REVEALED: University of Cambridge crowned the Complete University Guide’s best university

The University of Cambridge has come top of the class for this year’s annual Complete University Guide rankings, but there have been some significant changes within the league table as new centres of excellence compete for positions of greatness within the Complete University Guide’s league table. 

Not to be outdone by previous successes, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have fought to retain their dominance of the performance tables once more.  However, places at the top of the table cannot be taken for granted as newcomers have challenged traditional incumbents to rapidly climb the table and secure a place in the top 50 .   

Major advancers include the University of Portsmouth rising 22 places and the University of Sheffield which saw their ranking rise 8 places to land a spot in the top 20.  

St Andrews maintains the prestige of the highest ranked university in Scotland, and Cardiff University remains top of the table in Wales.  University of theArts, London claims the highest post-1992  university ranking at 29th, with Harper Adams clinching a close second place sitting comfortably at 33rd in the national league tables.  

Every year the Complete University Guide releases UK university and subject league tables to support prospective students in making informed decisions about their future.  Regional league tables are also on offer to help people find the right university for them in their area.  

This follows on from last month’s Whatuni Student Choice Awards which saw students choose their favourite university across a range of categories and celebrate the work of universities up and down the country.  

Professor Amanda Chetwynd, Chair of the Complete University Guide Advisory Board, said:  

Congratulations to the University of Cambridge for achieving the top position in this year’s Complete University Guide rankings.

Our league table is based on independent measures that we know are important to students including how satisfied students are with the teaching in the university and how likely students are to gain a good job on graduating.

The tight rankings in the top 20 show just how high the standards are among UK universities.

The subject league tables have seen lots of movement in the rankings this year and are a really valuable source of information for prospective students who know what they want to study but need some help deciding where.

Simon Emmett, Chief Executive Officer of IDP Connect, said:  

With more and more students thinking about how they can make the most of their university experience, the 2024 Complete University Guide league tables will serve as an important guide. We know these rankings help them to make the right decisions about where and what to study as they take their first steps into higher education.

What makes the Complete University Guide special is its independence. The tables’ independence from our other operations remains a crucial part of our organisation and ensures that students, parents, and advisors can trust the results and make informed choices based on them.

The Complete University Guide is exactly that. It is complete - as well as academic rankings, our guide covers the issues which parents and students also worry about such as cost of living and local crime rates. We know that when it comes to choosing where to study, the Complete University Guide has it all. 

ENDS 

Notes to editors:  

• The team behind thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk has compiled university league tables for more than 25 years. Since 2007, these have been freely available online. The Guide is an autonomous division of IDP Education, global leader in education services and technology, from which, by mutual agreement, it retains its complete editorial independence.  
• thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk attracts over ten million visitors each year.  
• The main league table is based on ten measures: Entry Standards, Student Satisfaction, Research Quality, Research Intensity, Graduate Prospects – outcomes, Graduate Prospects – on track, Student-Staff Ratio, Spending on Academic Services, Spending on Student Facilities, and Continuation. It includes 130 institutions. 
• The Arts, Drama & Music League Table, published since 2016, lists 12 specialist institutions offering too small a subject range to appear in the main table. 
• The subject tables are based on six measures (Entry Standards, Student Satisfaction, Research Quality, Continuation, Graduate Prospects – outcomes and Graduate Prospects – on track) and include 151 universities, university colleges and specialist higher education institutions.  
• All university league tables on thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk can be filtered by region and mission group (Cathedrals Group, GuildHE, MillionPlus Group, Russell Group, University Alliance, as well as unaffiliated universities). Tables from the current and previous years can be downloaded. All tables can also be sorted by any of the measures that comprise them.  
• Criteria for inclusion in the main university league table or the subject tables can be seen on our website.  

Press & media contacts

For more information contact:

• Jonah Duffin, Director of External Relations - jonah.duffin@idp.com
• Gareth Snell, Cathod Du Media Agency - gareth@cathoddu.com