Our reputation
Globally renowned for our teaching and research, the School of Mechanical Engineering is one of the leading mechanical engineering schools in the UK. We have over 1,500 students from over 60 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
- Top 10 in the UK for Mechanical Engineering, Complete University Guide 2026
- Top 10 in the UK for Manufacturing and Production Engineering, Complete University Guide 2026
- Top 100 in the world for Engineering and Technology, QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025
- Awarded a prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (2011) for ‘Innovative joint replacement and regenerative technologies to improve quality of life.'
- 92% of UK based graduates who responded from the School of Mechanical Engineering are in graduate level employment such as professional or managerial work within 15 months of graduation. (Graduating cohort 2020/21, Graduate Outcome Survey)
- 97% of research activity submitted by the Faculty of Engineering is "world-leading" and "internationally excellent" by the 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: Engineering
- 3.51 overall quality profile
- 97% of research activity submitted by the Faculty of Engineering is "world-leading" and "internationally excellent".
- 96% of research outputs submitted by the Faculty of Engineering are “world-leading” and “internationally excellent”
- 95% of our impact submission, covering our research contributions to society, academia and industry, are “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”
- 88% of the Engineering Environment submission rated as “world-leading”