King’s College London has been ranked as the 16th best university in the UK according to the Complete University Guide 2027, marking its best result in over a decade.
The Complete University Guide – an independent platform which annually ranks British universities on their performance – has placed King’s College London 16th out of 130 universities in the country and fourth place within London in their 2027 tables. This marks a significant improvement in KCL’s rankings – making the university one of the fastest rising in the country – climbing by three places in one year and eight places since 2025.
The Guide gave King’s an overall score of 78%, with a higher score of 87% and 86% for research quality and graduate outcomes respectively – categories in which the university placed eighth. On student satisfaction the university saw a lower score of 77%.
This improvement is attributed by the Guide to increases in KCL’s performance on student satisfaction – which has seen the university rise by fourteen places – as well as on graduate prospects and spending on academic services. But King’s also fell by eight places on continuation, a measure of how many students continue in their studies after their first year.
The Guide stated, “King’s prepares students for the future with a global outlook, strong industry links and a Gold rating for student outcomes” and that “unlike others, King’s blends world-class research with real-world service.”
Relative to KCL’s London competitors, the university has also made significant strides. The Guide ranked King’s fourth in London behind the London School of Economics, Imperial College London and University College London respectively.
But while the past four years have seen King’s rise from 22nd to 16th in the national rankings, arch-rivals UCL has slid from ninth to 14th, and the LSE and Imperial’s ratings have remained stagnant.
Based on current trends, King’s could therefore surpass UCL in the Complete University Guide within the next few years.
In the Subject League Tables, King’s overtook UCL in both Anthropology and German, and also beat Queen Mary University of London in Dentistry – placing eighth overall after QMUL dropped seven places – to become the best London university for the specialty.
Nationally, King’s ranked first in the country for Health Studies and third for Communication & Media Studies, with the latter surging by nine places in a single year. Other subjects taught at King’s in the top ten include Politics, Economics and Law.
Taking to Instagram after the league table’s release, King’s College London said:
“We’re proud to be ranked 16th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2026… This achievement belongs to our whole community. Thank you to everyone who makes King’s such a special place to learn, work and discover.”
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