The Essex university that educated celebrities ranked among the best in the UK, new Sunday Times guide shows

The University of Essex was evacuated in Colchester after a suspicious package was found
-Credit: (Image: Chris Cook)


The University of Essex has been ranked as one of the best in East Anglia, according to a new guide released today (September 20). The university emerged as the third best in the region behind the University of East Anglia and the University of Cambridge.

The rankings are according to The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025. The University of Essex also ranks 46th nationally, with the University of Oxford in third place. The University of Cambridge had an eight-year reign at the top of the newspaper's league table until 2021, but it leads in 18 of the subject tables, more than any other university. It ranks joint fourth with Oxford in the analysis of career prospects.

Anglia Ruskin University, based in Chelmsford and ranked sixth in East Anglia, has been named a runner-up for the University of the Year for Social Inclusion 2025. The large institution – more than 30,000 undergraduates – has gained a new 370-acre campus in the Essex countryside, which joins its others in Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough.

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It has long been the main provider of health and social care graduates in the region. The London School of Economics and Political Science takes the top spot for the first time in the guide’s 31-year history of domestic UK university ranking, followed by the University of St Andrews.

The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 provides the definitive rankings for UK universities and the most comprehensive overview of higher education in Britain, making use of the latest data. It features everything you need to know about applying to university and detailed online profiles for 134 universities covering research reputation to campus facilities, scholarships and bursaries, and nightlife.

The university has educated some very famous alumni too, Alison Steadman, known most widely as Pamela Shipman in Gavin and Stacey, Steadman is one of the UK's most recognisable actresses. A former student at the University of Essex's East 15 Acting School in 1966, Steadman has been active in television, theatre and radio ever since.

Another alumni of the East 15 school, Blake is best known as Neil Sutherland from the E4 hit comedy The Inbetweeners. But it's not just famous actors, MP Priti Patel and former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow was also alumni here.

Helen Davies, editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: "The best universities — whether they were founded in the 15th century or 2005 — are local and global powerhouses of intellectual thought and creativity, from the arts to science, that can power economic regeneration and lead the way to a better life. But what and where to study — and how to pay for it — has never been tougher. This is where our comprehensive guide can help.

“This year we have tweaked our methodology to keep up with contemporary concerns around climate change and careers and have added in a sustainability metric, teaming up with People & Planet, and boosted the weighting of graduate prospects.

“The higher education sector is facing unprecedented challenges from debates on free speech to financial stability, but it is important to remember the force for good that going to university can be. See how the universities compare subject by subject, a guide on campus life, and what scholarships and bursaries may be on offer online.”