the logo

Best universities in Europe for teaching

Explore which universities in Europe rank highly for teaching excellence based on data collected by Times Higher Education

  • Best universities in
  • Rankings
  • Rankings for Students
  • Study abroad
July 4 2019
Best universities in Europe for teaching

Share

Times Higher Education has produced a student-focused ranking to determine the best universities for teaching across Europe. 

Instead of placing a focus on research output and quality, as many international university rankings do, the 2019 Europe Teaching Rankings determines the best universities for teaching quality and learning opportunities for students. 

One of the key components of the ranking was THE's European Student Survey, taken by 125,000 university students in 18 countries across Europe. Students rated their university on a scale of zero to 10 across a number of aspects of their university life, including collaborative learning, critical thinking and application of learning to the real world. 

The Student Survey accounted for 45 per cent of the university’s final scores and fed into six of the 14 performance indicators used to rank the institutions. To view the full methodology and all of the questions asked in the Student Survey click here

The ranking is modelled on the WSJ/THE US College Rankings and the Japan University Rankings, which aim to keep the student experience at the core of the data collection. 

The top five of the Europe Teaching Rankings is dominated by UK universities, with the University of St Andrews respectively. 


Best universities in Europe

Best universities in Scotland


Top five universities in Europe for teaching

1. University of Oxford, UK

Regularly ranking highly in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the University of Oxford is well known for providing high-quality teaching and learning. 

International students make up approximately 43 per cent of the student body, coming from the USA, China, Singapore, France, Germany and Italy, among other nations. 

The university is split into a collegiate structure with 38 separate colleges, each with its own unique identity and history. 

Because of its strong reputation within the higher education sector, the university has a competitive admissions stream, with approximately six applications per university place. Students are able to specify their college of choice or leave it open in their application. Students will then be allocated a college based on their individual interests and strengths. Prospective students are invited for an interview that is known to test a student’s knowledge of their chosen subject and their critical thinking skills. 

2. University of Cambridge, UK

In second place is the University of Cambridge, also located in the UK. At more than 800 years old, the institution has become a true hallmark of the high-quality higher education that Europe can offer. 

Like Oxford, Cambridge follows a collegiate structure with 31 separate colleges that are governed by the teaching staff attached to those colleges. Students are encouraged to socialise and spend time in their own colleges. 

In the European Student Survey, the university scored very highly on access to learning materials. This includes libraries (of which there are more than 100, housing more than 15 million books), labs and online material. 

3. University of Navarra, Spain

The University of Navarra has six campuses in Pamplona, San Sebastian, Madrid, Barcelona, Munich and New York City. The main campus is in Pamplona. 

The university initially started as a law school and has now expanded to include 14 faculties, two university schools, 17 institutes, a business school, and other centres and institutions. 

The university also runs a teaching hospital where medical professionals treat more that 100,000 patients a year as well carrying out medical research. 


Student experience in Europe

University of Cambridge


4. UCL, UK

UCL was established in 1826, originally under the name London University. It then became University College, London in 1836 and is now mostly referred to as UCL.

The university is primarily located in Bloomsbury, central London. A number of other buildings are dotted around the city, as well as a new campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, which is known as UCL East. 

Admissions to the university are highly selective, with many prospective students expected to receive the highest grades in their school exams to gain entry. 

5. University of St Andrews, UK

The University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and is the third oldest university in the UK , after the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. 

Over 900 degree courses are now offered at the university, organised across four faculties: arts, divinity, medicine, and science.

It was one of the first universities in the UK to admit female students back in 1892. 


