Complete University Guide 2025: Best universities in Yorkshire, their overall scores and how rankings have changed since last year

The Complete University Guide has released its league tables that rank the best universities in the UK, overall and in 74 subject areas.

It’s always a difficult task to pick a university to study for at least three years, so it is helpful to have a list to guide you by showing you the top universities in the country.

Many of these universities have either moved up the list or moved down and there are various categories that have been given scores including ‘entry standards’, ‘student satisfaction’ and ‘graduate prospects’.

Top 11 universities in Yorkshire and their overall rankings

1 - University of York

University ranking (2025): 17

University ranking (2024): 16

Change in rank: -1

Overall score (out of 1,000): 787 (79%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 157 (74%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 3.07 (77%)

Research quality (out of 4): 3.45 (86%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 83%

2 - University of Sheffield

University ranking (2025): 18

University ranking (2024): 20

Change in rank: +2

Overall score (out of 1,000): 778 (78%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 157 (74%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 3.14 (78%)

Research quality (out of 4): 3.40 (85%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 85%

3 - University of Leeds

University ranking (2025): 23

University ranking (2024): 22

Change in rank: -1

Overall score (out of 1,000): 768 (77%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 162 (76%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 2.97 (74%)

Research quality (out of 4): 3.35 (84%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 85%

Signing up to the Yorkshire Post newsletter means you won’t miss our best stories - do it now

4 - Sheffield Hallam University

University ranking (2025): 64

University ranking (2024): 63

Change in rank: -1

Overall score (out of 1,000): 624 (62%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 121 (57%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 2.93 (73%)

Research quality (out of 4): 2.93 (73%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 78%

5 - University of Huddersfield

University ranking (2025): 67

University ranking (2024): 70

Change in rank: +3

Overall score (out of 1,000): 623 (62%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 129 (61%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 3.04 (76%)

Research quality (out of 4): 2.80 (70%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 74%

6 - University of Hull

University ranking (2025): 76

University ranking (2024): 76

Change in rank: 0

Overall score (out of 1,000): 602 (60%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 127 (60%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 3.12 (78%)

Research quality (out of 4): 3.10 (78%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 77%

7 - Leeds Beckett University

University ranking (2025): 78

University ranking (2024): 66

Change in rank: -12

Overall score (out of 1,000): 601 (60%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 124 (58%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 3.08 (77%)

Research quality (out of 4): 2.68 (67%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 71%

8 - York St John University

University ranking (2025): 98

University ranking (2024): 107

Change in rank: +9

Overall score (out of 1,000): 557 (56%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 119 (56%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 3.14 (79%)

Research quality (out of 4): 2.43 (61%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 74%

9 - Leeds Arts University

University ranking (2025): 108

University ranking (2024): 94

Change in rank: -14

Overall score (out of 1,000): 527 (53%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 148 (70%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 3.14 (78%)

Research quality (out of 4): 1.74 (44%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 60%

10 - University of Bradford

University ranking (2025): 109

University ranking (2024): 105

Change in rank: -4

Overall score (out of 1,000): 523 (52%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 132 (62%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 2.93 (73%)

Research quality (out of 4): 2.85 (71%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 79%

11 - Leeds Trinity University

University ranking (2025): 116

University ranking (2024): 121

Change in rank: +5

Overall score (out of 1,000): 504 (50%)

Entry standards (out of 212): 113 (53%)

Student satisfaction (out of 4): 2.97 (74%)

Research quality (out of 4): 2.11 (53%)

Graduate prospects (out of 100%): 73%