This milestone marks a decade in the top ten for Loughborough – a feat shared only by the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, St Andrews, Durham and Imperial.
It also remains the highest ranked university in the Midlands, underlining its position as one of the best universities in the country.
Published today (Tuesday 10 June), the Complete University Guide is based on ten measures: entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality, research intensity, academic services spend, spending on student facilities, continuation, student-staff ratio, graduate prospects – outcomes, and graduate prospects – on track.
Speaking about the 2026 guide Professor Nick Jennings, the University’s President and Vice-Chancellor, said: “Loughborough has now been ranked in the top ten best universities in the UK for a decade. This reflects the unwavering dedication of our staff to provide an outstanding student experience and prepare our graduates for success in their future careers. I’m incredibly proud that Loughborough continues to stand among the very best universities in the UK.”
The top ten universities in the UK Complete University Guide 2026 are:
- Cambridge
- Oxford
- London School of Economics
- St Andrews
- Durham
- Imperial College London
- Loughborough
- Bath
- Warwick
- Lancaster
The full league table can be viewed at TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk.
Whilst Loughborough is proud of its ranking success, it is also signatory to the More Than Our Rank initiative which recognises a much broader range of our institutional ambitions, activities and achievements that are not captured by any university ranking.