University of Plymouth Rankings 2026-27: QS, THE, ARWU & Subject Rankings

University of Plymouth Overall Rankings 2026

Across five live editions, the University of Plymouth’s overall world rank ranges from #=691 in QS 2027 to #809 in U.S. News 2026-2027, a 118-position spread that comes from how each body weights research output against teaching and reputation.

The 118-place gap between QS and U.S. News comes from U.S. News giving heavier weight to research citation counts, while QS leans more on academic and employer reputation surveys. For an Indian applicant, the practical signal is that Plymouth’s degree carries QS recognition above its U.S. News position, which matters for visa screening and employer shortlists that default to QS bands.

University of Plymouth Rankings: Bottom Line for Indian Students

For Indian applicants, Plymouth’s world rank is mid-tier, but two specialist disciplines climb into the global top-75, and one Impact theme places at #10 worldwide. The decision lever is which subject is being studied, not the headline rank.

An Indian student weighing Plymouth against IIT Delhi for general engineering would face a 573-position QS gap. The same student weighing Plymouth for marine engineering, oceanography, sustainability research or nursing finds discipline ranks where Plymouth competes at the world top-100 level.

University of Plymouth QS World University Rankings 2027

Plymouth has slid 130 QS positions across three editions, with the steepest single-year drop coming between QS 2024 (#561) and QS 2025 (#661).

The 130-place slide since QS 2024 tracks Plymouth’s relative stagnation in academic and employer reputation scores while higher-research universities pulled ahead. The University of Plymouth QS ranking trajectory does not change degree value for an Indian applicant, since employer screening typically anchors to the QS band (sub-700) rather than the year-to-year position. The discipline rank is the stronger CV signal.

What it signals: A 130-position five-year slide is real, but Plymouth has stayed inside the QS World ranked pool across every edition shown, which is the band most Indian employers and visa offices treat as the recognition threshold.

Collegedunia Study Abroad Rankings of University of Plymouth

Collegedunia Study Abroad places Plymouth at #484 globally and #68 nationally, a 207-position gap above its QS 2027 standing that reflects Collegedunia’s Indian-applicant-weighted criteria.

The gap between Plymouth’s Collegedunia rank and its QS rank is the key signal. Collegedunia weights factors that matter most to Indian applicants alongside research and reputation, which lifts Plymouth’s Collegedunia rank around 207 positions above its QS World 2027 placement.

India-relevance: A Collegedunia rank 207 places above the QS rank tells Indian applicants that on Indian-relevant metrics (admissions accessibility, visa pathway clarity, post-study work options) Plymouth registers stronger than its pure-research-weighted world ranks suggest.

University of Plymouth Times Higher Education (THE) Rankings

Plymouth has held the same THE band (#501-600) across the two most recent editions after slipping out of the #401-500 group it occupied for three years through THE 2024.

Key insight: Plymouth’s THE World rank has stayed within a single band drop across five years, while its THE Impact 2025 overall stands at #=84 globally, putting it 417 places above its THE World band midpoint of #550 on the Impact dimension.

University of Plymouth ARWU (Shanghai) Rankings

Plymouth’s ARWU rank has slipped two bands since 2021, moving from #501-600 to #701-800, a steeper relative drop than its QS or THE trajectory.

ARWU mainly measures research output: Nobel-level citations, top-journal publications, highly cited researchers. Plymouth’s slide here is the steepest among all bodies, but its ARWU GRAS subject ranks tell a different story. Marine engineering, oceanography and nursing sit inside the global top-100, which means the overall slide masks subject-level strength.

What it signals: The 200-band ARWU slide is concentrated in disciplines Plymouth does not specialise in. For an Indian applicant choosing marine, ocean or nursing programs, ARWU GRAS at #51-100 is the rank that should drive the decision, not the overall #701-800.

University of Plymouth U.S. News Best Global University Rankings 2026-2027

Plymouth’s U.S. News rank has slid 268 positions across three editions, the steepest single-body drop in its profile, taking it from #541 in 2023-2024 to #809 in 2026-2027.

Key insight: A 268-position fall on U.S. News alongside a single THE band drop tells you Plymouth’s research-citation count is sliding while its teaching and Impact research output is steady, the pattern Indian students should weigh by program.

