Queen's Anniversary Prize 2021 - the highest national Honour awarded in UK further and higher education.
University of Aberdeen was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2021 for research and teaching in soil science.
Our latest rankings
Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide (UK) - 19
Guardian University League Table (UK) - 13
Complete University Guide (UK) - 37
Times Higher Education (UK/World) - 22 / 158
QS World Rankings (UK/World) - 27 / 220
Facts & Figures
Top 20
Ranked 13th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2023 and 19th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023.
Top 160
Ranked 158th in the world in the Times Higher Education Ranking 2022
Top 5
Ranked 4th in the UK for overall student satisfaction (National Student Survey 2022)
2021
Awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for research and teaching in Soil Science
Fast Facts
Queen's Anniversary Prize 2017 - the highest national Honour awarded in UK further and higher education.
University of Aberdeen was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize in 2017 for sustained excellence in health services research over the last 40 years.
Supporting the Gaelic language and culture
Gaelic has been taught as a subject at the University since the eighteenth century. Many distinguished Gaelic scholars have passed through as students or staff.
On Campus
Historic League Tables
The national and global league tables are calculated using different criteria and weighting but all include; student satisfaction, student to staff ratio, graduate prospects, and entry grades.
| League Table | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide (UK) | 44 | 45 | 44 | 40 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 20 | 19 |
| Guardian University League Table (UK) | 41 | 41 | 36 | 46 | 51 | 34 | 20 | 20 | 13 |
| Complete University Guide (UK) | 44 | 40 | 42 | 40 | 28 | 29 | 26 | 38 | 37 |
| Times Higher Education (UK) | 26 | 29 | 30 | 28 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 22 | |
| Times Higher Education (World) | 178 | 172 | 188 | 185 | 158 | 168 | 178 | 158 | |
| QS World Rankings (UK) | 24 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
| QS World Rankings (World) | 137 | 137 | 141 | 158 | 172 | 194 | 207 | 205 | 220 |
| Shanghai Rankings (UK) | =22 | =22 | =21 | =22 | =22 | =21 | =21 | - | |
| Shanghai Rankings (World) | 201-300 | 201-300 | 201-300 | 201-300 | 201-300 | 201-300 | 201-300 | - |
Subject Rankings
- The Complete University Guide 2022
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Drama, Dance & Cinematics 1st Linguistics 3rd Sports Science 3rd Geography & Environmental Science 6th Biomedical Sciences 7th Chemical Engineering 7th Medicine 7th Theology & Religious Studies 9th Anthropology 10th Education 10th History of Art 11th Business & Management Studies 12th General Engineering 12th Mechanical Engineering 12th Civil Engineering 13th Computer Science 13th Music 13th Accounting & Finance 14th Law 14th Philosophy 14th Psychology 14th Sociology 16th Geology 17th Archaeology 18th Iberian Languages 18th Mathematics 20th French 21st Chemistry 22nd Electrical & Electronic Engineering 24th Biological Sciences 25th History 25th - The Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023
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Anatomy and Physiology 1st Anthropology 6th Geology 6th Medicine 6th Chemical Engineering 8th Chemistry 9th Law 10th Sociology 10th French 14th Iberian Languages 14th Music 14th General Engineering 15th Philosophy 17th Accounting and Finance 18th Education 18th Business Studies 19th History 19th Mechanical Engineering 21st Geography and Environmental Science 22nd Pharmacology and Pharmacy 22nd Politics 22nd - Guardian University Guide 2023
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Accounting & Finance 2nd Medicine 2nd Chemical Engineering 3rd International Relations 4th Anthropology 6th Physics 6th Earth & Marine Sciences 7th Dentistry 8th Politics 8th Music 9th Business, Management & Marketing 11th Law 11th Zoology 11th Pharmacy & Pharmacology 12th History 15th English & Creative Writing 15th Economics 16th Modern Languages & Linguistics 18th Sports Science 18th Geography 20th Chemistry 21st Sociology & Social Policy 24th Psychology 25th - Leiden Rankings 2021
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The Leiden University Rankings use bibliometric indicators to measure the performance of universities across the world.
Scientific Impact
Ranked 29th in the UK for the scientific impact of its research.
Research Collaboration
The University is ranked 14th in the UK for collaborative research that takes place with partners across the world.
Open Access Publishing
The University is ranked 50th in the world for the number of Open Access publications. 82.4% of publications by University of Aberdeen researchers are Open Access.
Research Gender Diversity
This year, the university is ranked 11th in the UK for gender diversity. The University has consistently been ranked highly in the UK for the gender diversity of its researchers.