University of Bath is South West's best and in UK's top ten

The University of Bath has been ranked in the top ten universities in the UK. The Guardian University Guide 2025 rated it seventh out of 122 contenders - and also rated Bath second for Chemical Engineering, second for Mechanical Engineering, and third for Business and Management.

Professor Phil Taylor, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bath, said: “I am delighted that the University of Bath is ranked 7th best in the UK in the Guardian University Guide.

“Students who come to Bath can expect high quality teaching, reflected in our Triple Gold Award in the Teaching Excellence Framework. Our graduates enjoy some of the best job prospects in the country, our sporting facilities are world-class and we work hard to give our students the best support and experience possible."

READ MORE: Somerset primary schools among last ever to be rated 'outstanding'

READ MORE: Leonardo’s donated IT equipment finds new use in schools across Ukraine

Professor Taylor continued: "I’d like to thank all our dedicated staff who continue to make the University one of the best in the country.”

The Guardian considers many factors in its league table, including how satisfied students are with teaching, the student-to-staff ratio, and the percentage of alumni who are in graduate-level jobs or further study within 15 months of graduation.

Other universities in the South West have had the honour of appearing in the top twenty: Bristol was ranked 16th (creeping up from 17th last year), whereas the University of Exeter in Devon has remained at 18th.

UWE Bristol sits pretty around the middle of the league table at 64th. Over in Devon, Plymouth plummeted from 69th place to 84th. And in the heart of Cornwall, Falmouth University was ranked 92nd.

In Dorset, the University of Bournemouth landed at 105th. Its neighbour Arts University Bournemouth has slipped ten places from 90th to 100th, a position it shares with the University of Gloucestershire. Meanwhile, Bath Spa slipped fourteen places from 94th to 108th.

Universities in the South West ranked by The Guardian

  1. Bath (seventh)

  2. Bristol (16th)

  3. Exeter (18th)

  4. UWE Bristol (64th)

  5. Plymouth (84th)

  6. Falmouth (92nd)

  7. Arts University Bournemouth AND Gloucestershire (joint 100th)

  8. Bournemouth (105th)

  9. Bath Spa (108th)

You can see the results in full on the Guardian's website. It is important to note that The Guardian is not the only source of university league tables: Times Higher Education and the Complete University Guide, among others, also publish their own lists.

And it comes as with fresher’s week approaching, Bath can also boast being named one of Britain’s best university cities for a night out.

The security experts at Get Licensed have looked into the number of pubs, bars and clubs, the cost of a pint, the cost of a taxi, the safety sentiment for people in the city and the safety index score of the UK’s most populated university cities to reveal Britain’s Best University Night Out.

Durham can be crowned the best university area for a night out. The city ranks highly across the board, particularly regarding safety, ranking first for the four factors concerning wellbeing. It also has the second-highest percentage of bars and clubs rated three stars or above at 95%. But Bath was ranked sixth - and the best in the South West

Britain’s Best University Night Outs

Rank

Area

Bars and clubs per 100,000 people

Bars and nightclubs rated 3 stars and above

Pubs per 100,000 people

Average pint of beer cost

Average taxi cost per 1km

Safety Index score (out of 100)

Worry of being mugged or robbed (out of 100)

Worry of being attacked (out of 100)

Feel safe walking alone at night (out of 100)

University night out score (/10)

1

Durham

44

95%

143

£4.00

£1.09

80

9

19

76

9.44

2

York

33

87%

145

£4.35

£1.12

73

19

25

69

7.97

3

Newcastle upon Tyne

43

84%

176

£4.00

£1.09

62

30

36

51

7.92

4

Lincoln

35

89%

84

£4.75

£1.24

74

15

21

64

7.25

5

Sunderland

22

89%

106

£3.50

£1.09

60

37

38

62

7.14

6

Bath

46

84%

99

£4.90

£1.37

75

19

20

65

7.09

7

Edinburgh

36

91%

83

£5.00

£1.65

69

24

28

62

6.45

8

Exeter

24

90%

82

£5.00

£1.33

67

24

32

55

6.19

9

Plymouth

62

92%

70

£4.50

£1.29

58

38

42

39

6.06

10

Newport

21

57%

86

£4.00

£1.12

60

38

34

52

5.89