Methodology
UniRank.uk evaluates UK universities across six dimensions, each drawing from official, publicly available government and regulatory datasets. Our methodology is fully documented — every formula, every source, every normalisation step.
The Six Dimensions
Teaching Quality
Weight: 1/6Mean of the National Student Survey 'teaching on my course' and 'academic support' agreement scores. TEF 2023 ratings are not yet incorporated.
Sources: NSS 2025 Teaching on My Course, NSS 2025 Academic Support
Data status: Available (138/141 universities)
Student Satisfaction
Weight: 1/6National Student Survey overall satisfaction percentage for final-year undergraduates. Postgraduate-only institutions are not surveyed and are excluded from this dimension.
Sources: NSS 2025 Overall Satisfaction
Data status: Available (138/141 universities)
Graduate Employment
Weight: 1/6Percentage of graduates in sustained employment or further study five years after graduation, from Department for Education tax and benefit records. This is the LEO measure, not the HESA Graduate Outcomes survey taken at 15 months.
Sources: LEO provider level data 2022/23
Data status: Available (134/141 universities)
Graduate Earnings
Weight: 1/6Median annual earnings five years after graduation, from Department for Education tax records, expressed as a percentile rank across the indexed universities. The underlying pound figure is shown on each university page.
Sources: LEO provider level data 2022/23
Data status: Available (134/141 universities)
Global Standing
Weight: 1/6Average percentile across four major global ranking systems. Higher percentile = better global standing.
Sources: QS World University Rankings, THE World University Rankings, ARWU Shanghai Rankings, U.S. News Global Universities
Data status: Available (93/141 universities)
Research Quality
Weight: 1/6Research Excellence Framework 2021 overall Grade Point Average on a 0-4 scale, rescaled to 0-100. An institution's GPA is the FTE-weighted mean across every unit of assessment it submitted to.
Sources: REF 2021 GPA
Data status: Available (138/141 universities)
Normalisation
Each dimension is normalized to a 0-100 scale. When a dimension references multiple data sources, they are combined with equal weight within that dimension. The overall score is the arithmetic mean of all available dimensions.
When official data is unavailable for a university in a specific dimension, that dimension is excluded from the overall score calculation. Because an average over fewer dimensions is not comparable to one over more, universities are ranked within coverage tiers: those scored on more dimensions rank ahead of those scored on fewer, and within a tier by overall score.
Data Sources
National Student Survey (NSS) — in use
Office for Students (OfS) — officeforstudents.org.uk. NSS 2025 institution-level agreement percentages for overall satisfaction, teaching on my course, and academic support. Covers 138 of 141 universities; the three postgraduate-only institutions are not surveyed. Retrieved June 2026, merged August 2026.
Global Rankings — in use
QS World University Rankings 2027, THE World University Rankings 2026, ARWU 2025, U.S. News Global Universities 2026. Retrieved via edurank.co data pipeline, June 2026. Covers 93 of 141 universities, refreshed from the edurank dataset August 2026. The remaining 48 are small or specialist institutions that do not appear in any of the four global tables.
Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) — shown, not scored
Office for Students — tef2023.officeforstudents.org.uk. TEF 2023 overall, student experience and student outcomes ratings for 109 of 141 universities, retrieved August 2026. The rating appears on each university page but is deliberately kept out of the score: TEF assesses English providers only, so scoring it would make the teaching dimension non-comparable between English universities and those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
LEO provider level data — in use
Department for Education — explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk. LEO 2022/23 provider-level release, tax year 2022/23, five years after graduation, all subjects, all graduates. Supplies two dimensions: sustained employment or further study, and median earnings. Covers 134 of 141 universities — Northern Irish providers and postgraduate-only institutions are outside the release. Retrieved August 2026.
HESA Graduate Outcomes — not used
Higher Education Statistics Agency — hesa.ac.uk. A survey of graduates 15 months after they finish. We score graduate employment from LEO tax records at five years instead, which is a longer-run and administratively verified measure. HESA GO is listed here so it is clear what this index does not use.
Research Excellence Framework (REF) — in use
UK Research and Innovation — results2021.ref.ac.uk. Full REF 2021 quality-profile export. Each institution's overall GPA is the FTE-weighted mean across every unit of assessment it submitted to, rescaled from REF's 0–4 scale to 0–100. Covers 138 of 141 universities; three did not submit. Retrieved August 2026.
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) — not used
Office for National Statistics — ons.gov.uk. Occupation-level earnings. Not part of the six dimensions; graduate earnings are taken from LEO at institution level instead.
Limitations
- Coverage is uneven. 89 universities carry all six dimensions and 43 carry five; the rest are specialist institutions outside one or more official datasets. Universities are ranked within coverage tiers, so a school scored on fewer dimensions cannot outrank one scored on more.
- Graduate employment and earnings come from LEO, which covers English and Welsh providers; Northern Irish universities and postgraduate-only institutions fall outside that release.
- TEF 2023 ratings are displayed but not scored, because TEF assesses English providers only. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish universities carry no rating.
- Rankings are a snapshot — they do not capture year-on-year trends or institutional improvement trajectories.
- Composite scores mask within-institution variation. A university may excel in research but underperform in student satisfaction.
- Specialist institutions (arts, music, agriculture) may not appear in all global ranking systems.
- LEO earnings are not adjusted for regional salary differences or subject mix, so London-heavy institutions score higher on earnings for reasons unrelated to teaching.