top universities like the ones listed in The Times University Guide.

Every year, The Times ranks 132 universities in the UK and 1,907 globally based on factors ranging from student satisfaction to the quality of research a university produces. The methodology of such rankings tends to stay consistent but has shifted regarding their 2025 list. One of the major changes is the inclusion of a section on the environmental and ethical contributions of the universities, assessed by People & Planet. Helen Davies, editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said this was done “to keep up with contemporary concerns around climate change”.

UCL has historically held a high spot among the top universities in the UK. In 2024, it was ranked 6th nationally and was named The Times University of the Year. This title has now been passed on to the London School for Economics for 2025, which ranked 1st nationally. UCL was beaten out by their usual competitors–Imperial, ‘Oxbridge’, and St Andrews–and overtaken by Durham this year, leaving it at 7th place in the 2025 guide. 

For current students, the change in ranking may not majorly affect their view of the University. In a recent survey, 73% of students credited university education with getting their ideal job. UCL scored highly in both student satisfaction and graduate employment rates, suggesting that these aspects are the most important in a university ranking as students value enjoying their degrees and gaining employment afterwards.

It is currently too early to see how the UK rankings have affected the reputation of UCL in terms of admission numbers, and it is hard to measure whether they will drastically affect the decisions of undergraduate and postgraduate applicants. Although it may have fallen one spot this year in the UK, UCL was still ranked 9th among global universities for the second consecutive year. Since world rankings are reportedly consulted by one in three international students, UCL’s reputation and steady ranking may continue to hold status for students who wish to join the ranks of the university’s successful graduates.