In this article
- The fastest riser in the Russell Group on QS
- 25th in the world for research collaboration
- A Russell Group university with a different profile
- How to apply for 2027 entry
- How Your Dream School can help
When students draw up a London shortlist, the same three names tend to appear: UCL, King’s and Imperial. Queen Mary University of London, the fourth Russell Group university in the capital, is often left off that list. The rankings published in 2026 suggest that is a mistake. For applicants preparing a UCAS application for 2027 entry, Queen Mary now combines a rising international reputation, a genuine research pedigree and a campus in east London, all under one of the most distinctive access-driven missions in the Russell Group. Here is what the numbers say, and how to build a strong application before the January deadline. You can also read our Queen Mary university profile for the essentials.
The fastest riser in the Russell Group on QS
In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published in June 2026, Queen Mary is ranked 103rd in the world. According to the university’s announcement of 18 June 2026, that position caps a rise of 42 places in three years, which makes Queen Mary the fastest-rising Russell Group university in the QS table. The same announcement points to a 101st place globally, and a top 10 spot in the UK, in the latest US News Best Global Universities list, and the university’s leadership highlights a 31st place worldwide for research quality in the current Times Higher Education rankings.
Trajectory matters more than a snapshot. A university climbing 42 QS places in three years is investing, recruiting and publishing at a pace that most of its peers are not matching. For a candidate comparing offers that will shape the next three or four years, that momentum is worth weighing alongside the headline rank. We saw a similar dynamic at Manchester, which climbed into the QS top 40 this year.
25th in the world for research collaboration
A second signal arrived on 18 September 2026, when Queen Mary announced it is ranked 25th in the world and 10th in Europe by the Research Collaboration Index, a new global ranking that measures how institutions build research partnerships. The index assessed 1,195 institutions across 81 countries on co-authorship between 2021 and 2025. Queen Mary’s field-weighted citation impact stands at 3.84, against a global average of 1.0, and six of its subject areas sit in the global top 50: dentistry (21st), biochemistry and molecular biology (23rd), medicine (31st), economics, econometrics and finance (37th), engineering (39th) and computer science (44th).
For applicants, that subject list is the practical takeaway. If you are aiming at dentistry, biomedical sciences, economics or computer science, Queen Mary offers research strength that rivals universities ranked far higher overall, often with entry requirements that leave more room for a strong but not perfect academic profile.
A Russell Group university with a different profile
Queen Mary’s identity is also unusual for its group. The charity Making The Leap includes it in its Social Mobility University List, which celebrates universities making an outstanding commitment to social mobility. The university reports that 91 per cent of its domestic undergraduates come from state schools and that 46 per cent are the first in their family to enter higher education, and it was the first Russell Group university to offer degree apprenticeships. For international candidates, this translates into a large, diverse cohort, with more than 170 nationalities represented on campus, and an admissions culture that reads applications in context rather than against a single mould.
How to apply for 2027 entry
Applications go through UCAS, like every UK undergraduate course. The equal consideration deadline for 2027 entry is 18:00 UK time on 13 January 2027: every application received by then must be considered equally by universities. Courses with a 15 October deadline, notably medicine and dentistry, have already closed for this cycle. If Queen Mary is on your list, our UCAS admissions counseling walks you through the full strategy, from course selection to the personal statement.
Entry requirements vary by course. The university’s published range for undergraduate offers runs from BBB to A*AA at A level and from 26 to 38 points for the International Baccalaureate, with subject prerequisites listed on each course page. Check the exact requirement for your course early: a missing prerequisite subject is the kind of detail that eliminates an otherwise strong file, and it is far easier to fix in November than in January.
How Your Dream School can help
Queen Mary is a university we know well: 27 of our students have been admitted there, within 650+ offers our students have received from UK universities and 1,100+ offers overall. Figures taken from our admissions database, 2019 to 2025 intakes. They are minimums: the 2017-2018 and 2025-2026 intakes are not yet consolidated. Our advisors, rated 5/5 on Google across 160+ Google reviews, support candidates from bachelor applications in the UK and across Europe to college counselling for international students.
With under three months to the UCAS deadline, this is the right moment to settle your list and sharpen your personal statement. Book a strategic call with our team to position Queen Mary, and the rest of your choices, where they belong in your application.
Sources: qmul.ac.uk and ucas.com, consulted 28 October 2026.
Author
With a Bachelor's (LLB) from UCL and Assas, and the Grande Ecole program at HEC Paris, Adam co-founded Your Dream School in 2018. Since then the company has coached more than 1,000 students through university admissions and interview preparation for top global institutions.
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