Lancaster University has climbed to 12^th in the UK out of 134 universities and is ranked as top in the North West of England in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

That’s a rise of two positions from Lancaster’s national ranking in last year’s The Times and The Sunday Times 2024 league table.

In addition, The Times League Table also ranks 14 Lancaster University subjects among its top 10 with Social Work at Lancaster ranked the highest (1^st) in the UK.

Other top ten ranking subjects include: French (3rd); Iberian Languages (3rd); Linguistics (3rd); Subjects allied to medicine (4th); Physics and Astronomy (5th); Criminology (6th); Natural Sciences (=6th); Art and Design (7th); Drama, Dance and Cinematics (8th); Sports Science (=8th); Creative Writing (10th); Economics (10th); and Sociology (10th).

This latest league table re-enforces Lancaster’s position among the UK’s leading research-intensive universities.

Lancaster is consistently ranked highly across all three of the major UK university league tables. As well as this latest Times and The Sunday Times ranking, Lancaster is currently positioned joint 10th in the Complete University Guide 2025 and 11th in The Guardian league table.

The university also ranks strongly in international league tables such as the QS World Rankings and the quality of its teaching was recognised with a Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023.

Lancaster University Vice-Chancellor Professor Andy Schofield said: “Lancaster’s high ranking in the latest Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, along with our performance across the other major league tables, underlines our position as one of the UK’s academic powerhouses.

“Our considerable research strengths complement Gold-rated teaching within a campus setting with world-class facilities. These, alongside our dedicated staff and a welcoming collegiate structure, not only deliver high-quality education but also foster a strong sense of belonging among our talented student community. Everyone at Lancaster can be proud that this excellence continues to be recognised by these league table rankings.”

Helen Davies, Editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide,said:

“The best universities — whether they were founded in the 15th century or 2005 — are local and global powerhouses of intellectual thought and creativity, from the arts to science, that can power economic regeneration and lead the way to a better life. But what and where to study — and how to pay for it — has never been tougher. This is where our comprehensive guide can help.

“This year we have tweaked our methodology to keep up with contemporary concerns around climate change and careers and have added in a sustainability metric, teaming up with People & Planet, and boosted the weighting of graduate prospects.

“The higher education sector is facing unprecedented challenges from debates on free speech to financial stability, but it is important to remember the force for good that going to university can be. See how the universities compare subject by subject, a guide on campus life, and what scholarships and bursaries may be on offer online.”

The Times and The Sunday Times university rankings can be found at their rankings page.