5 London universities are officially the best in the world for 2025, according to Times Higher Education

Everyone who’s ever had to pick a uni knows the Times Higher Education (THE) list. Some may even say it is the definitive ranking of universities. Now that the Sunday Times, the Daily Mail and the Guardian have all had their say on which institutions are the best, THE has released its prestigious list of the best universities in the world for 2025. And it’s got us Londoners feeling pretty smug. 

London has not one, not two but five universities listed among the top 200 on the globe. THE puts emphasis on research environment, quality of teaching and international outlook and income of each institution, rather than things like student satisfaction or graduate prospects. 

Imperial College London is the capital’s best at number nine on the list. It scored particularly well for research quality and international outlook. It’s followed by University College at 22 and King’s College London at 36. 

A little further down the list is London School of Economics and Political Science in 50th place, then Queen Mary University of London in 141st. 

All the London unis in the Times Higher Education World University Guide 2025

9. Imperial College London
22. University College London
36. King’s College London
50. London School of Economics and Political Science
141. Queen Mary, University of London

The only other UK universities to beat Imperial where – you guessed it – Oxford and Cambridge. You can find all the UK universities in THE’s 2025 guide here.

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