Lancaster University is among the best in the UK. We're top 10 in The Complete University Guide 2024 and consistently placed in the top 15 in major UK league tables. We also rank highly in international league tables such as the QS World Rankings.
League tables can't tell you everything, but they're a good place to start. Out of over 120 UK Universities, we are consistently ranked in the top 15 in major UK league tables.
Lancaster University has been awarded a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023.
TEF Gold
Lancaster University has risen 24 places in the QS World University Rankings 2024. Listed as 122nd out of 1,500 universities around the world in the latest QS global league table, Lancaster remains the highest-ranked non-Russell Group institution in England.
Lancaster University has been awarded five stars for performance in a prestigious new QS World Rankings. The evaluation features five-star ratings for each category – teaching, employability, internationalisation, research, facilities, subject ranking and environmental impact.
Lancaster University has been named University of the Year in the 2023 Educate North Awards. The Awards celebrate excellence, world-class achievement and improvement across the University, HE, FE and Sixth Form sectors in the North of England.
Educate North 2023
Lancaster University is one of the top 25 most targeted universities by the UK's top graduate employers according to The Graduate Market in 2023 report. The UK Graduate Careers Survey, conducted by High Fliers Research in association with The Times, is the largest and most authoritative annual survey of its kind.
Lancaster is a research-intensive university. Our results in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 confirm our position in delivering world-quality research.
At work in the Physics Isolab
In the REF 2021, Lancaster delivers world-quality research, with 91% of our research independently rated as 'internationally excellent' or 'world leading', including 46% rated in the highest category of 4*.
99% of Lancaster’s overall research environment is rated world-leading or internationally excellent. This includes areas such as research support, training and facilities.
Since the last REF was completed in 2014, Lancaster has doubled its grant capture. We have also grown in scale, with more than 50% more staff submitted than in 2014.
REF 2021Lancaster has been named NEON Higher Education Institution of the Year 2021, recognising our success in widening access to university.
Lancaster is among the top universities in the UK for academic support and access to first class learning resources in the 2023 National Student Survey.
We've won Best University Halls for the eighth time since 2010 at the UK's prestigious National Student Housing Awards.
Lancaster won the Outstanding Library Team award at the 2022 Times Higher Education Awards.
We believe that Lancaster is everything a university should be. We support you through your studies, research and career.
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