Top UK Universities by Research Power (REF 2021)

This leaderboard ranks 100 UK universities by research power score, drawn from REF 2021 Overall profile. Only universities with at least 10 qualifying courses are included.

100 UK universities ranked · minimum 10 courses per university to qualify · source: REF 2021 Overall profile

Rank	University	Research power score	Sample
TEF G · #1	University of Oxford Oxford	11,327	29 courses
TEF S · #2	UCL (University College London) London	10,666	30 courses
TEF B · #3	University of Cambridge Cambridge	9,678	30 courses
#4	The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh	8,288	28 courses
#5	University of Manchester Manchester	7,093	29 courses
#6	King's College London, University of London Westminster	6,202	25 courses
#7	Imperial College London Kensington and Chelsea	5,523	11 courses
#8	University of Nottingham Nottingham	5,401	29 courses
#9	University of Leeds Leeds	5,334	27 courses
#10	University of Bristol Bristol	5,067	28 courses
#11	University of Sheffield Sheffield	4,914	25 courses
#12	University of Birmingham Birmingham	4,809	28 courses
#13	University of Glasgow Glasgow	4,545	27 courses
#14	Cardiff University Cardiff	4,461	23 courses
#15	University of Southampton Southampton	4,289	25 courses
#16	Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne	4,210	27 courses
#17	University of Warwick Coventry	4,106	22 courses
#18	University of Exeter Exeter	3,933	26 courses
#19	University of Liverpool Liverpool	3,875	23 courses
#20	Queen Mary University of London London	3,380	18 courses
#21	Durham University Durham	3,339	24 courses
#22	University of York York	3,134	23 courses
#23	Queen's University Belfast Belfast	2,935	22 courses
#24	Lancaster University Lancaster	2,880	17 courses
#25	Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne	2,810	13 courses
#26	Loughborough University Loughborough	2,805	16 courses
#27	University of Sussex Brighton	2,560	25 courses
#28	University of Bath Bath	2,408	14 courses
#29	University of East Anglia UEA Norwich	2,343	23 courses
#30	University of Strathclyde Glasgow	2,262	14 courses
#31	London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London Westminster	2,218	13 courses
#32	University of Leicester Leicester	2,209	21 courses
#33	University of Kent Canterbury	2,183	26 courses
#34	University of Essex Colchester	2,087	17 courses
#35	University of Reading Reading	2,078	22 courses
#36	University of St Andrews St Andrews	2,051	21 courses
#37	University of Surrey Guildford	1,889	14 courses
#38	Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester	1,873	12 courses
#39	University of Aberdeen Aberdeen	1,833	22 courses
#40	Swansea University Swansea	1,692	18 courses
#41	Open University Milton Keynes	1,669	21 courses
#42	Ulster University Coleraine	1,648	17 courses
#43	Royal Holloway, University of London Egham	1,633	19 courses
#44	Brunel University of London Uxbridge	1,528	16 courses
#45	London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London Camden	1,483	2 courses
#46	City (City St George's, University of London) City of London	1,474	13 courses
#47	University of Portsmouth Portsmouth	1,468	16 courses
#48	University of Dundee Dundee	1,352	16 courses
#49	Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool	1,283	16 courses
#50	Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh	1,251	11 courses
#51	University of Stirling Stirling	1,233	15 courses
#52	University of Huddersfield Huddersfield	1,221	18 courses
#53	Birkbeck, University of London London	1,215	15 courses
#54	University of Plymouth Plymouth	1,159	18 courses
#55	Aston University, Birmingham Birmingham	1,155	7 courses
#56	Goldsmiths, University of London Lewisham	1,132	13 courses
#57	Bournemouth University Poole	1,101	13 courses
#58	Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield	1,097	14 courses
#59	Nottingham Trent University Nottingham	1,090	14 courses
#60	Coventry University Coventry	1,049	10 courses
#61	Cranfield University Bedford	1,031	3 courses
#62	University of Brighton Brighton	988	10 courses
#63	University of Westminster, London London	984	13 courses
#64	De Montfort University Leicester	979	13 courses
#65	University of Lincoln Lincoln	971	22 courses
#66	Bristol, UWE Bristol	928	13 courses
#67	University of Hull Hull	921	15 courses
#68	University of Central Lancashire Preston	910	19 courses
#69	University of Greenwich Greenwich	890	12 courses
#70	Keele University Keele	883	17 courses
#71	Oxford Brookes University Oxford	870	15 courses
#72	Middlesex University Barnet	859	12 courses
#73	Kingston University Kingston upon Thames	853	11 courses
#74	University of Hertfordshire Hatfield	835	12 courses
#75	Bangor University Bangor (Wales)	800	9 courses
#76	Aberystwyth University Wales	782	14 courses
#77	University of Salford Salford	751	11 courses
#78	SOAS University of London Camden	726	11 courses
#79	Leeds Beckett University Leeds	681	15 courses
#80	University of Roehampton Wandsworth	582	10 courses
#81	Birmingham City University Birmingham	569	14 courses
#82	Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh	566	13 courses
#83	University of the Arts London London	552	1 courses
#84	Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge	548	16 courses
#85	Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow	529	9 courses
#86	University of Bradford Bradford	519	8 courses
#87	Edge Hill University Ormskirk	502	13 courses
#88	University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton	496	17 courses
#89	Teesside University Tees Valley	494	5 courses
#90	Royal Veterinary College, University of London Westminster	492	1 courses
#91	University of Derby Derby	442	10 courses
#92	University of the West of Scotland Paisley	429	10 courses
#93	University of Chester Chester	422	19 courses
#94	London South Bank University Southwark	408	8 courses
#95	Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury	405	12 courses
#96	University of South Wales Pontypridd	391	11 courses
#97	London Business School, University of London Westminster	372	1 courses
#98	University of East London Newham	367	13 courses
#99	Institute of Cancer Research, University of London City of London	362	2 courses
#100	Bath Spa University Bath	333	9 courses

All leaderboards

Browse every "best for…" metric →

Official rankings

QS, Times, CUG, Guardian league tables →

All UK courses

Search 50,000+ UK courses →