University of Warwick wins in new category of ‘University of the Year in the Midlands 2026’

The University of Warwick is celebrating multiple successes in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026:

Winner of ‘University of the Year in the Midlands 2026’
Named ‘Highly Commended Russell Group University of the Year 2026’
Risen one place in the overall rankings to 8^th

Warwick’s win as ‘University of the Year in the Midlands 2026’ acknowledges its local leadership in teaching and research, strong community ties, and its role driving economic, social, and cultural growth across the region.

As ‘Highly Commended Russell Group University of the Year 2026’, The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 ranked Warwick second in the Russell Group category behind the London School of Economics and Political Science. This award recognises Warwick’s outstanding research culture across a range of subject areas.

Overall, Warwick rose one place in the rankings to 8^th – a trend across recent league tables of improving its position within the top 10 of leading UK universities.

Celebrating Warwick’s triple success, Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Warwick, said:

“Being named University of the Year in the Midlands, highly commended among the Russell Group, and rising in the rankings reflects the impact we’re making locally, nationally, and globally through internationally-leading research and world-class teaching.

“Achieving highly commended in the Russell Group category shows that Warwick is continuing to deliver an outstanding educational experience. We continue to be a thriving academic community because of the incredible dedication, talent, and passion of everyone associated with Warwick.

“As Warwick celebrates our 60^th anniversary, these results show that you can make a big difference in a small amount of time. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together, how we prepare our students to make a positive difference in the world, and I’m excited for what’s to come as we continue to grow our academic offering and our community.”

In the subject league tables, Warwick has three subject areas ranked first in the country:

Dance, drama and cinematics
Economics
Liberal arts

A further 17 subject areas have been ranked in the top 10 for their fields by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026, emphasising the range and depth of quality available at Warwick.

Warwick received particular praise for both its research and its teaching. The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 described Warwick as “Research-led since its foundation” with “impressive results in the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021)”. The rankings further detail that Warwick “received top honours in the government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF 2023), one of 26 institutions out of 228, to achieve a rare triple gold for its overall grade, student experience and student outcomes.”

Describing Warwick, The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said:

“An academic powerhouse celebrating its 60th anniversary, the University of Warwick has always had epic ambitions, from its 750-acre campus to its Venice palazzo to its base in The Shard. A £425 million Science and Engineering Precinct is now being created to combine disciplinary excellence with interdisciplinary working, and is the biggest single investment since its foundation.

“Warwick consistently excels across all metrics, from research quality to graduate prospects. Life on its self-contained campus near Coventry offers a “mini city” experience, with everything on site. The social scene is lively, both on campus and in nearby Leamington Spa, where many students live after their first year.”

The full University of Warwick rankings page is available online.

The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 rankings are available online. A 96-page supplement will be published in The Sunday Times on 21^st September.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact:

Dom Barker, Media & Communications Officer

Dom.Barker@warwick.ac.uk / 07824 540727

General and out-of-hours press office number: +44 (0)7392 125605 (please call as emails are not checked out of office hours).

About the University of Warwick

Founded in 1965, the University of Warwick is a world-leading institution known for its commitment to era-defining innovation across research and education. A connected ecosystem of staff, students and alumni, the University fosters transformative learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and bold industry partnerships across state-of-the-art facilities in the UK and global satellite hubs. Here, spirited thinkers push boundaries, experiment and challenge convention to create a better world.

About The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide:

The following Warwick subject areas were ranked in the top 10 for their fields:

Accounting and finance (2^nd)
Business, management and marketing (2^nd)
Classics and ancient history (5^th)
Communication and media studies (5^th)
Computer science (7^th)
Creative Writing (4^th)
Dance, drama and cinematics (1^st)
Economics (1^st)
French (6^th)
German (7^th)
History (7^th)
History of art, architecture and design (9^th)
Iberian languages (4^th)
Italian (2^nd)
Liberal arts (1^st)
Mathematics (6^th)
Philosophy (2^nd)
Physics and astronomy (9^th)
Politics and international relations (7^th)
Sociology (8^th)

The Times and The Sunday Times have produced university guides since 1993 and 1998 respectively. Since 2013, they have published a combined Good University Guide to provide the most comprehensive guide to higher education in Britain in print and digital formats across The Times, The Sunday Times and thetimes.comLink opens in a new window.

The list is based on an analysis of student satisfaction with teaching quality and their student experience, entry standards, research quality, sustainability, and graduate prospects. Since 2018 the guide also includes social inclusion rankings for universities in England and Wales, with a separate table for Scottish rankings. The tables are based on key measures to reflect the diversity of their intake and subsequent success when attending university.

The full digital rankings are available online: https://www.thetimes.com/uk-university-rankings.

19 September 2025