The Complete University Guide, explained.
The CUG is a UK-only league table built around the student experience — satisfaction, entry standards, graduate prospects and continuation — as well as research. It is one of the most useful tools for choosing a UK university.
The ten measures and their weights
| Measure | Weight | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Entry standards — average UCAS tariff of new students | 1.0 | HESA |
| Student satisfaction — National Student Survey | 1.5 | NSS |
| Research quality — REF 2021 star profile | 1.0 | REF |
| Research intensity — share of staff submitted to the REF | 0.5 | HESA |
| Graduate prospects — outcomes | 0.67 | HESA Graduate Outcomes |
| Graduate prospects — on track | 0.33 | HESA Graduate Outcomes |
| Student–staff ratio | 1.0 | HESA |
| Academic services spend per student | 0.5 | HESA |
| Facilities spend per student | 0.5 | HESA |
| Continuation — students who carry on past first year | 1.0 | HESA |
- The 2027 tables were published on 2 June 2026 and rank UK universities overall and in 74 subject tables.
- Scores are scaled so the top university scores 1,000.
- Subject tables use six measures — entry standards, satisfaction, research quality, continuation and the two graduate-prospects measures.
- It covers UK universities only. Entry standards reflect undergraduate intake, so they matter less for a master's.
How to use the CUG
- Open the subject table first — 74 of them — rather than the overall ranking.
- Sort by the columns that matter to you: graduate prospects and student satisfaction usually matter most.
- Read entry standards as a guide to how competitive a course is, not as a quality score.
- For a master's, the undergraduate-focused measures matter less; cross-check with THE or QS for international reputation.
Rankings, used sensibly
Start with your subject
Open the subject table, not the overall one. It is closer to the teaching you will actually receive.
Pick the measures that matter to you
Graduate prospects and student satisfaction usually matter more to a master's student than research income.
Compare bands, not places
The gap between 180th and 210th is usually noise. Treat universities in the same band as roughly equal and decide on course, cost and city.
Cross-check two tables
Read THE or QS for global reputation and a national table like the CUG for student experience. If a university looks very different in each, find out why.
Never choose on rank alone
Accreditation, total cost, visa rules, scholarship chances and where you want to work afterwards all come first. A ranking is one input to the shortlist, not the decision.
Choosing a UK university?
Some UK universities have paused intakes from Bangladesh. We check each university's current position — and the CUG subject table — before building your shortlist.