The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, published annually, evaluates UK universities on a number of criteria. Among other things, it assesses

• student satisfaction,
• teaching and research quality,
• graduate prospects,
• degree completion rates,
• and student/staff ratios.

St Andrews University in Scotland, which topped the ranking last year, came second behind Oxford. Last year was the first time in the history of Times’ rankings that the two big names, Oxford and its main rival, Cambridge, did not secure the top spot. Cambridge was placed third this year, repeating last year’s result.

Oxford has the lowest student/staff ratio

The University of Oxford achieved particularly good scores in the student/staff ratios. It has the lowest student/staff ratio of any UK university (10.5 students per member of academic staff).

The students after graduation in University of Oxford (Photo: 123rf)

Besides Oxford, St Andrews and Cambridge, there are three London universities (London School of Economics and Political Science, Imperial College London, University College London) in the top ten of the list which included 132 universities. Also in the top ten are Durham, Bath, Warwick and Edinburgh.

Top 10 universities in the UK:

1. University of Oxford
2. University of St Andrews
3. University of Cambridge
4. London School of Economics and Political Science
5. Imperial College London
6. Durham University
7. University College London
8. University of Bath
9. University of Warwick
10. University of Edinburgh

Source: The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

The University of Oxford is usually placed among the top institutions in various global rankings of higher education. In the Times Higher Education (THE) survey, for example, it has topped the list for the last six years. But in this year’s QS World University Rankings, published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Cambridge overtook Oxford to take 2nd place in the list, while the latter came 4th.