Top 100 universities in Europe for teaching excellence

Europe Teaching Rank 2019 Europe Teaching Rank 2018 World University rank 2019 University Country
1 1 1 University of Oxford United Kingdom
2 2 2 University of Cambridge United Kingdom
3 8 251–300 University of Navarra Spain
4 5 14 UCL United Kingdom
5 15 165 University of St Andrews United Kingdom
6 13 38 King’s College London United Kingdom
7 16 =146 Lancaster University United Kingdom
8 4 =79 University of Warwick United Kingdom
=9 6 78 University of Bristol United Kingdom
=9 14 29 University of Edinburgh United Kingdom
=9 7 57 University of Manchester United Kingdom
12 20 145 University of Barcelona Spain
13 NR 26 London School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom
=14 =11 9 Imperial College London United Kingdom
=14 18 =149 University of Nottingham United Kingdom
16 =9 119 University of York United Kingdom
17 24 130 Queen Mary University of London United Kingdom
=18 =22 351–400 Autonomous University of Madrid Spain
=18 31 =93 University of Glasgow United Kingdom
=20 30 62 University of Amsterdam Netherlands
=20 =34 141 University of Exeter United Kingdom
22 =11 106 University of Sheffield United Kingdom
23 =9 =171 Newcastle University United Kingdom
=24 NR =123 Radboud University Nijmegen Netherlands
=24 NR 166 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands
26 39 =79 University of Groningen Netherlands
27 37 =181 University of Liverpool United Kingdom
28 NR 251–300 University of Southern Denmark Denmark
29 19 201–250 University of Barcelona Spain
=30 =26 =153 University of Leeds United Kingdom
=30 =22 =161 University of Sussex United Kingdom
32 29 =114 Durham University United Kingdom
=33 NR NR IE University Spain
=33 17 201–250 Paris-Sud University France
=35 =26 47 Heidelberg University Germany
=35 51-75 501–600 University of Lisbon Portugal
=37 32 =187 Cardiff University United Kingdom
=37 51-75 120 Trinity College Dublin Republic of Ireland
=39 =50 401–500 Claude Bernard University Lyon 1 France
=39 40 251–300 University of Essex United Kingdom
41 NR 401–500 Semmelweis University Hungary
42 33 201–250 University of Reading United Kingdom
=43 44 201–250 University of Bath United Kingdom
=43 3 73 Sorbonne University France
45 NR 201–250 Copenhagen Business School Denmark
46 51-75 =190 University of East Anglia United Kingdom
47 51-75 601–800 Carlos III University of Madrid Spain
=48 =34 401–500 Loughborough University United Kingdom
=48 21 118 University of Southampton United Kingdom
=48 =47 301–350 University College Cork Republic of Ireland
51-75 51-75 158 University of Aberdeen United Kingdom
51-75 51-75 351–400 Aberystwyth University United Kingdom
51-75 51-75 501–600 University of Aveiro Portugal
51-75 25 =116 University of Birmingham United Kingdom
51-75 NR 180 University of Bologna Italy
51-75 76-100 401–500 Complutense University of Madrid Spain
51-75 76-100 601–800 Coventry University United Kingdom
51-75 38 =123 University of Göttingen Germany
51-75 =47 351–400 University of Kent United Kingdom
51-75 51-75 =167 University of Leicester United Kingdom
51-75 76-100 501–600 University of Limerick Republic of Ireland
51-75 51-75 =32 LMU Munich Germany
51-75 51-75 =123 University of Mannheim Germany
51-75 NR NR University of Paris France
51-75 51-75 301–350 Polytechnic University of Milan Italy
51-75 76-100 601–800 Polytechnic University of Valencia Spain
51-75 42 =135 Pompeu Fabra University Spain
51-75 43 401–500 University of Porto Portugal
51-75 76-100 201–250 Queen’s University Belfast United Kingdom
51-75 101-125 601–800 University of Rennes 1 France
51-75 51-75 251–300 Royal Holloway, University of London United Kingdom
51-75 51-75 351–400 University of Siena Italy
51-75 45 251–300 University of Surrey United Kingdom
51-75 51-75 =44 Technical University of Munich Germany
51-75 NR 201–250 Tilburg University Netherlands
76-100 51-75 301–350 Aix-Marseille University France
76-100 51-75 601–800 University of Alcalá Spain
76-100 76-100 351–400 Aston University United Kingdom
76-100 76-100 301–350 University of Bayreuth Germany
76-100 NR 601–800 University of Beira Interior Portugal
76-100 76-100 401–500 Brunel University London United Kingdom
76-100 76-100 351–400 City, University of London United Kingdom
76-100 41 201–250 University of Dundee United Kingdom
76-100 NR NR ESIC Business and Marketing School Spain
76-100 NR 401–500 University of Jyväskylä Finland
76-100 76-100 501–600 Keele University United Kingdom
76-100 126-150 189 University of Konstanz Germany
76-100 =50 601–800 University of Minho Portugal
76-100 76-100 301–350 Montpellier University France
76-100 76-100 601–800 Trent University United Kingdom
76-100 126-150 801–1000 Pablo de Olavide University Spain
76-100 76-100 501–600 Sorbonne University – Paris 1 France
76-100 101-125 401–500 University of Pavia Italy
76-100 NR 301–350 University of Pisa Italy
76-100 101-125 501–600 Polytechnic University of Catalonia Spain
76-100 51-75 401–500 University of Portsmouth United Kingdom
76-100 NR NR Ramon Llull University Spain
76-100 101-125 601–800 University of Salamanca Spain
76-100 76-100 351–400 University of Stirling United Kingdom
76-100 =47 401–500 University of Strathclyde United Kingdom
76-100 101-125 251–300 Swansea University United Kingdom
76-100 76-100 401–500 University of Valencia Spain
76-100 NR 801–1000 Vilnius University Lithuania
76-100 51-75 601–800 University of Zaragoza Spain

View the full 2019 Europe Teaching Ranking here

 

 


sticky sign up

Register free and enjoy extra benefits