University of Bristol rises up World University Rankings list

The University of Bristol (UoB) has climbed a place in the World University Rankings 2025. The rankings, produced by QS, saw over 1,500 universities ranked by nine categories to receive a score out of 100.

The UoB has been ranked at number 54 worldwide, rising a place from 2024. It means that according to the rankings, the Bristol university is the ninth best UK university, and 11th best in Europe.

The university scored 75.4 out of 100 overall, but scored very highly in the ‘sustainability’ category. Its score of 98.9 makes the Russell Group university the 17th most sustainable university.

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UoB also scored highly in the ‘international research network’ category, which looks at how the university partners with other universities across the globe. It was the only other category to get a 90+ score, earning 94.6.

Prof Judith Squires, the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost, said: “It is fantastic to once again see Bristol named among the best universities in the world in QS’s prestigious rankings. In a university sector full of talented individuals, our amazing students and staff shine bright. I would like to thank everyone at the University of Bristol who made this result possible.”

The UoB ranked highly in other categories when compared to its UK counterparts. UoB was ranked fourth best for ‘sustainability’, fifth best for ‘citations per faculty’ (a measure of research output) and ninth best for ‘academic reputation’, which is based on views of academic peers worldwide.

Elsewhere in the rankings, the best university in the world was named as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the 13th time in a row. Imperial College London was named as the second best globally and the best in the UK, overtaking the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

The nine categories universities were judged on are: ‘academic reputation’, ‘employer reputation’, ‘faculty to student ratio’, ‘citations per faculty’, ‘international faculty ratio’, ‘international students ratio’, ‘international research network’, ‘employment outcomes’ and ‘sustainability’.

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