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5th in the UK: Complete University Guide 2026

Posted on 12 June 2025

York is ranked 5th in the UK for psychology in the latest release of the Complete University Guide league tables (2026).

This week, we maintained our place among the UK’s most highly regarded institutions for the subject of psychology. York ranked 5th in the UK for the study of this subject in the Complete University Guide 2026.

The Department of Psychology specialises in psychology at York. Head of Psychology, Professor Lisa Henderson said, "We’re delighted to see York ranked 5th in the UK for Psychology in the 2026 Complete University Guide. This recognition reflects the dedication of our staff, but also how seriously we balance our outstanding research with high quality entry standards and teaching to ensure student satisfaction and graduate prospects. It’s an exciting time to see the department go from strength to strength, and we look forward to building on this success."

York’s overall position

The University of York ranked 12th overall and 8th in the Russell Group in the Complete University Guide 2026. The guide ranks 130 institutions across the UK.

In total, 15 subjects at York were ranked in the UK top 10:

  • Archaeology: 6th
  • Biological Sciences: 7th
  • Chemistry: 6th
  • Drama, Dance and Cinematics: 5th
  • English: 6th
  • French: 4th
  • History: 8th
  • History of Art, Architecture and Design: 7th
  • Iberian Languages: 6th
  • Linguistics: 5th
  • Marketing: 7th
  • Nursing and Midwifery: 7th
  • Philosophy: 8th
  • Psychology: 5th
  • Social Policy: 8th
  • Social Work: 9th

A further four subjects appeared in the UK top 20.

About the Complete University Guide

Published annually, The Complete University Guide league tables rank the best universities in the UK. It covers 74 separate subject areas, as well as an overall institutional ranking. Universities and subjects are ranked on entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality, graduate prospects, completion rates, student-staff ratio and spend on academic services and facilities.

The rankings are based on public domain data collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), the National Student Survey and the Research Excellence Framework 2021.