United Kingdom

There is no official ranking for British Universities.   However each year newspapers publish a list of university rankings known as League tables.  Some of the best-known tables are the Times and the Guardian. These League tables are usually taken too seriously, and do not give the full picture.  These tables tend to be uniform in ranking the first 15 universities, which are usually the traditional universities that are very strong in all fields and are very difficult to get into.  The criteria used for these Leagues tables is to an extent non academic, and one will find contradicting rankings depending on which newspaper it is published in, and which criteria the newspapers use.

The most important way to rank a university is by evaluating its schools’ QAA (Quality Assurance Agency).  The QAA is the body in the U.K. that reviews universities’ academic programs.  This system focuses on individual subjects and/or programs of study thus providing judgments on quality in the form of ratings.  The maximum score that a program can receive is 24, and anything rated 20 and above is considered “Excellent”.

Therefore, when choosing a university, it is important to consider the strength of each school within the university and also take into account the location of the campus, the cost of living, and scholarship opportunities