Computer Science & Information Systems in United Kingdom: All 59 Ranked Universities, QS 2026 Data

The United Kingdom places 59 universities in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 for Computer Science & Information Systems — the second-highest count of any country, behind only the United States of America with 106. The country's best entry is the University of Oxford at rank 4, and 9 of its institutions appear within the global top 100.

The UK's Depth in One Subject

The 59 ranked UK institutions represent a substantial share of the 850 universities listed globally across 79 countries in this subject. No other European country comes close: Germany lists 33, France lists 31, and Italy lists 26. The UK's count is also the highest in Europe by a wide margin, and globally it trails only the United States.

Country/Region	Ranked Institutions
United States of America	106
United Kingdom	59
China (Mainland)	57
India	44
Germany	33
France	31
Italy	26
Canada	25
Australia	24
Spain	24

The table above shows the top 10 countries by number of ranked institutions in Computer Science & Information Systems. The UK's 59 entries sit between the United States (106) and China (Mainland) (57), with India (44) and Germany (33) further back.

The Top of the Field: Oxford and Imperial

The University of Oxford holds the UK's best position at rank 4, placing it within the global top 10. Two UK universities make the top 10, and four reach the top 20. The top 30 contains 5 UK institutions, and the top 50 contains 6.

The UK's presence thins as the ranks deepen. Nine universities sit within the top 100, 12 within the top 150, and 21 within the top 200. Beyond rank 200, the distribution widens: 38 institutions are ranked outside the top 200, and 32 are ranked outside the top 300. QS publishes only a rank range for many of these institutions, so they cannot be assigned to a single narrower band. A median rank cannot be computed for the 59 UK universities: the institution at the median position has only a published rank range (301-350), so no single median figure is available.

Subject Rank	Institution	Country/Region	Academic Reputation	Employer Reputation	Citations	Overall Score
4	University of Oxford	United Kingdom	85	97	94.2	89.8
8	University of Cambridge	United Kingdom	85	96.6	88.2	88.5
12	Imperial College London	United Kingdom	78.1	86.5	90	83.4
20	UCL	United Kingdom	74.3	78.5	86.6	78.9
22	The University of Edinburgh	United Kingdom	78	74.6	85.6	78.5
46	King's College London	United Kingdom	68.8	75.6	85	73.6
58	The University of Manchester	United Kingdom	62.5	74.2	84	71.8
78	Queen Mary University of London	United Kingdom	60.6	66.8	89.4	69.4
84	The University of Warwick	United Kingdom	59.7	70.7	87.4	68.9
111	University of Bristol	United Kingdom	56.4	69.4	82.8	65.8
127	University of Birmingham	United Kingdom	55.8	66.4	81.6	65
130	University of Glasgow	United Kingdom	57.5	64.9	78.5	64.9
156	Lancaster University	United Kingdom	54.9	59.2	87.4	63.2
158	University of Liverpool	United Kingdom	52.1	63.9	82.4	63
169	The University of Sheffield	United Kingdom	49.3	64.2	83.1	62.7
172	Oxford Brookes University	United Kingdom	56.2	75.4	65	62.5
178	University of Southampton	United Kingdom	50.2	62.6	83.8	62.4
180	Newcastle University	United Kingdom	48.1	65.9	83.5	62.3
185	University of Nottingham	United Kingdom	47.9	65.1	83.5	62.1
188	University of Leeds	United Kingdom	45.8	68.9	82.8	62

The table above lists 20 of the 59 UK-ranked universities in Computer Science & Information Systems, with their subject rank, institution name, and component scores for academic reputation, employer reputation, and citations.

Score Bands: Where the Weight Sits

The QS subject ranking uses an overall score out of 100. Among UK universities in this subject, no institution with a published overall score reaches the 90–100 band. Three universities score between 80 and 89, and 4 more sit in the 70–79 band. The largest concentration lies in the 60–69 range, where 14 universities are placed. Overall scores are published for only 21 of the 59 UK institutions; the remaining 38 are listed with a rank or rank band but no overall score, and score bands say nothing about them. The score bands cover only the 21 institutions whose overall score was published.

This distribution covers only the 21 UK institutions with a published overall score: 3 score in the 80–89 band, 4 in the 70–79 band, and 14 in the 60–69 band. The other 38 UK institutions are still ranked but have no published overall score.

What the Numbers Mean for Prospective Students

For a reader who has already chosen the UK as their destination, the key takeaway is that the country offers both exceptional depth at the very top and a wide range of options further down the ranking. The spread between the top of the list and the middle is considerable — Oxford sits at rank 4, while the institution at the median position has only a published rank range (301-350), so no median rank can be computed — but the UK's 59 entries mean that programs at many different levels of selectivity and reputation are available within one country.

The concentration of high-scoring institutions is notable: 3 universities score above 80, and 7 score above 70. The 14 institutions in the 60–69 band form a substantial second tier among the 21 UK institutions with a published overall score. Below that, the score bands cover only institutions with a published overall score; 21 of the 59 UK institutions have one, and the other 38 are ranked without a published overall score.

Data Notes

The figures in this article come from the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), with a data reference date of 2026-04-03. The ranking covers 60 subject-specific tables and includes component scores for academic reputation, employer reputation, citations, H-index, and international research network.

The UK-specific data was derived by filtering the Computer Science & Information Systems subject table for institutions located in the United Kingdom. Ranks are reported as the lower integer bound. The global list includes 850 universities across 79 countries.

One limitation to note: the ranking only includes institutions that QS evaluates and lists. Universities that are not ranked — whether due to insufficient data or exclusion from the evaluation — do not appear. The score bands and rank bands reflect only the 59 UK institutions that made the list. No projections or estimates beyond the published data are included.