Our reputation
In 1957, the University of Leeds was one of the first universities in the UK to buy a computer. This was a revolutionary development in university science and engineering, and the springboard for academic computer science in the university. Today, the School of Computer Science has a global reputation for its teaching and research with over 1500 students from over 55 countries studying with us.
The quality of our research, and the funding it attracts, means we’re able to invest in world-class facilities and academic staff who are actively engaged in cutting-edge research, which means you will be taught by internationally renowned, inspirational academics working at the top of their fields.
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Academic excellence
- We are a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities
- 99% of the submitted computing research activity is rated as either “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”, with 63% rated as “world-leading”, Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
University of Leeds rankings
- 86th in the world, QS World University Rankings 2026
- 6th most targeted by employers, High Fliers 2025 Report
- 21st in the UK, Complete University Guide
- Top 10 UK student city, Best Student Cities 2025
- We are a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities
Gender equality
We have been commended for our strong and continued commitment to gender equality in the form of a prestigious Athena SWAN Silver award.
Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
Every six years, the UK’s four higher education funding bodies undertake an exercise to measure the quality of research undertaken by UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The funding bodies use the outcomes to inform the allocation of their research funding to HEIs. The Research Excellence Framework was the framework used in 2021.
Unit of assessment: Computer Science and Informatics
- 3.62 overall quality profile
- 99% of the submitted computing research activity is rated as either “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”, with 63% rated as “world-leading”
- 83% of our impact case studies classified as “world-leading” and all the others as “internationally excellent”
- Leading two UKRI Centres for Doctoral Training in Medicine and AI, and Fluid Dynamics, each producing 10 PhD students a year
- Joint 9th on Grade Point Average (GPA) – Times Higher Education – GPA is a simple measure of the overall or average quality of research