Rankings

The University of Manchester’s current rankings place us among the world’s best universities.

World rankings

League table	World	Europe	UK
Academic Ranking of World Universities (2020)	36	8	5
QS (2021)	27	8	6
Reuters Top 100: Europe's most innovative universities (2019)	-	8	4

National rankings

League table	Ranking
Complete University Guide (2021)	=17
The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide (2020)	18
Times Higher Education (2021)	=51 (world); 16 (Europe); 8 (UK)
Times Higher Education ‘most international university’ rankings (2020)	25
Guardian (2021)	25

Research Excellence Framework (REF)

In the 2014 REF an impressive 83% of our research activity was rated 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent', confirming Manchester as one of the UK's top research institutions.

Teaching

For the second year running the University is listed in the top ten European universities for teaching excellence in the 2019 Times Higher Education Europe Teaching Rankings. This ranking makes us one of the best in the country as well as the continent for student engagement and post-study outcomes.

Employability

The University was ranked fifth best UK institution for employability in the 2019 Times Higher Education Global University Employability Ranking.

Social responsibility

Our societal impact has been ranked the best in the UK by Times Higher Education based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals framework. The prestigious ranking comes in the 2020 Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings. We competed against more than 500 universities from around the world.

An international university

We're the 25th most international university in the world, according to Times Higher Education (2020).

An award-winning city

Manchester has been voted the top UK city to live in based on the 2019 The Economist's Global Liveability Index. The city has also been voted one of the ten friendliest cities in the world by Rough Guides (2014) readers.

Awards and accreditations

The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers

The University has been named as one of the top 50 UK employers for inclusion, equality and diversity.

Times Higher Education Awards

The University won the Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community Award at the Times Higher Education Awards.

Guardian Sustainable Business Award

The Works has won the Social Impact Award at the Guardian's prestigious Sustainable Business Awards.

Lovie Awards

Our corporate website was a silver winner in the schools and education category of the Lovie Awards 2015.

Queen's Award for Voluntary Service

Our School Governor Initiative was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2016 - the highest award possible for a voluntary group in the UK.

CASE

We're proud to have been awarded a CASE grand gold award in the short informational films category for our 'inspire and be inspired' video featuring chancellor Lemn Sissay.

Race Equality Charter

We’re one of only four Higher Education Institutes to successful renew its Race Equality Charter Bronze Award through AdvanceHE for excellence in advancing racial equality in higher education.

Payroll Giving Quality Mark - Bronze Award

This Quality Mark recognises employers and employees who are making a difference through giving. We've received our Bronze Award because 1% of employees are participating in payroll giving.

Investors in People

We've achieved the Investors in People standard by investing time and resources in our staff and students, improving the Manchester experience for everyone.

Athena SWAN

Our Athena SWAN award recognises our commitment to developing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.

Disability Confident Employer

We have been awarded the Disability Confident Employer symbol in recognition of our commitment to the recruitment, retention and career development of disabled people.

Stonewall

We have joined Britain’s good practice employers’ forum on sexual orientation, run by Stonewall, the charity that works for equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.

HR Excellence in Research

We received the HR Excellence in Research badge in 2011, recognising our commitment to fair and transparent recruitment and appraisal procedures for research staff.

Time to Change

Our Time to Change pledge signals our commitment to help raise awareness and to tackle the stigma around mental health for our staff and students.

QAA

QAA checks how UK universities and colleges maintain the standard of their higher education provision. Visit the QAA website to read Manchester's latest review report.