Best Universities for Drama in the UK 2027
University of Exeter and University of Lincoln are joint first in our 2027 drama ranking, both scoring 162 points. Exeter achieves 97% teaching quality and 92% academic support. Lincoln achieves 98% on both metrics — the joint-highest course delivery double in this field. York St John University comes second with 155 points. We ranked 60 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Drama graduate earnings range from £15,000 (University for the Creative Arts) to £30,000 (Bristol and Surrey). Five universities in this ranking achieve 100% on both teaching quality and academic support simultaneously: Birmingham City University, Falmouth University, Queen Mary, Solent and University of Chichester. University of Bristol (10th) produces the joint-highest graduate earnings at £30,000 but has the second-lowest teaching quality in the field at 69%. Leeds Beckett (31st) achieves the lowest academic support (61%) and lowest teaching quality (61%) in the ranking.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Drama University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£25,000 | 79% | 97% | 92% | 162 |
| 1 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£26,000 | 78% | 98% | 98% | 162 |
| 2 | York St John University York |
£23,500 | 80% | 94% | 92% | 155 |
| 3 | University of Worcester Worcester |
£21,000 | 79% | 90% | 94% | 152 |
| 4 | University of South Wales Pontypridd |
£24,000 | 72% | 95% | 100% | 151 |
| 5 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£23,500 | 74% | 91% | 97% | 149 |
| 5 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£18,500 | 74% | 96% | 93% | 149 |
| 6 | Falmouth University Falmouth |
£24,000 | 82% | 99% | 100% | 148 |
| 7 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£26,000 | 79% | 96% | 92% | 145 |
| 8 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£22,500 | 83% | 88% | 91% | 143 |
| 9 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£24,000 | 79% | 77% | 77% | 137 |
| 9 | Arts University Bournemouth Bournemouth |
£25,000 | 83% | 94% | 87% | 137 |
| 9 | University of Salford Salford |
£24,000 | 73% | 95% | 95% | 137 |
| 10 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£30,000 | 73% | 69% | 92% | 135 |
| 10 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£24,000 | 73% | 90% | 88% | 135 |
| 10 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£25,000 | 76% | 90% | 93% | 135 |
| 10 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£24,000 | 72% | 96% | 99% | 135 |
| 11 | University of Essex Colchester |
£28,000 | 74% | 89% | 89% | 131 |
| 11 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£25,000 | 70% | 91% | 100% | 131 |
| 12 | University of York York |
£23,000 | 77% | 93% | 94% | 129 |
| 13 | University of Reading Reading |
£26,500 | 74% | 72% | 85% | 128 |
| 14 | University of Sunderland Sunderland |
£24,000 | 74% | 91% | 91% | 127 |
| 15 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£22,000 | 73% | 88% | 91% | 126 |
| 15 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£25,000 | 71% | 95% | 100% | 126 |
| 15 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£22,000 | 69% | 100% | 96% | 126 |
| 16 | University of Derby Derby |
£22,000 | 74% | 99% | 97% | 125 |
| 17 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£26,000 | 76% | 88% | 86% | 124 |
| 18 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£26,000 | 74% | 84% | 89% | 122 |
| 18 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£25,000 | 74% | 88% | 88% | 122 |
| 18 | University for the Creative Arts Canterbury / Epsom / Farnham / Rochester |
£15,000 | 82% | 90% | 100% | 122 |
| 19 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£23,000 | 82% | 93% | 90% | 120 |
| 19 | University of Warwick Coventry |
£25,000 | 74% | 94% | 98% | 120 |
| 19 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£27,000 | 82% | 95% | 77% | 120 |
| 20 | University of Greenwich London |
£25,000 | 69% | 91% | 93% | 118 |
| 20 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£23,000 | 70% | 92% | 88% | 118 |
| 21 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£20,000 | 68% | 96% | 93% | 116 |
| 22 | University of West London London |
£18,500 | 72% | 92% | 95% | 115 |
| 22 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£27,000 | 69% | 100% | 100% | 115 |
| 23 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£20,000 | 70% | 90% | 67% | 114 |
| 24 | Queen Margaret University Edinburgh |
£21,000 | 78% | 100% | 97% | 110 |
| 25 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£24,000 | 80% | 94% | 97% | 107 |
| 26 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£21,500 | 79% | 85% | 85% | 106 |
| 27 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£24,000 | 73% | 72% | 72% | 104 |
| 28 | University of Surrey Guildford |
£30,000 | 78% | 80% | 86% | 103 |
| 28 | Solent University Southampton |
£22,000 | 71% | 100% | 100% | 103 |
| 29 | University of the Arts London London |
£20,500 | 81% | 76% | 83% | 102 |
