Sunday Times University of the Year

Not to be confused with Times Higher Education University of the Year.

University of the Year
Awarded for	Recognition in Higher Education
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	The Times and The Sunday Times
First awarded	1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Currently held by	London School of Economics and Political Science
Website	timesonline.co.uk/universityguide

The Sunday Times University of the Year is an annual award given to a British university or other higher education institution by The Sunday Times. The current University of the Year for 2025 is the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The award is given as part of the annual Times and Sunday Times University Guide since the second supplement's second edition in 1999. Though the guide contains a league table of UK universities compiled from various statistics, the award is not necessarily given to the university at the top (in fact, it only has been in 2007 and 2010). Instead, a university is chosen by a panel of experts based on all round academic excellence.

In addition to the winner, shortlisted universities are also named. A runners-up position was introduced in 2006.

From 2009 onwards, the University Guide took the year of its name from the following year (so the guide published in 2009 is known as 2010, the guide published in 2010 is known as 2011 etc.)

Although similar in name, this award has no connection to the "University of the Year" award given by Times Higher Education.

List of winners

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Also shortlisted
2025[1]	London School of Economics and Political Science	University of Sheffield	Durham University University of Leicester University of Warwick
2024[2]	University College London	University of Exeter	University of Buckingham University of Liverpool London School of Economics and Political Science University of York
2023[3]	University of Bath	University of Exeter	University of Birmingham University of Oxford University of Surrey
2022[4]	Imperial College London	University of Warwick	Edge Hill University Ulster University University of York
2021[5]	University of Oxford	Queen Mary, University of London	University of Bath Coventry University University of Strathclyde
2020[6]	University of St Andrews	Harper Adams University	London School of Economics and Political Science Royal Holloway, University of London Staffordshire University
2019[7]	Loughborough University	Swansea University	University of Aberdeen University of Nottingham University of St Andrews
2018[8]	Lancaster University	Loughborough University	University of Essex University of Glasgow University of Nottingham
2017^[citation needed]	University of Leeds[9]	University of St Andrews[10]	University of Dundee[11]
2016^[citation needed]	University of Surrey	University of Leeds	Durham University Imperial College London University of Kent
2015[12]	University of Warwick	University of Leeds	Coventry University Loughborough University University of St Andrews
2014[13]	University of Birmingham	University of Leicester[14]	Coventry University University of St Andrews University of Surrey
2013^[citation needed]	University of Exeter	University of Leicester	Plymouth University
2012[15]	University of Bath	University of Exeter	University of Leeds The Robert Gordon University University of Surrey
2011[16]	King's College London	University of Nottingham	Edge Hill University University of Exeter London School of Economics and Political Science Oxford Brookes University
2010 (Published 2009)[17]	University of Oxford	University College London	University of Birmingham Edge Hill University University of Glasgow University of Stirling
2009	Change in name to represent forthcoming year.
2008[18]	Loughborough University	Imperial College London	Aston University University of Sheffield University of Southampton
2007	University of Cambridge	University of St Andrews	Edge Hill University Harper Adams University College University of Leicester Queen's University Belfast
2006	University of Manchester	University of Exeter	King's College London Lancaster University University of St Andrews
2005	Durham University		University of Bath University of East Anglia University of Hull Loughborough University
2004	University College London		University of Dundee Durham University Kingston University University of Manchester
2003	University of York		Cardiff University University of Exeter Loughborough University Oxford Brookes University
2002	University of St Andrews		The London Institute University of Plymouth University of Southampton University of Warwick
2001	University of Sheffield		University of Exeter The London Institute Oxford Brookes University University of Ulster University of Warwick
2000	University of Newcastle upon Tyne		University of Bath Kingston University University of Nottingham University of York
1999	University of Brighton		University of Bristol Loughborough University University of Northumbria at Newcastle

Universities with multiple appearances

Universities with 3+ Shortlists

University	Shortlists
Edge Hill University	4
University of St Andrews
University of Bath	3
Coventry University
Durham University
University of Exeter
London School of Economics and Political Science
Loughborough University
University of Nottingham
Oxford Brookes University
University of Surrey
University of York
University of Warwick

Universities with 2+ Runner-ups

University	Runner-Ups
University of Exeter	4
University of Leeds	2
University of Leicester
University of St Andrews

Universities with 2+ Wins

University	Wins
University College London	2
Loughborough University
University of Oxford
University of St Andrews
University of Bath

References

1. "Best universities in the UK: the Sunday Times league table revealed". The Times. 20 September 2024.
2. "The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 is released". The Times. 15 September 2023.
3. "Why Bath is the University of the Year 2023". The Times. 16 September 2022.
4. "Why Imperial College London is The Sunday Times University of the Year 2022". The Times. 17 September 2021.
5. "Good University Guide: Oxford named University of the Year 2021". The Times. 20 September 2020.
6. Alastair McCall (22 September 2019). "University of the Year 2020: St Andrews is UK's best place to study". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
7. "University of the Year 2019: Loughborough University". The Times. 23 September 2018.
8. McCall, Alastair (24 September 2017). "Good University Guide: University of the Year 2018". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0956-1382. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
9. "University of the Year 2017". University of Leeds. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
10. "Sustained quality is their hallmark". The Times. 25 September 2016.
11. Dundee, University of. "Dundee Is Scottish University of the Year Again : News". University of Dundee. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
12. O'Leary, John (9 October 2014). The Times Good University Guide 2015: Where to Go and What to Study. Times Books. ISBN 978-0007591886.
13. Alastair McCall, Birmingham is on the move: Taking the stress out of results day helped our University of the Year stand out from the rest, says Alastair McCall', The Sunday Times, 30 September 2013, University Guide 2014 section
14. "Marketing and Communications | External Relations | University of Leicester".
15. Alastair McCall, 'University of Bath University of the Year', The Sunday Times, 11 September 2011, University Guide 2012 section
16. Alastair McCall, 'King's Takes Academic Crown', The Sunday Times, 12 September 2009, University Guide 2011 section, p. 2
17. "The Times & The Sunday Times".^{[dead link]}
18. "The Times & The Sunday Times". Archived from the original on 2 December 2008.