St Andrews is the top University in Scotland in new rankings

The University of St Andrews is the top University in Scotland and second in the UK behind Oxford in the Guardian University Guide 2025.

St Andrews is one of five Scottish Universities that make up the top 20 best universities in the UK according to the new Guide.

Academic schools at St Andrews also performed very strongly in the new Guide, with seven subjects ranked top in the UK – Biology, Business and Management, Chemistry, Classics and Ancient History, Languages and Linguistics, Media and Film Studies, and International Relations.

Business and Management, Languages and Linguistics, Chemistry, and International Relations all maintain their top spot in the UK for a second year in a row. All 21 of our subjects ranked in the top 10 in the UK.

Biology, Classics and Ancient History, and Media and Film Studies all rose to the top of the subject rankings in 2025.

The Guide ranks universities by the strength of student satisfaction, expenditure per student, student to staff ratio, career prospects, entry tariff, value-added and continuation.

St Andrews made history in 2019 when it became the first UK university to break the longstanding Oxbridge duopoly at the top of UK university league tables, unseating Oxford to take second place. It rose to the top spot in 2022, maintaining the position in 2023.