University of Bristol ranked sixth in UK by TIME Magazine

By Dana Andrea Datu, News Reporter

The University of Bristol has been ranked 35th in the 2026 world university rankings by TIME Magazine, while the QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) Europe Region Rankings place the university 15th across Europe. 

TIME Magazine's new rankings, produced in partnership with Statista, assess institutions based on academic capacity and performance, innovation and economic impact, and global engagement.  

The University of Bristol received an overall score of 71.24 (out of 100), placing it among the world’s top 35 universities. It performed particularly strongly in global engagement, achieving a score of 89.48. 

Bristol also ranked as the sixth highest-placed university in the UK, behind Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, the University of Edinburgh, and University College London, according to TIME Magazine's metric.

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Three of Bristol’s Engineering degrees made it to the top five, with General Engineering placing first, while the Russian department was ranked second in the country.

EpigramAimee Anderson

The university also did well in the QS Europe Region Rankings with an overall score of 92.4 and gained a ranking of 15th within Europe. These rankings include institutions from across Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Western Asia. 

Bristol performed particularly strongly in the research, sustainability, and employability categories. This comes after recent research placed Bristol as the 5th most targeted university by graduate employees. 

Despite the strong performance, the QS rankings represent a slight drop from last year, where Bristol was placed 14th in Europe.

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Professor Michele Acuto, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Bristol, said:  

‘These (rankings) speak to the global reach of our work, commitment to delivering world-class innovation and research with clear economic and societal impact.

‘Most importantly, they speak to the achievements of our hugely dedicated and talented university community.’

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The new rankings build on Bristol's continued success in domestic league tables, with the university consistently placing within the UK's top 20 institutions. In other 2026 rankings, Bristol was ranked 15th by The Guardian, 10th by The Times Good University Guide, and 15th by The Complete University Guide.

Featured image: Sophie Maclaren