Wales’ universities ranked as major guide published

Six of Wales’ eight universities have slipped down The Complete University Guide which ranks UK universities

Cardiff has been crowned best university in Wales again with Swansea second in the latest Complete University Guide rankings, but both have slipped down the overall rankings. Widely considered the Oscars of UK higher education comparisons CUG puts Cardiff University at equal 27th in the UK, dropping five places from last year.

Overall six of Wales’ eight universities has fallen in the UK rankings with just two, University of Wales Trinity St David and Bangor, rising compared to competitors across the border. The list follows a gloomy financial and jobs outlook for universities in Wales and elsewhere.

UWTSD has soared 12 places up the UK CUG table to 99 on the list while Bangor has climbed six places to 49 in the UK. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

Every year, the CUG publishes its UK university and subject league tables which it says is aimed at helping prospective students make informed choices, including those weighing up late decisions or exploring Clearing options to start degrees in September.

This league table, CUG 2027, is based on 10 measures: entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality, research intensity, academic services spend, facilities spend, continuation, student-staff ratio, graduate prospects – outcomes, and graduate prospects.

Best universities in Wales and their overall UK ranking, according to CUG 2027

• Cardiff UK rank 27 (-5)
• Swansea UK rank 41 (-1)
• Bangor UK rank 49 (+6)
• Aberystwyth UK rank 56 (-11)
• Cardiff Metropolitan University UK rank 72 (-6)
• University of South Wales UK rank 91 (-14)
• University of Wales trinity St David UK rank 99 (+12)
• Wrexham UK rank 130 (-1)

These Wales rankings remain the same as for 2026 other than Bangor which has climbed from fourth to third place for 2027 and Aberystwyth which correspondingly fell from third to fourth in Wales. Wrexham is last on the list for both Wales and the UK overall in CUG.

The guide says “there are many pockets of subject-level excellence within Wales”.

The following institutions are among the best in the UK for particular subjects, even though some may not rank especially highly overall in the tables. This reinforces the importance of looking beyond the overall ranking, the CUG authors said.

• Aberystwyth University ranks third in the UK for Agriculture and Forestry and fourth for Tourism, Transport, Travel and Heritage Studies.
• Swansea University ranks second for Complementary Medicine and the University of South Wales ranks first.
• Bangor University ranks second for Health Studies and second for Medical Technology and Bioengineering.

Overall across the UK, the University of Cambridge has retained the number one position in this year’s annual Complete University Guide rankings.

The University of Oxford, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of St Andrews and Imperial College London, which has climbed one place from sixth to fifth, complete the top five.

In the top 10, the University of Warwick climbs two places to seventh, achieving its best result in over ten years; it last ranked seventh in the 2016 league tables.

There is notable movement further down the table too. The University of Dundee makes the biggest leap of any institution in the top 30 by climbing 14 spots from last year to 25th place, and in the top 50, Brunel University goes up 19 places to 48th and the University of Suffolk is up 11 to 44th. The highest climber in the UK is the University of East London, with a rise in 30 places in the overall league table.

Top 10 UK universities according to CUG 2027

• Cambridge
• Oxford
• London School of Economics
• University of St Andrews
• Imperial
• Durham
• Warwick
• Loughborough
• Bath
• Lancaster

Among the top 40, 29 universities have increased the proportion of UK undergraduates they recruit, and 27 of those have seen entry requirements become more flexible – a shift that reflects a changing market and creates additional opportunity for UK applicants.

After a dip last year, the proportion of students continuing from the first year of their course to their second has reached 91.1% this year, up from 89.7% last year. CUG: “This suggests that universities’ investment in student support is having a positive impact. However, this is still below the 92.2% recorded in the 2025 tables.”

On average 72% of graduates have successfully gone on to graduate-level or professional roles, or are in postgraduate education, just over a year after graduation.

The rankings also show that several universities that aren’t at the top of the league tables deliver what CUG described as “outstanding results for their students”.

“With entry standards showing they accept a broad range of entrants, they excel in the proportion of graduates who go on to professional or graduate-level employment. These include Harper Adams University, the University of Buckingham, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, Bournemouth University and Aston University,” the rankings show.

The most popular subjects are:

• Business and management studies,
• Nursing and midwifery and computer Science continue to dominate the top three, as they have for the last decade.
• Law has moved to fourth place from fifth last year and psychology is in fifth place compared to fourth last year.
• Sociology and drama, dance and cinematics have each risen one place to seventh and eighth place respectively.

Professor Amanda Chetwynd, chair of the CUG advisory board, said: “Congratulations to Cardiff University for retaining the top position in this year’s Wales Complete University Guide rankings and to all universities in Wales for supporting their students to achieve their ambitions.

“Our methodology draws on a range of trusted, independent measures that reflect what students care most about – teaching quality, student satisfaction and graduate outcomes.

“The right university is not always the one with the highest entry requirements; it is the one that is the best fit for you, your ambitions and your future.”

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