It has also taken the top spot for Best Campus University and Best University in the North West.

Lancaster has been the top university in the northwest of England for over a decade and this year rose three places to finish sixth place in the national league table, securing it a top 10 finish for the second consecutive year and its highest ever ranking.

Its sixth-place ranking in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018, as well as the winning of the coveted University of the Year award, cements its place as an elite UK university.

Earlier this year the University was also awarded Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework – the new government-led teaching ratings published in June – and had an outstanding score in the National Student Survey for student experience. Lancaster’s 84.3% positive score in this area was the seventh-best in the UK, helping the university rise three places to sixth in the overall Good University Guide rankings.

Commenting on the decision to make Lancaster The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year and Campus University of the Year, Alastair McCall, editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: "Rising to its highest ever ranking in our league table this year, Lancaster is at the top of its game. It knows the university it wants to be and as a result makes a distinctive offer to students.

"The modern interpretation of a collegiate structure, coupled with flexible degree programmes and academics committed to teaching as well as research has been recognised in consistently good outcomes in the annual National Student Survey. Students love Lancaster. 

"Dynamic course content and structure, plus the opportunities many students get to work abroad, is reflected in outstanding graduate prospects once they leave. In the 19 years of our University of the Year awards, there has rarely been a more clear-cut winner."

Lancaster University Vice-Chancellor Professor Mark E. Smith said: “Staff and students at Lancaster have always known there is something very special about this university and I am so proud of all our achievements. Our track record of success proves excellence in teaching and research can go hand in hand, one need not detract from the other, in fact, quite the reverse.

“Anyone visiting Lancaster University would be struck by the beautiful space surrounding our campus and the friendliness of our diverse colleges, but that this is also a university with a proud international outlook, offering our students the skills and opportunities they need to flourish anywhere in the world, with a commitment to social inclusion. I’d like to thank the staff, students and the City of Lancaster for being such an important part of our success story.”

The University has invested heavily in its campus, including eco-friendly student residences and is launching its Health Innovation Campus - an international centre of excellence focused on tackling the biggest challenge in healthcare today - helping people to live as long and as healthily as possible. This will drive advances in technologies, products and ways of working to improve health and healthcare.

Lancaster is the eighth biggest spender on facilities across the UK – and the highest in the north-west. It has won the Best Student Halls award for seven of the past eight years in the annual National Student Housing Awards.

Firmly committed to becoming a “global player" in both teaching and research, the University has also continued to foster an extensive global presence. Lancaster remains the only UK university to have a presence in sub-Saharan Africa having opened a branch in Ghana. There is also a joint institute in China and opportunities for students to spend time overseas at a network of universities across Europe, America, Asia and Australia.

Read more: Lancaster University's Reputation