As students across the country prepare to begin their first year of university, The Times and The Sunday Times have revealed their latest higher education league table.
The highly-regarded Good University Guide for 2025, released on September 20, ranks the 134 universities in England and Wales based on factors such as graduate prospects, degree results, research quality, and student satisfaction.
The definitive guide ranks uses data from the 2023 and 2024 National Student Survey to provide overall satisfaction scores for each institution, and new for this year is a percentage score and ranking from People & Planet which assesses the environmental and ethical standards of each university.
We can now reveal how the 12 universities in the North West rank, both regionally and nationally in the 2025 edition. Two Liverpool universities made it into the top five, with one beating the University of Manchester. But, how did our other local institutions fare?
Take a look at the full North West rankings below. The full guide can be found on the The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 website, where you will also find subject breakdowns and 134 university profiles.
1. Lancaster University
Lancaster University has once again topped the charts for the North West, coming in at 12 in the national rankings. | Lancaster University
2. University of Liverpool
In second place for the North West is the University of Liverpool, which stole the spot from the University of Manchester. It places at number 23 in the national rankings. | University of Liverpool Faculty of Health CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
3. University of Manchester
At number three is the University of Manchester, which ranked at number two in the North West last year. It has a national ranking of 27. | University of Manchester
4. Manchester Metropolitan University
In fourth place for the North West is Manchester Metropolitan University, with a national ranking of 46. | Chris Chambers - stock.adobe.com Photo: Adobe Stock