The University of Southampton is ranked #87 in QS World University Rankings 2026, placing it among the top 100 universities globally. It is also ranked #129 in Times Higher Education 2026, keeping it within the top 150 worldwide. In U.S. News & World Report, it has been placed around the top 120 globally in recent years, showing consistent performance. In the UK, it ranks #20 in The Guardian 2026 and #17 in Complete University Guide 2026, reflecting a strong and stable national position.

Within the UK, the University of Southampton is ranked #17 by The Complete University Guide and #20 by The Guardian University Guide in 2026. However, its rankings have slightly changed compared to previous years, indicating increased competition among UK universities.

In subject rankings, Southampton performs well across multiple areas, especially in engineering, sciences, and health-related fields:

  • QS Subject Rankings 2026: Strong in Nursing (#13), Mechanical Engineering (#81), and Electrical & Electronic Engineering (#87), with several earth and marine-related subjects in the top 50
  • U.S. News Subject Rankings 2026: High ranks in Optics (#24), Meteorology (#42), and Gastroenterology (#43)
  • Guardian UK Rankings 2026: Multiple top 10 UK subjects, including Civil Engineering (#2), Electrical Engineering (#3), and Criminology (#4)

Overall, the University of Southampton shows solid performance across STEM, health, and social science fields, with several subjects ranked among the top globally and within the UK.

Explore the admission process and entry requirements for University of Southampton


University of Southampton World Rankings

In the QS World University Rankings, the University of Southampton has ranked among the top 150 universities in the world for 7 years now. Here are the trends of the University of Southampton world rankings according to some reputed agencies:

Ranking Body 2026 Rank 2025 Rank 2024 Rank 2023 Rank 2022 Rank
QS World University Rankings #87 #80 #81 #78 #77
THE World University Rankings #129 #115 #97 #108 #124
US News and World Reports - #118 #123 #104 #97

University of Southampton National Ranking Trends

The University of Southampton is ranked well in National ranking agencies like The Guardian University Guide and Complete University Guide. Here is a trend of national rankings of this university.

Ranking Body 2026 Rank 2025 Rank 2024 Rank 2023 Rank 2022 Rank
The Guardian #20 #22 #20 #16 #17
The Complete University Guide (CUG) #17 #20 #17 #13 #15

University of Southampton Computer Science Ranking

As per QS World University Rankings 2026, the University of Southampton is ranked #178 globally for Computer Science & Information Systems, showing an improvement from the #201–250 band in 2025. Explore the University of Southampton Computer Science ranking trend for the last 4 years in the table below.

Ranking Body Subjects 2026 Rank 2025 Rank 2024 Rank 2023 Rank 2022 Rank
QS (Global) Computer Science & Information Systems #178 #201-250 #175 #136 #144
THE (Global) Computer Science #126-150 #151-175 #126-150 #101-125 #91
CUG (in UK) Computer Science #14 #15 #9 #11 #20

University of Southampton Engineering Ranking

In QS World University Rankings 2026, the University of Southampton ranks among the top 100 globally in Mechanical (#81) and Electrical & Electronic Engineering (#87), highlighting its strong global engineering reputation. Some of the other notable rankings of the University of Southampton Engineering programs are as follows.

Ranking Body Subjects 2026 Rank 2025 Rank 2024 Rank 2023 Rank 2022 Rank
QS (Global) Mechanical Engineering #81 #93 #77 #51 #63
Civil and Structural Engineering #101-150 #101-150 #51-100 #51-100 #51-100
Chemical Engineering #301-350 #201-250 #151-200 #201-250 -
Electrical and Electronic Engineering #87 #83 #70 #72 #65
Engineering and Technology #112 #120 #97 #88 #85
THE (Global) Engineering #101-125 #101-125 #97 #101-125 #101-125
CUG (in UK) Civil Engineering #6 #5 #5 #7 #6
Electrical and Electronic Engineering #4 #6 #5 #5 #6
Manufacturing and Production Engineering #2 #4 - - -
Mechanical Engineering #8 #8 #8 #9 #8

University of Southampton Psychology Ranking

OIn QS World University Rankings 2026, Psychology is ranked in the #151–200 range, while Times Higher Education places it in the #101–125 band. In the UK, it is ranked #22 by Complete University Guide 2026, with slight changes over the years. The notable University of Southampton rankings for Psychology programs are as follows.

Ranking Body Subject 2026 Rank 2025 Rank 2024 Rank 2023 Rank 2022 Rank
QS (Global) Psychology #151-200 #151-200 #101-150 #101-150 #98
THE (Global) Psychology #101-125 #101-125 #101-125 #101-125 #101-125
CUG (in UK) Psychology #22 #27 #20 #17 #26

University of Southampton Law Ranking

In QS World University Rankings 2026, Law is placed in the #201–250 range, while Times Higher Education ranks it in the #176–200 band. In the UK, it stands at #20 in Complete University Guide 2026, showing some movement over the years.Some of the rankings of the University of Southampton Law programs are as follows.

Ranking Body Subject 2026 Rank 2025 Rank 2024 Rank 2023 Rank 2022 Rank
QS (Global) Law and Legal Studies #201-250 #151-200 #151-200 #151-200 #151-200
THE (Global) Law #176-200 #176-200 #151-175 #126-150 #101-125
CUG (in UK) Law #20 #25 #21 #21 #34

University of Southampton MBA Ranking

Other notable MBA and Business related programs rankings of the University of Southampton are as follows.

