Four London universities have secured spots in the top 50 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027.
Imperial College ranked 8th for the second year in a row, continuing its five-year top-ten streak. The central London university outranked prestigious global institutions, including Yale University in Connecticut and Columbia University in New York.
The college trailed just two places behind Harvard University and three behind fifth-placed Cambridge University.
Earlier this year, Imperial College was named University of the Year 2027 by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide.
The University of Oxford was ranked the best university in the world for the 11th straight year, continuing its record-breaking streak at the top of the table.
A second London university made its way into the top 20.
University College London (UCL) moved up four places to 17th place, level with top-ranked research university John Hopkins in the US.
King’s College ranked 40th, dropping down two places from 38th place in the 2026 rankings. The London School of Economics and Political Science also secured a top 50 place, ranking 47th - an improvement on 52nd place last year.
The rankings consider 2,297 universities across 118 countries.
Times Higher Education describes its rankings as “the only global performance tables that judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.”
In addition to academic performance, criteria such as learning environment, income, and research influence are all critically analysed.
The US and the UK continue to dominate world rankings, but Times Higher Education notes a broad trends of decline within the research quality pillar across anglophone countries.
