Three mighty British universities have been named in the 10 best in the world for 2026

Prospective students, listen up, because the Times Higher Education (THE) guide for 2026 is here. This is one of the most prestigious and well respected global university rankings on the planet, so you are going to want to pay attention to what it says. 

This year THE has ranked 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and territories, taking into account everything from teaching quality, to research and contributions to industry innovations. 

We know that many of you eager young brainboxes will be dreaming of attending world-class institutions. Fortunately for us Brits, some of the planet’s best universities are right here on our doorsteps. According to the 2026 THE guide, three of the very top unis on the planet are in Britain. And one UK university was even named the best in the world for a whopping 10th year in a row. 

Predictably, Oxford and Cambridge were named in THE’s top 10 for 2026, with Oxford taking the number one spot. Oxford clinched an overall score of 98.2. It did particularly well in the ‘research environment’ category, where it had a perfect score of 100. 

Coming in joint-third in the world, Cambridge scored 97.2 overall, and 99.9 for research environment. Cambridge climbed two places from its 2024 position in fifth. 

Imperial College London was the only other British institution in the top 10, landing in eighth place. Imperial’s biggest assets were its ability to attract the top students and faculty from around the world, and its contributions to industry innovation. 

All of the remaining universities to rank in the top 10 were based in the USA, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton and Harvard all named as some of the worlds’ best. 

Want to see all the UK universities named in the THE’s top 200? Read more here. 

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