Uni of Edinburgh surges past Glasgow and St Andrews in the Times World University Rankings
The ranking placed three Scottish universities in the top 200
Edinburgh University has been ranked 29th in the world in the new Times Higher Education rankings.
Edinburgh (29th), Glasgow (87th) and St Andrews (185th) were the only Scottish universities to make the top 200.
Both Edinburgh and St Andrews moved up the table from last year, while Glasgow has retained its position.
The list ranks thousands of higher education institutions across the world and assesses them on five variables: “teaching, “research quality”, “research environment”, “international outlook” and “industry”.
Across the UK, 25 universities made the top 200 and 13 had improved their ranking from 2023.
Despite the positive results from UK universities, Phil Baty, the chief global affairs officer at Times Higher Education warned: “The sector is being battered by numerous prevailing winds.
“Chief amongst them is the extremely stretched finances it is facing and the restrictions on recruiting international students making it harder for them still, making it almost impossible to see how the sector can sustain its position in the coming years without significant help.”.
The comments come after Universities UK, an organisation that represents 141 institutions, proposed an increase in tuition fees and government funding to revert what Edinburgh University’s principal Peter Mathieson described as a “unsustainable trend”.
Peter Mathieson and other higher education experts claim that universities are struggling to recruit enough international students to meet financial targets.
Edinburgh was ranked above institutions like the Kings College London (36th) and the London School of Economics (50th)
Phil goes on to say: “The UK’s reputation amongst academics, while still very high, is likely to weaken further in future years if universities’ funding environment doesn’t improve, which can have worrying consequences for partnerships, investment and collaborations.”.
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Despite the issues facing the sector, the University of Edinburgh increased one place since 2023, while St Andrews rose eight places. The University of Glasgow remained in the same position.
Edinburgh’s rank of 29th means that it is the UK’s fifth highest ranked university.
In a LinkedIn post, the university said: “We’re proud to announce that the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025 has ranked the University of Edinburgh 29th in the world. Thanks to all our colleagues, students and partners for helping make Edinburgh extraordinary.”.
The rankings separate into larger groupings after 200 and universities are not given an exact ranking. Heriot-Watt was ranked between 401-500 and Edinburgh Napier between 501-600. Outside of Edinburgh, Aberdeen narrowly missed out on the top 200 and was ranked 201-250, while Dundee was ranked 301-350.
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