The University of Nottingham is ranked in the UK 's Top 10 and the World 's Top 100 universities by the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the Times Higher Education - Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings . Nottingham has consistently ranked amongst Britain 's top 10 leading universities in the various national and international rankings published over the last 15 years , and is described by the Fulbright Commission as `` one of the UK 's oldest , largest , and most prestigious universities '' . Indeed , Nottingham finished 8th in the Sunday Times 10 year average ranking of British universities based on consistent league table performance over the past decade , and is ranked in the UK 's Top 10 in the Shanghai Jiao Tong ( SJTU ) 2010 World University Rankings .