Rankings

The University of Manchester’s current rankings place us among the world’s best universities.

World rankings

Using different methodologies, international rankings typically compare universities from across the globe for their research performance and academic reputation.

League tableWorldEuropeUK
QS World University Ranking 2025 34 10 6
QS World University Rankings: Europe (2024)   7  
Academic Ranking of World Universities (2024) 52 15 6
Times Higher Education (2025) 53    
Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings (2024)  2 1 1
Times Higher Education ‘Most International University’ rankings (2024) 23    
QS World University Sustainability Rankings 3 1 1

An international university

We're the 23rd most international university in the world, according to Times Higher Education (2024).

Research

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) an impressive 93% of our research activity was rated 'world-leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*), confirming Manchester as one of the UK's top research institutions. Manchester made one of the largest and broadest REF submissions in the UK, entering 2,249 eligible researchers across 31 subject areas.

The University has also received three Queen's Anniversary Prizes (2011, 2013, 2019). 

Teaching 

National league tables for teaching and student experienceRanking

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF)

Silver
Complete University Guide (2024) 19
The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide (2023) 24
Guardian (2024) 24

For the second year running the University was listed in the top ten European universities for teaching excellence in the 2019 Times Higher Education Europe Teaching Rankings. This ranking makes us one of the best in the country as well as the continent for student engagement and post-study outcomes.

In 2023, the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) rated the University as silver overall, gold for student outcomes, and silver for student experience.

Employability

The University was ranked the sixth best UK institution for employability in the 2023 Times Higher Education Global University Employability Ranking.

We are the second most targeted university by the UK's top 100 recruiters, according to the High Fliers report on The Graduate Market in 2024

Social responsibility

Our commitment to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) is unmatched. We're the only university in the world to rank in the top ten for social and environmental impact in every year of the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

We're also ranked number one in the UK and Europe, and third in the world, in the QS World University Sustainability Rankings, for our environmental, social and governance impact. 

An award-winning city

Manchester has been voted the top UK city to live in based on the 2022 The Economist's Global Liveability Index. The city has also been voted among the best cities in the world by Time Out (2022) readers.