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UCL ranked ninth best university in the world

4 June 2024

UCL has been ranked ninth best university in the world for the second year in a row, marking UCL’s 13th year among the top 10 universities worldwide, in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.

Graphic showing UCL ranked 9th in world in QS rankings

QS is the world’s most-consulted international ranking and uses a number of indicators to compile the rankings, including academic reputation, employer reputation, citations per faculty, faculty-to-student ratio, international faculty ratio and international student ratio. UCL’s ninth place ranking places it in the top 1% of the nearly 1,500 institutions assessed.

The rankings specifically highlight the strength of UCL’s academic and employer reputation, and named UCL second in the world for the strength of its international research network, which takes into account the diversity and impact of our partnerships across the world.

The UK is home to four of the world’s top ten universities, and UCL has held a top 10 position since 2013, among global peers including MIT, Stanford, and Harvard.

Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement), said: “This outstanding result is a great recognition of UCL’s world-leading research, innovation and education, and the many people across the university who make that possible. I’d like to extend my warmest congratulations to the UCL community; this result is testament to their commitment and dedication to excellence.” 

In April, UCL was named by QS as one of the world’s top 10 universities to study in 10 different subject areas, retaining the number one spot in two subjects for the second consecutive year: Education, with the IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, now ranked number one in the world for 11 years running, and Architecture & Built Environment, recognising the academic excellence of The Bartlett, UCL’s Faculty of the Built Environment.

Additionally, in September 2023, UCL was named the University of the Year 2024 by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, which recognised UCL’s world-leading performance in multidisciplinary research and education, the enhanced career prospects of UCL’s graduates, our ambitious work around sustainability, while highlighting our new and 'visionary' UCL East Campus on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

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