Ranking Body Subject 2026 Rank 2025 Rank 2024 Rank 2023 Rank 2022 Rank
QS (Global) Full-time MBA (Global) #141-150 #141-150 #131-140 #121-130 #111-120
Full-time MBA (Europe) #50 #47 #45 #42 #38
Supply Chain Management #51-60 #51 #51 #51 #49
Marketing #91-100 #91-100 #91-100 #71-80 #71-80
Economics and Econometrics #163 #146 #151-200 #138 #150
THE (Global) Business and Economics #101-125 #101-125 #101-125 #126-150 #101-125
CUG (in UK) Accounting and Finance #22 #20 #17 #22 #17
Economics #26 #29 #22 #32 #28
Marketing #11 #9 #10 #5 #7

University of Southampton QS Ranking 2026

In QS World University Rankings 2026, the University of Southampton performs really well in a few key areas like Nursing (#13) and also secures good positions in subjects related to earth and environmental sciences, showing a balanced performance across different fields. All the other QS ranking trends are listed below in the table.

Ranked In 2026 2025 2024 2023
Sustainability #53 #23 #34 #88
Europe University- Northern University #21 #22 #23 -
Nursing #13 #13 #11 #6
Archaeology #30 #33 #36 #33
Earth and Marine Sciences #38 #40 #38 #39
Physics and Astronomy #113 #75 #60 #59
Medicine #101 #81 #81 #62
Geophysics #40 #51-100 #42 #43
Statistics and Operational Research #51-100 #51-100 #48 #39
Geology #41 #51-100 #46 #42
Philosophy #44 #51-100 #51-100 #51-100
Life Sciences and Medicine #131 #116 #105 #90
Natural Sciences #117 #126 #112 #112
Environmental Sciences #137 #128 #128 #101-150
Social Policy and Administration #101-150 #101-150 #101-130 -
Geography #101-150 #101-150 #101-150 #101-150
Chemistry #201-250 #170 #148 #126
Biological Sciences #201-250 #177 #151-200 #137
Arts and Humanities #167 #180 #164 #171
History #201-250 #151-200 #101-150 #101-150
English Language and Literature #151-200 #151-200 #151-200 #151-200
Sociology #201-250 #151-200 #201-250 #151-200

University of Southampton US News Ranking 2026

In U.S. News & World Report 2026, the University of Southampton shows strong performance in areas like Optics (#24), Gastroenterology (#43), and Meteorology (#42), while also maintaining solid positions across engineering, health, and science subjects. The detailed subject-wise rankings are listed in the table below.

Subject Rank 2026 Subject Rank 2026
Arts and Humanities #157 Biology and Biochemistry #306
Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems #248 Chemistry #582
Civil Engineering #164 Clinical Medicine #129
Computer Science #192 Ecology #155
Economics and Business #55 Electrical and Electronic Engineering #97
Endocrinology and Metabolism #56 Energy and Fuels #366
Engineering #202 Environment/Ecology #116
Gastroenterology and Hepatology #43 Geosciences #58
Immunology #141 Infectious Diseases #116
Marine and Freshwater Biology #47 Materials Science #256
Mathematics #475 Mechanical Engineering #178
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences #42 Molecular Biology and Genetics #160
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology #249 Neuroscience and Behavior #179
Oncology #182 Optics #24
Physical Chemistry #455 Physics #142
Plant and Animal Science #397 Psychiatry/Psychology #105
Public, Environmental and Occupational Health #188 Social Sciences and Public Health #124
Space Science #112 Surgery #115

University of Southampton The Guardian Rankings

In The Guardian 2026 rankings, the University of Southampton stands out with several top 10 UK positions, especially in Civil Engineering (#2), Electrical & Electronic Engineering (#3), and Criminology (#4). It also performs well across a wide mix of subjects, showing strong overall coverage in both technical and social science areas. The detailed subject-wise rankings are listed in the table below.

Subject 2026 Rankings
Chemistry #14
Economics #40
Physics #28
Languages and Linguistics #10
Biology #62
Accounting and Finance #19
Computer Science and Information Systems #31
Mathematics #35
Business and Management #41
Marketing and Public Relation #17
Politics #42
International Relations #33
Sociology and Social Policy #16
Criminology #4
Media and Film Studies #58
Electrical and Electronic Engineering #3
Mechanical Engineering #25
English #34
History #34
Philosophy #24
Earth and Marine Sciences #18
Biomedical Science #50
Zoology #19
Midwifery #3
Physiotherepy #8
Health Professions #30
Medicine #21
Anthropology and Archaeology #10
Music #37
Civil Engineering #2
Aerospace Engineering #6
Psychology #9
Education #28
Graphic Design #26
Fashion and Textiles #29
Law #10
Children’s Nursing #7
General Nursing #19
Mental Health Nursing #13
Fine Art #13

The University of Southampton remains a globally recognized institution with consistent rankings among the top 100 universities in the world. While its position fluctuates across different ranking agencies, it continues to excel in engineering, business, and law, making it a strong choice for students in these fields.

For students looking for a well-ranked university with strong research facilities, industry connections, and quality education, the University of Southampton remains a solid option, particularly for those aiming for careers in STEM, business, and social sciences.