The Russell Groupis a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to government and Parliament. It was incorporated in 2007. Its members are often perceived as being the UK's best universities, but this has been disputed.
As of 2017, Russell Group members receive over three-quarters of all university research grant and contract income in the United Kingdom. Russell Group members award 60% of all doctorates gained in the United Kingdom. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, Russell Group universities accounted for 65% of all world-leading (4*) research conducted in the UK, and 91% of the Russell Group's research was judged to be world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). Of the 21 Russell Group universities that have entered the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF), 10 hold gold awards (48%), 10 silver (48%) and one bronze (5%), compared to proportions across all 274 higher education providers with full awards of 28% gold, 50% silver and 22% bronze, and proportions across 139 universities and alternative providers with university status of 40% gold, 50% silver and 10% bronze. Their graduates hold 61% of all UK jobs that require a university degree, despite being only 17% of all higher education graduates.
The Russell Group is named after the location of the first informal meetings of the Group, which took place at the Hotel Russell in Russell Square, London.