| 30 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£23,000 | 74% | 88% | 86% | 98 |
| 31 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£23,000 | 70% | 61% | 61% | 95 |
| 32 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£24,000 | 77% | 91% | 87% | 94 |
| 33 | University of Chester Chester |
£22,000 | 78% | 61% | 84% | 91 |
| 34 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£26,000 | 72% | 88% | 91% | 90 |
| 34 | University of Northampton Northampton |
£22,000 | 75% | 96% | 95% | 90 |
| 35 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£22,000 | 80% | 100% | 100% | 87 |
| 36 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£19,500 | 77% | 85% | 81% | 86 |
| 37 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£24,000 | 71% | 84% | 84% | 81 |
| 38 | Brunel University London Uxbridge |
£25,000 | 68% | 81% | 77% | 78 |
| 39 | University of Hull Hull |
£22,000 | 76% | 83% | 88% | 70 |
| 40 | Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe |
£24,000 | 70% | 76% | 77% | 66 |
| 41 | Goldsmiths, University of London London |
£24,000 | 64% | 80% | 88% | 58 |
| 42 | London Metropolitan University London |
£19,500 | 66% | 77% | 77% | 38 |
What the ranking tells you about studying drama
Drama is a subject where the quality of teaching, studio facilities, industry connections and the specific professional focus of a programme matter significantly. With 60 universities offering drama degrees in this ranking, the variation between them is substantial — from conservatoire-adjacent training programmes to largely text-based academic departments. This ranking scores all 60 on eight consistent metrics, including the course delivery scores (teaching quality and academic support) that most other rankings ignore entirely for arts subjects.
Five universities achieving 100% on both teaching and support
Birmingham City University, Falmouth University, Queen Mary University of London, Solent University and University of Chichester all achieve 100% on both teaching quality and academic support in this ranking — the only institutions in this field to do so. Their overall ranking positions vary significantly: Birmingham City (15th), Falmouth (6th), Queen Mary (22nd), Solent (28th) and Chichester (35th). The spread reflects differences in costs, safety, sustainability and graduate earnings rather than course quality. Falmouth is the only institution in the top 10 of the overall ranking that also achieves this double. For students who prioritise the quality of their studio teaching and personal support, these five departments have the strongest measured performance in the country.
Lincoln at joint 1st: the most overlooked drama department in the UK
University of Lincoln ranks joint first with Exeter on 162 points, achieving 98% on both teaching quality and academic support — jointly the highest course delivery scores in the field alongside Lincoln's position. Lincoln's drama department is rarely discussed in applicant guidance relative to the traditional prestige departments (Bristol, Warwick, Exeter), yet its data profile is stronger than all three on course delivery metrics. Graduate earnings of £26,000 are above the field average and Lincoln benefits from the second-highest safety score in the top 10 and a genuinely affordable cost of living. This is the most substantive case for a genuinely underrated drama department in our 2027 dataset.
University of Bristol (10th) produces the joint-highest graduate earnings at £30,000 alongside Surrey, but its teaching quality of 69% is the second-lowest in this ranking. Bristol's drama department has a strong academic and research reputation, but these specific teaching quality and academic support scores place its course delivery below the field median. A student comparing Bristol (10th, £30,000, 69% teaching) with Exeter (joint 1st, £25,000, 97% teaching), Lincoln (joint 1st, £26,000, 98% teaching) or Warwick (joint 19th, £25,000, 94% teaching) is making a trade-off between institutional prestige and measured course quality that this data makes explicit.
The earnings reality for drama graduates
Drama graduate earnings range from £15,000 (University for the Creative Arts) to £30,000 (Bristol and Surrey) within six months of graduating. The £15,000 figure at UCA is the lowest of any subject in this ranking and reflects a small cohort entering early-stage creative careers, performance work and arts-adjacent roles. For most drama graduates, earnings in the first year or two are typically lower than for business or engineering graduates, with substantial variation depending on whether graduates pursue performance, directing, arts administration, education, media or non-arts careers. Drama graduates who enter teaching, arts management, corporate training, therapy or non-creative sectors often reach £30,000 to £40,000 within five years. The six-month snapshot used in this ranking understates long-term outcomes for a degree with a longer runway to career establishment.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
