Rankings
The Faculty ranks consistently highly across all engineering disciplines, and you can view these rankings in the prominent league tables below. The tables are updated at various stages throughout the year.
Visit the Strategic Planning website to view the College's overall position in various league tables.
QS World university rankings
Overall, Imperial was voted 8th best university in the world in this year's QS rankings.
| Subject | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemical Engineering | 10th | 9th | 7th | 9th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 3rd | 9th |
| Civil Engineering | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 4th | 9th | 1st | 6th |
| Computing | 14th | 15th | 12th | 12th | 12th | 15th | 13th | 18th | 18th |
| Earth Sciences | 18th | 20th | 23rd | 26th | 20th | 23rd | 17th | ||
| Electrical Engineering | 7th | 7th | 5th | 9th | 10th | 9th | 8th | 8th | 9th |
| Engineering and Technology | 7th | 8th | 6th | 6th | 7th | 6th | 6th | ||
| Materials Science | 11th | 9th | 11th | 12th | 3rd | 6th | 4th | 5th | |
| Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering | 7th | 10th | 8th | 9th | 5th | 6th | 6th | 4th | 7th |
Education Guardian university guide (UK)
Overall, Imperial was ranked 9th best university in the UK in this year's Guardian university guide.
| Subject | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering: General (reflects our Bioengineering provision) | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 4rd | 3rd | 2nd |
| Engineering: Chemical | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
| Engineering: Civil | 4th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 12th |
| Computer Science and IT | 4th | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 2nd | 3rd | 6th |
| Engineering: Electronic and Electrical | 4th | 5th | 4th | 1st | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 13th |
| Engineering: Materials and Minerals | 8th | 7th | 6th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Engineering: Mechanical | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 4th |
| Engineering: Earth & Science Engineering | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
The Sunday Times Good University Guide (UK)
| Subject | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 2nd | 5th | ||||
| Chemical Engineering | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 7th |
| Civil Engineering | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 1st | 1st | ||||
| Computer Science | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd |
| Electronic and Electrical Engineering | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 3rd | 1st |
| Materials Technology | 6th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | |
| Mechanical Engineering | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 4th |
| Geology | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | |
| General engineering (reflects Bioengineering at the College) | 4th | 5th | 4th | 2nd |
The Times Higher Education world rankings
Overall, Imperial was ranked 11th in this year's Times Higher Education world university rankings.
| Subject | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering and Technology | 14th | 11th | 12th | 10th | 7th | 9th | 6th | 9th | 10th |
| Computer Science | 10th | 7th | 11th | 9th | 7th |
Complete University Guide
Overall, Imperial ranked 5th in the this year's Complete University Guide.
| Subject | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeronautical Engineering | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd |
| Chemical Engineering | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Civil Engineering | 7th | 6th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Computer Science | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Electrical Engineering | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
| Geology | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd |
| General Engineering (reflects Bioengineering) | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 4th | 3rd |
| Materials Technology | 8th | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 5th |
| Mechanical Engineering | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd |
Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)
Overall, the College ranked 25th in the ARWU table. The following table provides the ranking for the College in the ARWU Field for Engineering.
| Subject | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering/Technology and Computer Sciences (ENG) | 7th | 6th | 8th |
From 2017, the ARWU has published more detailed subject tables.
| Subject | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeronautical Engineering | 40 | 35 | 35 | |
| Automation and Control | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| Biomedical Engineering | 18 | 18 | 37 | 25 |
| Biotechnology | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 |
| Chemical Engineering | 25 | 22 | 24 | 17 |
| Civil Engineering | 36 | 36 | 50 | 47 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 34 | 40 | 40 | 34 |
| Electrical Engineering | 31 | 33 | 40 | 34 |
| Energy Science and Engineering | 20 | 14 | 10 | 9 |
| Environmental Science and Engineering | 46 | 47 | 45 | 51-75 |
| Instruments Science and Technology | 43 | 26 | 31 | 27 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | 17 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 12 | 13 | 16 | 15 |
| Metallurgical Engineering | 29 | 31 | 32 | 41 |
| Mining and Mineral Engineering | 23 | 27 | 21 | 11 |
| Nanoscience and Nanotechnology | 51-75 | 51-75 | 39 | 38 |
| Telecommunication Engineering | 76-101 | 51-75 | 51-75 | 51-75 |
| Transportation Science and Technology | 51-75 | 47 | 51-75 | 51-75 |
| Water Resources | 27 | 31 | 30 | 51-75 |