St Andrews Places 35th in the Arts and Humanities World Rankings 2026

The University of St Andrews has retained its place as 35th in the Arts and Humanities World University Rankings for the second year in a row, according to Times Higher Education (THE). The list published by THE consists of 2,191 institutions from 115 countries and territories. 

The university rankings are based on eighteen criteria, organised under five core pillars of evaluation: teaching, research environment, research quality, international outlook, and industry. After evaluating each criterion, the data for each indicator is standardised and combined into a cumulative score for each pillar. These scores are then used to evaluate the ranking of each university. 

The subjects evaluated within Arts and Humanities include Art History, Classics, English, Modern Languages, History, Philosophy, and Divinity. St Andrew's strongest pillars in these subjects were its teaching, research quality, and international outlook. While the University has not advanced in the ranking for Arts and Humanities, maintaining its previous ranking of 35th suggests improvements in key areas in the face of increased international competition. A statement from Professor Catherine O’Leary, Assistant Vice-Principal and Dean of Arts, on the University website reads, “Our continued high ranking recognises our reputation for excellence in the arts and humanities at the University of St Andrews and the intellectual and cultural work of our colleagues that underpins it.”

The University of St Andrews received an overall ranking of 162nd, with certain discipline areas scoring much lower. Business and Economics, for example, received a banded ranking of 301-400th, while Computer Science scored the lowest of all the University’s disciplines, at 601-800th on the list. Despite this, the University as a whole, including Computer Science, have seen a consistent increase in ranking over the last five years, reflecting a positive trend in St Andrews’ growth and advancement as an academic institution.

Photo by Alisa Senses