of Durham alongside Newcastle University and Northumbria University gave the North East the largest concentration of researchers in a city area outside of London.
=== Reputation and rankings ===
Due to its age, Oxbridge-style structure, and highly selective admissions, Durham has long been widely regarded as one of the UK's most prestigious or elite universities, albeit not as prestigious as Oxford or Cambridge. It is also one of the few universities to have won University Challenge more than once (1977, 2000 and 2023), as well as the 2024–25 Christmas Special series (for alumni). Durham was also Sunday Times University of the Year for 2005 and 2026.
Durham University's Strategic Plan 2017–2027 defined targets of being in the top five nationally on the Times/Sunday Times league table, of having 50 per cent of eligible subjects in the top 50 globally on the QS world rankings, and of being in the top three UK institutions by citations per academic staff member.
National
Durham regularly places in the top five in rankings of universities in the United Kingdom and is one of only four universities (along with Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews) to have not left the top 10 in any of the three main domestic league tables since 2013. The university was ranked fifth overall in the Complete University Guide 2026 and the Guardian University Guide 2026, and third overall in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, placing it above Oxford and Cambridge and marking the first time in the guide’s 32-year history that neither of the Oxbridge universities were ranked in its top three. In addition, the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026 named Durham as University of the Year and as University of the Year in the North and Northeast, as well as runner-up for University of the Year for Graduate Employment.
The High Fliers Research UK graduate market report for 2024 placed Durham ninth in its table of universities targeted by the largest number of top employees.
In the 2025 Complete University Guide subject rankings, …
