University of Manchester rises in Europe rankings placing top 10 for the second year

19 Jul 2024

The University of Manchester has been recognised as one of the top universities in Europe for the second year in a row, achieving seventh place in the latest QS World University Rankings.

The success sees the University climb one place from last year’s edition and places Manchester sixth in the UK.  

The QS World University Rankings: Europe, released today (10 July) by the global higher education analyst QS Quacquarelli Symonds, was launched for the first time last year and is the only significant regional ranking of European universities.  

Each institution is assessed using 12 performance indicators, including academic and employer reputation, citations, number of papers, employability outcomes, international research, student diversity, sustainability, and more.

This year's edition assessed 684 universities from over 40 countries and territories,

Ben Sowter, QS Senior Vice President, said: "This edition enhances our comprehensive benchmarking tool for one of the world's most competitive higher education regions. It enables institutions, policymakers and prospective students to measure performance against international peers and gain valuable decision-making insights.

"QS is thrilled to celebrate ETH Zurich as Europe's top university, driven by progressive ESG strategies, student exchanges, and impactful research. The UK excels across indicators due to esteemed reputation and global research collaborations and sustainability. However, all countries have successes, highlighted by our extensive datasets, including global appeal, cross-border collaborations, and teaching capacity."

The University of Manchester has also recently been named top in both the UK and Europe, and second in the world for meaningful contributions towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the 2024 Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings.