Every London university ranked best to worst, according to the 2026 Times University Rankings

If you’re confused about which London university is the best, you wouldn’t be the first person. The Big Smoke has got a lot of unis (some better than others), and there are a tonne of different rankings telling us which is number one. 

A new ranking of Britain’s universities has just been unveiled by the Sunday Times. The newspaper listed 130 of the UK’s unis from best to worst in its 2026 University Guide, ranking them on teaching quality, student experience, research quality, graduate prospects, entry standards and more, giving them an overall score out of 1,000. 

According to the Times, the UK’s top university is in London. Coming in first place for the country and the capital was the London School of Economics (LSE). LSE retained it’s top spot from 2025, scoring 1,000 overall. It scored particularly well for its continuation rate and graduate prospects.

‘LSE has pulled further ahead of the pack this year, securing its lead with soaring levels of satisfaction among undergraduates,’ the paper wrote. ‘LSE is also boosted by its stellar record on helping graduates launch straight into professional careers.’ 

In the London ranking, LSE was followed by Imperial College and University College London (UCL) in second and third, respectively. You can read more about LSE’s triumph here.

At the bottom of the pack was the University of Roehampton and London Metropolitan University, which were ranked as the joint worst universities in London, and came in joint 124th place out of 130.  

RECOMMENDED: Every London university ranked best to worst by the Guardian.

London universities ranked by the Times

1. London School of Economics (1st overall)
2. Imperial College (6th overall)
3. University College London (9th overall)
4. King’s College London (19th overall)
5. Royal Holloway (32nd overall)
6. Queen Mary (35th overall)
7. City St George’s (48th overall)
8. University of the Arts London (53rd overall)
9. University of West London (64th overall)
10. SOAS (75th overall)
11. Goldsmiths (87th overall)
12. Kingston (94th overall)
13. University of Greenwich (100th overall)
14. London South Bank (111th overall)
15. University of East London (114th overall)
16. University of Westminster (115th overall)
17. Middlesex (116th overall)
18. Brunel (117th overal
19. London Metropolitan (124th overall)
    University of Roehampton (124th overall)

You can find the Sunday Times’ full 2026 University Guide here.

The best university in London, according to the Guardian.