Durham University was shortlisted for 'University of the Year' and returned to a top five national ranking as The Times University guide 2025 was revealed.

The university now sits behind LSE, Oxford, and Cambridge in the elite Russell Group list of universities in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

Durham was also a runner-up in the prestigious University of the Year award for 2025.

Helen Davies, editor of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: "The best universities — whether they were founded in the 15th century or 2005 — are local and global powerhouses of intellectual thought and creativity, from the arts to science, that can power economic regeneration and lead the way to a better life.

"But what and where to study — and how to pay for it — has never been tougher."

She noted that the methodology of university rankings has now been adjusted to take modern concerns such as climate change, career prospects, and sustainability into account.

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Elsewhere in the region, Northumbria University has been named Modern University of the Year for 2025, and saw a six-place rise in the national league table.

Northumbria University was recently awarded more than £9 million to establish the UK Research and Innovation AI Centre for Doctoral Training in Citizen-Centred Artificial Intelligence.

Durham also claimed the number one spot for further education institutions in the North and North East and was runner-up University of the Year in the graduate employment category.

Newcastle and Northumbria universities were ranked fifth and sixth, while Teesside University and University of Sunderland were ranked 13th and 14th in the region.

City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy told The Northern Echo: "It's wonderful news that Durham University is once again in the top five universities in the UK, and has been shortlisted for university of the year 2025.

"I've been proud to work with the university since I was elected in 2019, and have seen first hand not only the exceptional teaching and research carried out in Durham, but the way that the university has engaged with the city and wider county.

"A huge congratulations to everyone at the university - this result is truly well deserved and is testament to their amazing work.”