The University of Manchester has been ranked the 50th most powerful global university brand in the Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings 2025.
The prestigious ranking of 300 universities is decided based on the judgement of senior academics in the world's largest invitation-only academic opinion survey. Reputation is assessed based on three core pillars of evaluation: vote counts, pairwise comparison and voter diversity, with all three considered in relation to research and teaching.
The University of Manchester's position has improved since the reputation rankings were last published in 2023.
Professor Duncan Ivison, President and Vice-Chancellor at The University of Manchester said: "Our inclusion in the THE World Reputation Rankings top 50 reflects our global reputation for pioneering research and excellence in teaching and learning.
"How we are perceived on the world stage is vital to attracting top talent and, as the higher education sector grows increasingly competitive, we must continue to innovate and evolve to strengthen our position. This recognition serves as both a testament to our achievements and a motivation to push further as we shape the future through Manchester 2035-our bold new strategy for the next decade."
Phil Baty, Times Higher Education's chief global affairs officer, said: "The THE World Reputation Rankings are built on a survey of 55,000 expert academic voices from around the world - so they are a powerful and robust indicator of a university's global academic standing among peers.
"There are tens of thousands of higher education institutions in the world, so to make the list of the world's top 50 most prestigious universities, voted by expert academic peers, is an exceptional accolade. Manchester clearly has a very strong grounding in its local community - but it is evidently also greatly respected and admired by scholars all across the world."
The Times Higher Education website includes the full ranking of 300 universities with the best reputation in the world.
The University of Manchester was placed 53rd in the THE World University Rankings 2025 (and 8th in the UK), while the University's commitment to academic excellence in research and teaching across all subject areas was also recognised in the THE World University Rankings by Subject.
