Best Universities for Robotics in the UK 2027
Cardiff Metropolitan University and University of Plymouth are joint first in our 2027 robotics ranking, both with 121 points. Cardiff Met achieves 97% academic support and Plymouth achieves 96% teaching quality. University of Hertfordshire is second with 103 points and 95% academic support. We ranked 32 UK universities offering robotics degrees across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability. Four partial entries were excluded due to missing data.
Middlesex University (joint 14th) produces £36,500 — the highest graduate earnings in this field by £3,000, alongside 94% on both metrics. University of Exeter (joint 11th) has the lowest academic support at 68% and lowest teaching quality at 59%. University of Bath (joint 18th) achieves 61% academic support and 66% teaching quality. University of Birmingham (23rd) achieves 62% academic support. All three rank in the top 25 despite some of the lowest course delivery scores in the field.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Robotics University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£26,000 | 75% | 94% | 97% | 121 |
| 1 | University of Plymouth Plymouth |
£32,000 | 75% | 96% | 93% | 121 |
| 2 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£30,000 | 71% | 95% | 95% | 103 |
| 3 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£30,500 | 71% | 88% | 91% | 102 |
| 4 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£28,000 | 70% | 94% | 88% | 101 |
| 5 | University of Essex Colchester |
£27,000 | 74% | 89% | 93% | 100 |
| 6 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth |
£29,000 | 71% | 81% | 90% | 99 |
| 7 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£32,000 | 74% | 82% | 84% | 98 |
| 8 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£29,500 | 73% | 85% | 90% | 98 |
| 9 | University of the Arts London London |
£26,500 | 81% | 90% | 90% | 97 |
| 10 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£31,000 | 74% | 80% | 76% | 94 |
| 10 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£30,000 | 72% | 85% | 90% | 94 |
| 11 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£33,000 | 79% | 59% | 68% | 93 |
| 11 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£29,500 | 70% | 91% | 82% | 93 |
| 12 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£29,000 | 68% | 86% | 91% | 88 |
| 13 | University of Sheffield Sheffield |
£32,500 | 75% | 80% | 77% | 87 |
| 13 | Norwich University of the Arts Norwich |
£24,000 | 85% | 82% | 86% | 87 |
| 14 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£30,000 | 71% | 86% | 88% | 85 |
| 14 | Middlesex University Middlesex |
£36,500 | 69% | 94% | 94% | 85 |
| 15 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£32,000 | 77% | 84% | 85% | 81 |
| 16 | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh |
£32,000 | 75% | 77% | 93% | 80 |
| 17 | Harper Adams University Newport, Shropshire |
£28,000 | 88% | 75% | 88% | 76 |
| 18 | University of Bath Bath |
£33,000 | 80% | 66% | 61% | 72 |
| 18 | Aston University Birmingham |
£30,000 | 75% | 84% | 87% | 72 |
| 19 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£28,000 | 70% | 72% | 78% | 71 |
| 19 | University of Hull Hull |
£29,000 | 76% | 86% | 86% | 71 |
| 20 | University of Glasgow Glasgow |
£32,000 | 75% | 75% | 73% | 70 |
| 21 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£30,000 | 77% | 73% | 73% | 68 |
| 22 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£31,000 | 71% | 79% | 79% | 67 |
| 23 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£32,000 | 72% | 70% | 62% | 57 |
| 24 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£30,000 | 69% | 69% | 75% | 52 |
| 25 | London Metropolitan University London |
£29,000 | 66% | 80% | 83% | 45 |
What the ranking tells you about studying robotics
Robotics is one of the fastest-growing undergraduate degree fields in the UK. Programmes typically combine mechanical engineering, electronics, computer science, control systems, artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction. With 32 universities offering dedicated robotics degrees, there is significant variation in the depth of embedded systems training, laboratory access, industry project partnerships and the balance between theoretical and practical content. Robotics graduates enter one of the highest-demand engineering disciplines in the current UK and global job market.
University of Exeter at joint 11th: £33,000, 59% teaching quality, 68% academic support
University of Exeter ranks joint 11th with 93 points and produces £33,000 — the joint-highest earnings in the field alongside Bath. Yet it achieves 59% teaching quality and 68% academic support — the lowest scores on both metrics in this 32-university field. Exeter ranks joint 11th because of strong safety, sustainability and social life city-level metrics. The next-lowest teaching quality is University of Bath at 66%, University of Birmingham at 70% and Queen Mary at 69%. For students drawn to Exeter by reputation or graduate earnings, the course delivery scores represent a genuine gap between research profile and undergraduate teaching experience that warrants direct investigation before applying.
University of Bath at joint 18th: £33,000, 61% academic support, 66% teaching quality
University of Bath ranks joint 18th with 72 points — the same score as Aston — and produces £33,000 graduate earnings, the joint-highest in this field. Bath achieves only 61% academic support and 66% teaching quality, the second-lowest on both metrics in this field. Bath's robotics programme benefits from the university's strong industry partnerships and employer reputation, which explain the premium earnings. Its 18th-place position is suppressed by both course delivery scores and Bath's cost of living and sustainability penalties. For students specifically weighing Bath's employer connections against its course delivery data, the gap between Exeter/Bath at the top of earnings and at the bottom of course delivery is the defining tension in this ranking.
Middlesex University (joint 14th) produces £36,500 — the highest robotics earnings in this field by £3,000 — and achieves 94% on both teaching quality and academic support. Middlesex ranks joint 14th because of very low safety and sustainability scores. Its combination of field-leading earnings and strong course delivery is the most favourable data pairing in this ranking. For students comparing Middlesex with joint first-place Cardiff Met (£26,000) and Plymouth (£32,000), Middlesex offers the strongest earnings data with comparable course delivery. University of Hertfordshire (2nd, 95%/95%) and Cardiff Met (97%/94%) are the only institutions with stronger course delivery scores at higher overall rankings.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
