Warwick’s Liberal Arts ranked best in UK by Times University Rankings 2026
Our Liberal Arts programme has been recognised as the leading Liberal Arts course in the UK by the Times and Sunday Times UK University Rankings 2026. The University of Warwick has also placed 8th overall for the Best UK University.
The Times and The Sunday Times have produced comprehensive university guides since 1993 and 1998 respectively. The list is based on analysis of student satisfaction with teaching quality and experience, entry standards, research quality, sustainability, and graduate prospects.
This new placement is the latest glowing achievement for the Liberal Arts department following a string of successes in previous years. The course has consistently received excellent National Student Survey results during its 8-year history, with 2025 seeing Liberal Arts receive the highest overall positivity score in the whole university at 93.56%, and coming first in the Russell Group for five of the seven categories; which are teaching on the course, learning opportunities, assessment feedback, organisation and management, student voice, and academic support (the latter of which received a 100% score). Our programme is also the only Liberal Arts course in the country to offer annual modules at the Warwick Venice Centre.
Prior to receiving the top spot this year, the Liberal Arts programme ranked as the second best in the country and best outside of London for three years running (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023, 2024, and 2025). They were also recognised for being the best for teaching quality and student experience. For context, these accolades were measured against 115 UK-based Liberal Arts courses (estimate provided by UCAS listings).
Dr William Rupp, the Head of Liberal Arts, commented:
“We are incredibly proud of this ranking. It is a testament to the amazing team we’ve built together and to the fantastic students who join our programme and inspire all our work. This is also such a great way to start our ninth year as a department. We’re looking forward to building on this success and continuing to advocate for transdisciplinary liberal education in the UK and beyond.”
Dr Jane Webb, the Head of the School for Cross-faculty Studies where Liberal Arts resides, also commented:
"This is fantastic recognition for our dedicated and inspiring Liberal Arts staff. They have built a wonderful community with our brilliant students and provide an aspirational model of transdisciplinarity for the other courses in our School. Liberal Arts at Warwick has a dedicated team with core and optional modules developed just for our Liberal Arts students and it shows!"