University of Plymouth Subject Rankings

Plymouth’s subject ranks consistently outperform its overall world rank. Three ARWU GRAS subjects sit inside the world top-100, with six THE Subject ranks at least 100 positions above the overall #501-600 world rank.

University of Plymouth ARWU GRAS Subject Rankings 2025

Three of Plymouth’s six top ARWU GRAS subjects sit inside the global top-100. All six rank at least 500 positions above the university’s overall #701-800 ARWU position.

India-relevance: Plymouth’s #51-75 in ARWU GRAS Marine Engineering 2025 sits over 600 bands above its overall ARWU #701-800. This is the discipline-vs-overall gap that drives marine-track CV value for Indian applicants, over the university-name signal.

University of Plymouth THE Subject Rankings 2026

Plymouth’s THE Subject rankings cover nine disciplines, with Education Studies and Computer Science / Engineering / Business all sitting at least 100 positions above the university’s #501-600 overall world rank.

Education Studies is Plymouth’s strongest THE Subject at #251-300, around 250 places above the overall rank. Six core Indian-relevant subjects (Business, Computer Science, Engineering, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Education) all sit in the #251-400 band. The University of Plymouth subject rankings deliver materially stronger CV recognition for these disciplines than the overall world ranking suggests, which is the headline takeaway for Indian applicants choosing by program.

University of Plymouth Regional Rankings

Plymouth’s strongest regional and thematic ranks come from the THE Impact Rankings, where it places inside the world top-100 on five separate Sustainable Development Goal categories.

University of Plymouth THE Impact Rankings 2026

Plymouth registers in the global top-100 across five SDG categories, with Responsible Consumption and Production at #6 worldwide its single highest placement across any ranking.

The #10 Responsible Consumption placement sits at the world top-tier on this single indicator, making Plymouth’s sustainability research credentials materially stronger than its #=691 QS world rank suggests. For Indian applicants targeting ESG-focused careers, this is the rank that signals genuine global standing.

University of Plymouth UK National Rankings 2026

Two UK national bodies place Plymouth between #67 on the Complete University Guide 2027 and #84 on the Guardian University Guide 2026.

The 17-position gap between Complete University Guide and Guardian readings comes from the Guardian’s heavier weight on teaching satisfaction. Plymouth sits roughly mid-tier among the UK’s 130-plus ranked universities on both bodies, signalling a middle-of-the-pack British university for Indian applicants weighing UK options.

India-relevance: Both UK national ranks position Plymouth in the #67-84 band, consistent with the Collegedunia UK #68 placement, confirming a mid-tier UK signal across three independent bodies that score Indian-applicant criteria differently.

University of Plymouth Rankings: Indian Student Outlook

For Indian students, the University of Plymouth ranking story splits between overall world position and discipline strength. The world rank sits in the QS #=691 to U.S. News #809 range, but the top discipline ranks (Marine Engineering #51-75 ARWU, Education Studies #251-300 THE) outperform peers of its world tier.

Plymouth’s most-chosen programs by Indian students align closely with its strongest discipline ranks:

• MSc Physiotherapy: Plymouth’s Life Sciences subject sits at #301-400 globally on THE 2026, two bands above the world rank.
• BSc Computer Science: Computer Science THE 2026 rank is #301-400, again two bands above the overall position.
• MSc Neurological Rehabilitation: Sits inside Medical and Health THE 2026 rank of #501-600, supported by the city’s links to Derriford research hospital.
• BEng / MEng Mechanical Engineering: Engineering THE 2026 rank #301-400, anchored by Plymouth’s marine engineering specialism at #51-75 on ARWU GRAS.
• MSc International Hospitality Management: Business and Economics THE 2026 rank #301-400.

For an Indian applicant, the University of Plymouth ranking for Indian students reads stronger by program than by world rank, with three subject ranks more than 200 positions above the world rank.

The Collegedunia-vs-QS gap of 207 positions (CD #484 vs QS #=691) reflects Collegedunia’s Indian-applicant weighting. Combined with three subject ranks more than two bands above the world rank, Plymouth’s degree value for Indian applicants is anchored in chosen discipline, not headline rank.