Best universities for engineering degrees in the UK 2026

Best universities for engineering degrees in the UK - 2026 rankings

Discover the Times Higher Education (THE) rankings for the best engineering schools in the UK 2026.
This list of universities reveals the top-ranked 69 institutions for engineering including mechanical engineering, civil engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering and chemical engineering, offering prospective students insights into the highest-ranking universities in the field.
Universities across the UK are evaluated based on teaching, research, and international outlook.
THE’s respected rankings use a robust methodology, created by the in-house data team, relied upon by students, academics, policymakers and industry leaders worldwide.

January 21 2026

Top universities in the UK for engineering 2026

UK Engineering Rank 2026	Global Engineering Rank 2026	University	Overall	Teaching	Research Environment	Research Quality	Industry	International Outlook
1	2	University of Oxford	95.9	95.8	99.7	92.5	94.6	95
2	5	University of Cambridge	95.6	95	99.7	91.6	97.2	94.7
3	12	Imperial College London	92.4	93.3	93.2	89.8	91.1	96.5
4	41	UCL	75.4	66.7	67.5	88.2	70.2	96.9
5	48	University of Manchester	73.3	63.7	66.8	83	77	94.1
6	83	University of Edinburgh	63.5	52.4	48	79.8	73	95.1
7	=97	University of Sheffield	60.5	44.7	48.7	71	95.4	89.1
8	100	University of Bristol	60.2	41.3	49	73.1	94.6	90
=9	101–125	University of Birmingham	57.3–60.1	39.6	39.6	80.1	88.3	94.8
=9	101–125	University of Leeds	57.3–60.1	45	43.3	73.1	68.7	95
=9	101–125	University of Nottingham	57.3–60.1	40.2	45.2	76.1	82.2	94.3
=9	101–125	University of Southampton	57.3–60.1	45	47.1	72.5	77.3	93.6
=13	126–150	King’s College London	54.8–57.1	44	33.5	76.9	68.2	97.2
=13	126–150	Queen Mary University of London	54.8–57.1	31	27.4	96.3	69.4	97.7
=13	126–150	University of Surrey	54.8–57.1	29.3	29.7	91.2	77.4	97.2
=16	151–175	Queen’s University Belfast	52.9–54.7	24.9	29.2	90.9	79.6	98.5
=16	151–175	University of Glasgow	52.9–54.7	37	34.1	75.6	67.7	96.2
=16	151–175	University of Liverpool	52.9–54.7	31	31.3	87.5	70.2	97.6
=19	176–200	Lancaster University	50.8–52.7	29.7	27.7	82.2	72.7	93.1
=19	176–200	University of Warwick	50.8–52.7	28.6	28.2	77.1	78.3	95
=21	201–250	Brunel University of London	47.5–50.7	20.8	21.5	88.4	62	97.5
=21	201–250	Cardiff University	47.5–50.7	25.7	32.3	75.2	73.6	93
=21	201–250	Durham University	47.5–50.7	28.6	25.9	80.4	67.5	91.8
=21	201–250	Newcastle University	47.5–50.7	29	32.8	68.5	82.3	92.8
=21	201–250	Northumbria University	47.5–50.7	18.4	20	94.7	49.5	97.9
=21	201–250	University of Bath	47.5–50.7	30.9	30.4	71.7	70.1	89.5
=21	201–250	University of Exeter	47.5–50.7	26.9	25.7	84.1	62.3	96.8
=21	201–250	University of Strathclyde	47.5–50.7	34.7	32.7	66.2	80.6	89.1
=21	201–250	University of Sussex	47.5–50.7	20.7	20	86.2	62.2	97.6
=30	251–300	Heriot-Watt University	45.5–47.4	30.8	28.5	59.3	66.2	94.4
=30	251–300	Loughborough University	45.5–47.4	30	21.9	69.4	70.7	83.4
=30	251–300	Swansea University	45.5–47.4	26.2	21.9	78.4	61.5	89.3
=30	251–300	University of Aberdeen	45.5–47.4	27	22.5	67.5	80.3	97
=30	251–300	University of Leicester	45.5–47.4	18.9	21.6	79.3	62.4	98.4
=30	251–300	University of York	45.5–47.4	26.3	24	70.1	65.9	94.2
=36	301–400	Aston University	41.5–45.4	15.4	20.8	81.5	61.5	95.9
=36	301–400	Liverpool John Moores University	41.5–45.4	14.4	14.9	86.8	40.4	94
=36	301–400	Manchester Metropolitan University	41.5–45.4	15.1	17.3	85.8	50.2	95.3
=36	301–400	University of Bradford	41.5–45.4	18.6	17.9	74	66.8	96.3
=36	301–400	University of Lincoln	41.5–45.4	13.8	16.8	80.7	50.3	95.3
=36	301–400	University of Plymouth	41.5–45.4	17.5	21	81.9	54.5	86.2
=42	401–500	Bangor University	39.1–41.4	24.6	22.9	54.3	66.5	94.7
=42	401–500	City St George's, University of London	39.1–41.4	21.6	19.5	63.1	59.4	96.2
=42	401–500	Edinburgh Napier University	39.1–41.4	12.3	17.1	82.7	35.4	93
=42	401–500	Nottingham Trent University	39.1–41.4	13.1	11.1	85.5	39.2	92.4
=42	401–500	Robert Gordon University	39.1–41.4	15.4	12.6	78.1	45.5	95.9
=42	401–500	University of Huddersfield	39.1–41.4	19.5	22.6	66.4	50.4	94.3
=42	401–500	University of Hull	39.1–41.4	14.3	19.1	70.1	64.7	94.8
=42	401–500	University of Portsmouth	39.1–41.4	13.5	11.7	75.6	49.2	95.2
=42	401–500	University of Salford	39.1–41.4	13.2	11.8	77.3	48.7	91.2
=42	401–500	University of the West of Scotland	39.1–41.4	15.4	11.4	81.5	50.5	97.3
=52	501–600	Birmingham City University	36.5–39.0	12.8	9.9	76.9	20.9	96.7
=52	501–600	De Montfort University	36.5–39.0	12.9	10.7	77	45.7	96.6
=52	501–600	Oxford Brookes University	36.5–39.0	16.9	14.1	69.5	30.8	89
=52	501–600	UWE Bristol (University of the West of England)	36.5–39.0	11.5	11.9	72.7	39	89.8
=52	501–600	University of Hertfordshire	36.5–39.0	13.6	9.3	75.3	38.2	97.7
=57	601–800	Coventry University	31.6–36.3	14.1	11.2	67.6	34.7	94.6
=57	601–800	Kingston University	31.6–36.3	12	9.2	55.6	39.9	94.8
=57	601–800	Teesside University	31.6–36.3	11.7	10.8	72.7	28.7	96.4
=57	601–800	Ulster University	31.6–36.3	18.5	11.2	54.5	48.5	84.1
=57	601–800	University of Derby	31.6–36.3	13.4	8.6	76.7	24.9	86.7
=57	601–800	University of Dundee	31.6–36.3	20.9	14.9	47.8	55.7	94.4
=57	601–800	University of Greenwich	31.6–36.3	13.6	10.8	66.8	41.7	96.9
=57	601–800	University of South Wales	31.6–36.3	12.8	10.5	49.5	57.5	89.7
=65	801–1000	London South Bank University	27.1–31.5	12.1	10	56.5	28.6	94.9
=65	801–1000	Sheffield Hallam University	27.1–31.5	13.4	9.3	39.3	37.4	90.8
=65	801–1000	University of Brighton	27.1–31.5	12.4	13.7	40.4	43.8	94
=68	1001–1250	Glasgow Caledonian University	21.4–27.0	13.4	10.5	36.1	36.3	90.3
=68	1001–1250	The Open University	21.4–27.0	16.9	7.2	45.1	30.7	65.6

