The QS rankings are regarded as the most highly respected of the various international league tables and this year it has included 1,300 global universities which make the 2022 rankings the largest rankings published to date. The ranking was evaluated based on six metrics: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty-student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, and international student ratio. Each university received a score out of 100 for each of the six metrics as well as an overall score out of 100.

The University of Oxford has ranked second whereas its arch-rival the University of Cambridge has ranked third in the world, jumping four places up in the QS World University Rankings 2022. Imperial (ranked seventh) and UCL (ranked eighth) secured their rank in the top 10 universities improving their previous ranking of eighth and tenth. Other British universities ranked in the worldwide top 50 include the university of Edinburgh (rank 16), King’s College London (rank 35) and London School of Economics and Political Science (rank 49).

QS Spokesman Jack Moran has said: “British universities – among them London’s finest – have enjoyed some impressive gains in this year’s table, and these gains are largely driven by outstanding global recognition and research impact.”