English Language & Literature at York placed 9th in the UK and 28th in the world
Posted on Thursday 26 March 2026
This week, York’s Department of English and Related Literature reconfirmed its place among the world’s most highly regarded departments for the study of English Language & Literature. It was ranked 9th in the UK and 28th in the world by QS World University Rankings, 2026, retaining its strong position globally.
QS provides independent comparative analysis on the performance of more than 18,300 individual university programmes, taken by students at more than 1700 universities in 100 locations around the world, across 55 academic disciplines.
“We are delighted that English and Related Literature has again achieved such a strong result in the QS World Rankings. The result is testament to our dynamic approach to teaching and research, the strength of our diverse and welcoming academic community and our continued commitment to the demonstrating significance of our discipline in the wider world.” Professor Jennie Batchelor, Head of Department.
York's overall position
In total, three subjects at the University of York were ranked in the top 50 globally, as well as top 10 in the UK:
- Archaeology (5th in the UK, 16th globally)
- English Language & Literature (9th in the UK, 28th globally)
- Social Policy & Administration (8th in the UK, =38th globally)
Seven more ranked in the UK top 20. Six were ranked in the top 100 in the world.
- Linguistics (11th in the UK)
- History (=12th in the UK, top 100 globally)
- Philosophy (=12th in the UK, top 100 globally)
- Education and Training (13th in the UK, =81st globally)
- Performing Arts (=14th in the UK, top 100 globally)
- Psychology (19th in the UK, 98th globally)
- Sociology (17th in the UK, =95th globally)
In the broad subject of Arts and Humanities, we were ranked 50th globally.