University of the Year | |
---|---|
Awarded for | Recognition in Higher Education |
Country | United Kingdom |
Presented by | The Times and The Sunday Times |
First awarded | 1999 |
Currently held by | London School of Economics and Political Science |
Website | timesonline |
The Sunday Times University of the Year is an annual award given to a British university or other higher education institution by The Sunday Times. The current University of the Year for 2025 is the London School of Economics and Political Science.
The award is given as part of the annual Times and Sunday Times University Guide since the second supplement's second edition in 1999. Though the guide contains a league table of UK universities compiled from various statistics, the award is not necessarily given to the university at the top (in fact, it only has been in 2007 and 2010). Instead, a university is chosen by a panel of experts based on all round academic excellence.
In addition to the winner, shortlisted universities are also named. A runners-up position was introduced in 2006.
From 2009 onwards, the University Guide took the year of its name from the following year (so the guide published in 2009 is known as 2010, the guide published in 2010 is known as 2011 etc.)
Although similar in name, this award has no connection to the "University of the Year" award given by Times Higher Education.