University Challenge 2021–22

The 51st series of University Challenge began on 12 July 2021 on BBC Two. The final aired on 4 April 2022 when Imperial College London and the University of Reading were declared the series winners and runners-up respectively.

In this series, the University of Dundee made its debut appearance in the BBC series.

Results

 * Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
 * Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated (as it was impossible for them to be in the highest scoring losers).
 * Teams with orange scores had to win one more match to return in the next round.
 * Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match).
 * A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

Final
In what was the most closely fought final since 2006 (when the University of Manchester beat Trinity Hall, Cambridge also by ten points), Imperial had leads of 90 to 25 and 105 to 45 before Reading fought back to take a narrow 120 to 105 lead. Max Zeng (Imperial) then narrowly beat the Reading captain Michael Hutchinson to a starter on the Brecon Beacons, after which Imperial took two bonuses and a five-point lead in the process. A five-point penalty for Reading was the final change in the scoreline before the gong.


 * The trophy and title were thus awarded to the Imperial team of Max Zeng, Fatima Sheriff, Michael Mays, and Gilbert Jackson.
 * The trophy was presented by Russian-born Dutch-British physicist Andre Geim.

First round
Each year, a Christmas special sequence is aired featuring distinguished alumni. Out of 7 first-round winners, the top 4 highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals. The teams consist of celebrities who represent their alma maters.
 * Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
 * Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
 * Teams with grey scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
 * A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

Final
The winning University of Edinburgh team consisted of Catherine Slessor, Thomasina Miers, Miles Jupp and Phil Swanson. The second placed Hertford College team consisted of Soweto Kinch, Elizabeth Norton, Adam Fleming and Isabelle Westbury.