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The University of Liverpool has entered the top 20 of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026, ranked 18th nationally, the University’s highest position in more than a decade.
The annual league table draws on a wide range of measures, including student satisfaction, teaching excellence, research quality, degree completion rates, and graduate employment prospects. The methodology also includes a sustainability metric, based on performance in the People & Planet University League, which assesses UK universities on their environmental and ethical performance and contributes 5.6% of the overall Good University Guide score.
Liverpool’s strong sustainability performance played an important role in this year’s success. In the most recent People & Planet University League, the University climbed 10 places to 37th nationally out of 149 institutions and ranked 8th in the Russell Group.
The ranking reflects Liverpool’s progress in embedding sustainability across research, education and operations, achieving high scores in areas such as:
- 100% for Auditing and Environmental Management Systems
- 94% for Education for Sustainable Development
- 90% for Staff and Student Engagement
- 90% for Environmental Policy
The University also scored highly in areas such as Workers’ Rights, Sustainability Staff, and was joint 2nd in the Russell Group for Ethical Investment.
This latest success builds on Liverpool’s international recognition in other sustainability rankings, including a rise to 42nd in the QS Sustainability Rankings and a top 100 position in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Tim Jones said: “Breaking into the top 20 of The Times and Sunday Times Good University guide is an important milestone for the University and follows on from our rise in the Guardian rankings earlier this week.
“This latest recognition is a further indicator of our strengthening reputation at home and internationally.
“I am delighted with these latest results which reflect the support, commitment and hard work of our entire University community, whose work is making Liverpool one of the leading universities in the UK.”
Find out more
If you would like to know more about our work or have any questions, please email the Sustainability Team at sustainability@liverpool.ac.uk.
Click here to view The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026.
Find out more about the University of Liverpool’s rankings and reputation here.