Clusters of UK universities based on research, teaching, economic resources, academic selectivity and socioeconomic mix of students

UK University league tables are unreliable as they are often closely bunched together at the top, middle and bottom. Don't read too much into universities placed 10 to 20 places apart – a university in 50th place is usually separated by the one in 60th by only a few percentage points. This is also why some universities ranking fluctuate from year to year – small differences in score can mean big differences in placing. For example, a small drop in the National Student Survey (NSS) may cost a university 20 places in league tables.

It makes more sense to cluster universities based on similar criteria. According to DOI: 10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905, there are 4 distinctive clusters of universities in the UK. A stark division is evident between the old pre-1992 universities and the post-1992 universities, with large differences evident in terms of research activity, economic resources, academic selectivity, and social mix. The difference between old and new universities with respect to teaching quality is minor.

Oxford and Cambridge stand out among the old universities forming an ‘elite’ tier of universities. The differences between this elite tier and the rest are substantial in relation to research activity, economic resources, academic selectivity, and social mix, but are much more modest in relation to teaching quality.

The remaining 22 Russell Group universities are found to cluster together with over half (17 out of 30) of all the other old universities.

Around a quarter of post-92 universities form a distinctive bottom tier. These universities are far less well-resourced than all other universities, and the student populations they serve are much less academically successful and socioeconomically disadvantaged.

The 4 clusters of UK universities are listed below, sorted by CUG ranking within the same cluster.

Russell Group; Unaffiliated pre-92 universities; Million+; GuildHE; University Alliance; Unaffiliated post-92 universities

Cluster 1 (2 universities)

1. University of Cambridge
2. University of Oxford

Cluster 2 (39 universities)

1. University of St Andrew
2. London School of Economics
3. Imperial College London
4. Loughborough University
5. University of Durham
6. University of Lancaster
7. University of Bath
8. University College London
9. University of Warwick
10. University of Exeter
11. University of Birmingham
12. University of Bristol
13. University of Edinburgh
14. University of Leeds
15. University of Manchester
16. University of Southampton
17. University of Glasgow
18. King's College London
19. University of Nottingham
20. University of York
21. University of Newcastle
22. Royal Holloway
23. University of East Anglia
24. University of Aberdeen
25. Queen's University of Belfast
26. University of Sheffield
27. Heriot-Watt University
28. Cardiff University
29. University of Dundee
30. University of Liverpool
31. University of Surrey
32. Queen Mary University of London
33. University of Strathclyde
34. SOAS
35. University of Leicester
36. University of Reading
37. University of Sussex
38. University of Kent
39. Goldsmiths, University of London

Cluster 3 (67 universities)

1. Swansea University
2. University of Essex
3. Harper Adams University
4. Aston University
5. University for the Creative Arts
6. University of Stirling
7. Nottingham Trent University
8. Arts University Bournemouth
9. Oxford Brookes University
10. University of Lincoln
11. University of the Arts, London
12. University of Northumbria
13. University of Huddersfield
14. Manchester Metropolitan
15. Coventry University
16. University of Keele
17. City University of London
18. Aberystwyth University
19. Ulster University
20. University of Portsmouth
21. University of Hull
22. University of the West of England, Bristol
23. Liverpool John Moores University
24. Sheffield Hallam University
25. University of Bradford
26. Falmouth University
27. University of Central Lancashire
28. University of Plymouth
29. University of Chichester
30. Bangor University
31. Robert Gordon University
32. Staffordshire University
33. Queen Margaret University
34. Edinburgh Napier University
35. University of West London
36. University of Hertfordshire
37. De Montfort University
38. Roehampton University
39. Birmingham City University
40. Brunel University
41. Bournemouth University
42. Cardiff Metropolitan University
43. Glasgow Caledonian University
44. London South Bank University
45. University of Greenwich
46. University of Salford
47. Bath Spa University
48. University of Chester
49. Teesside University
50. University of Abertay Dundee
51. University of Gloucestershire
52. Middlesex University
53. University of Derby
54. Kingston University
55. University of South Wales
56. University of Worcester
57. University of Winchester
58. University of Sunderland
59. University of Northampton
60. University of the West of Scotland
61. University of Westminster
62. University of Brighton
63. Leeds Beckett University
64. Newman University
65. University of Bedfordshire
66. Canterbury Christ Church
67. University of the Highlands & Islands

 Cluster 4 (19 universities)

1. Liverpool Hope University
2. Edge Hill University
3. University of Wales Trinity Saint David
4. Solent University
5. York St John University
6. Bishop Grosseteste University
7. Anglia Ruskin University
8. University of East London
9. University of Cumbria
10. London Metropolitan University
11. University of Wolverhampton
12. Leeds Trinity University
13. Buckinghamshire New University
14. Wrexham Glyndwr University
15. University of Bolton
16. University College Birmingham
17. Plymouth Marjon University
18. University of Suffolk
19. Ravensbourne University London