The prestigious northern uni that was named Britain’s ‘University of the Year 2026’

It’s that time of year again: fresh cohorts of A-level students are flicking through glossy university brochures and booking in open days, all to figure out where they might want to spend the next few years of their academic careers.

Luckily, there’s no shortage of rankings, league tables and guides designed to help students (and their parents) weigh up their options – one of which is the Sunday Times Good University Guide. The Times organised its rankings by evaluating factors like student satisfaction, teaching quality, student experience, degree continuation rates and graduate employment prospects.

This year, the leaderboard has been something of a shock, with prestigious unis Oxford and Cambridge not even making it in the top three for the first time in 32 years. Instead, it was the University of Durham, the third oldest university in England (dating back to 1832), that won the Times’ coveted University of the Year award for 2026. 

Despite coming in third behind the London School of Economics and Political Science and St Andrews in the Times’ overall ranking, Durham was named University of the Year 2026 due to the quality of its teaching and research, and high student satisfaction rates. 

Overall, Durham scored 906 out of 1000 points in the Times’ rankings, with its top highest scoring categories being degree completion rate (96.8 percent), good honours (90.5 percent), and graduate prospects (88.8 percent). The uni, which has over 1,000 student-led societies and is home to a UNESCO world heritage site (a castle built under William the Conqueror), outperformed many of its Russell Group rivals. 

Ranked in the top 100 in the QS World University Rankings 2026 and fifth in the Guardian’s 2026 University Guide, Durham scored highly in the latest National Student Survey on many metrics, including the ability of staff to make their subject engaging and intellectually stimulating. What’s more, the university boasts of impressive graduate outcomes. According to the Graduate Market report by High Fliers Research, Durham is the one of the ten most targeted universities by top graduate employers in 2024-25. 

Perhaps all this could explain why Durham Uni is so difficult to get into, receiving almost 35,000 applications last year for just 5,580 places. 

Several celebrities have previously called the northern campus their home. Famous alumni include broadcaster Jeremy Vine, actress Ambika Mod, who starred in the hit Netflix series One Day, and writer Bill Bryson – who was also chancellor of the university from 2005 to 2011.

The vice chancellor of Durham, Professor Karen O’Brien, commented on the University of the Year accolade: ‘Durham is an outstanding place to study. We ensure that every student can grow and thrive here. Our loyal, engaged alumni are testament to the impressive career prospects that await our graduates.’

In the 2025 edition of the Sunday Times’ guide LSE held the top spot followed by the University of St Andrews and University of Oxford, with Durham ranking in fifth just after Cambridge, having jumped up two places from 2024. 

The top 10 universities in the Times and Sunday Times 2025 UK University Ranking

Here are the top 10 unis in the Times’ latest guide, including each one’s score out of 1,000. 

1. London School of Economics and Political Science – 1,000
2. University of St Andrews – 933
3. Durham University – 906
4. 4= University of Cambridge – 903
5. 4= University of Oxford – 903
6. Imperial College London – 890
7. University of Bath – 861
8. University of Warwick – 839
9. University College London – 837
10. University of Bristol – 814

You can find the Times’ University Guide in full here.

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