Key insights into the best engineering schools in the UK

The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge maintain their first and second place positions with strong scores across all five metrics.
The top 10 features universites based in London, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Birmingham among others.
There are 69 universities featured in the ranking.
There are two new entries this year: the University of Lincoln and City St Georges, University of London

Choosing the right university for engineering in the UK

From the London Underground to the Channel Tunnel, the UK’s list of engineering feats is endless. Almost everything you see around you, from cars to skyscrapers, was designed by a team of engineers, and studying an engineering degree can put you on the first step to working on such projects.

In the UK, it is common for students on all undergraduate engineering degrees to follow the same course in the first two years. After that, students are able to pursue their interests and specialise in the branch of engineering they enjoy most. Unlike most undergraduate degrees in the UK, engineering programmes are four years long, often with a year in industry in the middle.

There are many branches of engineering that students can choose to specialise in, including civil engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering and many others. Many students will embark on further education in order to deepen their specialist expertise.

Choosing where to study engineering in the UK requires considering a range of factors including teaching and research. These rankings provide critical insights based on:

Research environment – focuses on research reputation and productivity
Teaching quality – the student learning experience and faculty strength
Research quality – influence and innovation in the engineering field
Industry collaboration – how institutions work with businesses and apply practical knowledge
International outlook – global diversity of students and faculty

The table for the best universities for engineering in the UK was derived from data collected for the THE World University Rankings by Subject 2026: Engineering. The results are calculated using 18 performance indicators underlying five metrics. For more insights and a detailed breakdown of our ranking methodology, visit our methodology page. Use the ranking table above to explore the right institution for you.

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