How to use the league tables

CONTENTS

1. How the rankings can help you choose a university

2. How to search across universities and subjects

3. How to compare universities

4. University rankings are not the only way to choose a university

How the rankings can help you choose a university

League tables and university rankings can play a part in choosing a university. They help you identify and refine your list of unis and, ultimately, your university shortlist – overall and by subject area. 

Your ideal uni won’t necessarily be the one at the top of a table, with the highest rank, or where you’ve been told to go by friends or family. Instead, you might want to focus on how well a university delivers your subject area. Check the graduate prospects, research measures, or see how satisfied students are with their teaching quality. 

Watch our video for an overview of how to use the league tables. 

How to search across universities and subjects

There are several approaches you can take to search and compare universities.  

The Complete University Guide gives you three types of league tables.

• University League Tables: this is the main table, comparing or ranking 130 UK universities overall.  
• Performing Arts Table: this table focuses on 14 specialist colleges and conservatoires.  
• Subject League Tables: these tables compare unis across 74 different subject areas.  

All the tables work in a similar way.

University ranking 

The university ranking column gives you this year’s rankings. A green arrow shows how many places a university has risen in the rankings from last year. A red arrow indicates the number of places a uni has fallen from the previous year.

Filter the tables

Above each table you’ll find buttons you can use to filter the tables – by subject area, UK region, or university group. You can filter by more than one category. If you’ve filtered a table, the button will be highlighted.

You can also find subject and region filters at the foot of the tables. 

Sort or order the table by specific measures

Click on any of the measures in the table header to reorder the table by that category. You can do this at any time during your search. If you sort the table, that header will be highlighted. 

Quick View and Full Table view

Quick View displays only five measures and shows the scores as a percentage out of 100%. Where there is insufficient data, you’ll see n/a (not available).

Click on Full Table to see all the categories and the actual scores, with a percentage score where applicable.

Donut charts

The green around the circle indicates how the score compares with all universities.

A full green circle indicates a strong performance and a uni in the top fifth of the rankings. A circle with only one fifth shaded green means a weaker performance and a uni in the bottom fifth of a particular measure in the table you’re looking at. 

Subject league tables

Select any one of the 74 subject tables to discover how different universities perform in your subject area of interest. The subject tables work in exactly the same way as the other tables. 

Keep in mind that subject tables aren’t for specific courses but for subject areas. When you use the subject menu, you’ll see a list of the subject areas each one includes. For example, the Biological Science subject table includes Ecology and Zoology, among others. 

To find out what courses are offered by any uni in a specific subject area, click through on VIEW COURSES below the university name. 

Notes at the foot of each subject table list universities offering the subject but without enough data to include them in the tables themselves. 

Download the tables 

If you’re really into number-crunching, you can download spreadsheets of any of the league tables back to 2008. You can also find this link below the table header; click Learn More to find the download links.

How to compare universities

Use the league tables and compare rankings to find your perfect match. Here are a few extra tips to help you understand what you might see in the tables.

Context

A league table position mainly reflects a university's performance from year to year. Many have built a reputation over time, while some unis lower down the rankings are still carving out a niche.  

It’s also worth being aware that some universities are mid-table due to excelling in certain areas while performing less well in others. If the area they excel in is important to you, then their overall position in the table becomes less relevant.  

Reputation

Newer unis often demonstrate different strengths in comparison to older universities. Some institutions may have specialist centres of excellence, and even famous universities can have mediocre departments. If you know which area of the country you want to study in, filter your subject table by region to find top-performing universities.

Bunching

Be aware of bunching – in some tables the rankings, especially in the middle of the table, are separated by very small differences. Small differences in scores can result in apparently dramatic rank changes, so it’s wise to read them in context. Year-on-year changes by a few places are nothing to be worried about, especially in areas of the table where the scores are very close.

Historical performance  

University league tables show uni rankings at a certain point in time and that may be enough information for you. If you’re interested in a university’s performance over time, overall or by subject, simply click a university name in any table to view its profile – scroll down to see performance graphs and data.

University rankings are not the only way to choose a university

Use our university league tables and rankings to help you make your uni choices. But remember they’re not the only thing to look at. The league tables are a guide and can help you when cutting down a long list of options.

While a university’s performance, especially in your subject area, can help whittle down a long list, there are other factors you might want to consider, including:

• Size – a large university or a smaller institution with fewer students.
• Location – in your local town, or away from home, beside the beach or in a city.
• Support available – whether support for learning or the availability of a particular society or sport.

If you want to combine league table performance with these other factors – including the cost of accommodation of the sports available, then try our Uniselect tool. This allows you to pick your subject of study, choose what matters to you most in terms of the university's performance, and add other variables that may be important to you. The results will show the percentage match of institutions, and you can also view the unis on a map of the UK to see where they are.

Find out more by reading our advice on choosing where to study.

Use the rankings alongside other decision-making methods, such as:  

• Look at university prospectuses and websites to see what a university has to offer – the social life, sport opportunities, and the local area.
• Research course modules for the courses you’re interested in – they are not the same at every university.
• Visit universities on open days – experience what it’s like to be there first-hand 
• Speak to current students and graduates.
• Check out the student reviews on Whatuni, for unbiased opinions from students already at uni.