Best Universities for Politics in the UK 2027
University of Worcester tops our 2027 politics ranking with 181 points, achieving 97% academic support and 98% teaching quality. Swansea University comes second with 175 points. Durham University is third with 174 points and 94% academic support. We ranked 62 UK universities offering politics degrees across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability. One partial entry (University of Buckingham) was excluded due to missing data.
Politics graduate earnings range from £21,000 (Liverpool John Moores, joint 10th) to £45,000 (University of Oxford, joint 7th). LSE (35th) produces £35,000. University of Surrey (31st) produces £34,000. University of Hertfordshire (14th) achieves 100% on both teaching quality and academic support. York St John University (16th) has the lowest teaching quality at 73% — the lowest in this field. London South Bank University (62nd, last) has the lowest academic support at 71%.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Politics University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Worcester Worcester |
£24,500 | 79% | 98% | 97% | 181 |
| 2 | Swansea University Swansea |
£26,000 | 79% | 87% | 93% | 175 |
| 3 | Durham University Durham |
£31,000 | 78% | 89% | 94% | 174 |
| 4 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£30,500 | 79% | 90% | 88% | 167 |
| 4 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£25,000 | 74% | 92% | 93% | 167 |
| 5 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£27,000 | 83% | 88% | 97% | 165 |
| 5 | University of Reading Reading |
£26,500 | 74% | 96% | 94% | 165 |
| 6 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£28,500 | 78% | 92% | 94% | 164 |
| 7 | Bangor University Bangor |
£25,500 | 76% | 90% | 89% | 159 |
| 7 | University of Oxford Oxford |
£45,000 | 76% | 95% | 95% | 159 |
| 8 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£25,000 | 79% | 81% | 90% | 157 |
| 9 | Cardiff University Cardiff |
£21,500 | 71% | 97% | 97% | 153 |
| 10 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£21,500 | 75% | 87% | 87% | 152 |
| 10 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£21,000 | 72% | 93% | 98% | 152 |
| 11 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£26,000 | 76% | 92% | 96% | 150 |
| 12 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£25,000 | 74% | 89% | 86% | 149 |
| 12 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£24,500 | 70% | 90% | 94% | 149 |
| 13 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£26,000 | 73% | 82% | 95% | 148 |
| 13 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£26,500 | 73% | 89% | 89% | 148 |
| 14 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£29,000 | 71% | 100% | 100% | 147 |
| 15 | University of Plymouth Plymouth |
£24,000 | 75% | 91% | 86% | 146 |
| 16 | York St John University York |
£24,000 | 80% | 73% | 91% | 145 |
| 17 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£27,000 | 73% | 94% | 95% | 144 |
| 18 | University of West London London |
£29,000 | 72% | 90% | 96% | 142 |
| 19 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£26,500 | 79% | 85% | 92% | 141 |
| 19 | Coventry University Coventry |
£25,000 | 72% | 98% | 100% | 141 |
| 20 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£26,000 | 73% | 83% | 95% | 140 |
| 21 | University of Essex Colchester |
£26,500 | 74% | 86% | 94% | 139 |
| 22 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£31,000 | 72% | 91% | 88% | 138 |
| 22 | Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme |
£24,500 | 81% | 95% | 95% | 138 |
| 23 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£26,000 | 71% | 89% | 90% | 137 |
| 24 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£29,000 | 75% | 79% | 93% | 135 |
| 25 | University of York York |
£30,000 | 77% | 89% | 88% | 134 |
| 26 | University of Greenwich London |
£23,500 | 69% | 100% | 93% | 133 |
| 27 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£27,000 | 70% | 88% | 94% | 132 |
| 28 | University of Salford Salford |
£26,000 | 73% | 79% | 88% | 130 |
| 29 | University of Sheffield Sheffield |
£28,500 | 75% | 91% | 91% | 129 |
| 30 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford |
£25,000 | 74% | 88% | 89% | 126 |
| 31 | University of Surrey Guildford |
£34,000 | 78% | 89% | 91% | 125 |
| 32 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£30,000 | 74% | 77% | 85% | 124 |
| 32 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£28,000 | 70% | 85% | 85% | 124 |
| 33 | University of Derby Derby |
£25,000 | 74% | 86% | 100% | 123 |
| 33 | King's College London London |
£33,000 | 67% | 89% | 86% | 123 |
| 33 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£26,000 | 72% | 90% | 91% | 123 |
| 34 | University of Cambridge Cambridge |
£31,000 | 76% | 95% | 95% | 122 |
| 35 | London School of Economics and Political Science London |
£35,000 | 69% | 88% | 82% | 121 |
| 36 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£28,000 | 82% | 86% | 81% | 118 |
| 36 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£23,000 | 70% | 86% | 88% | 118 |
| 37 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£26,000 | 77% | 91% | 95% | 117 |
| 37 | University of Stirling Stirling |
£30,000 | 78% | 98% | 100% | 117 |
| 38 | University of Leicester Leicester |
£26,500 | 73% | 92% | 94% | 116 |
| 39 | Brunel University London Uxbridge |
£28,000 | 68% | 94% | 98% | 114 |
| 40 | University of Warwick Coventry |
£32,000 | 74% | 77% | 90% | 113 |
| 40 | UCL (University College London) London |
£32,000 | 68% | 86% | 84% | 113 |
| 41 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£26,500 | 82% | 83% | 85% | 112 |
| 42 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£26,000 | 74% | 78% | 80% | 111 |
| 43 | University of Nottingham Nottingham |
£30,000 | 74% | 88% | 91% | 110 |
| 44 | University of Strathclyde Glasgow |
£28,000 | 75% | 91% | 92% | 108 |
| 45 | St Mary's University, Twickenham Twickenham |
£24,000 | 80% | 90% | 90% | 106 |
| 46 | University of Chester Chester |
£26,000 | 78% | 86% | 83% | 105 |
| 46 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£31,000 | 69% | 89% | 89% | 105 |
| 47 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£28,000 | 72% | 86% | 100% | 102 |
| 48 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£30,000 | 77% | 87% | 89% | 101 |
| 49 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£23,000 | 80% | 91% | 93% | 98 |
| 49 | University of East London London |
£27,000 | 68% | 96% | 91% | 98 |
| 50 | SOAS University of London London |
£30,000 | 66% | 79% | 77% | 97 |
| 51 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£28,000 | 76% | 85% | 84% | 90 |
| 52 | City St George's, University of London London |
£28,500 | 67% | 89% | 100% | 86 |
| 53 | Teesside University Middlesbrough |
£21,000 | 78% | 89% | 100% | 85 |
| 54 | University of Westminster London |
£26,000 | 68% | 85% | 88% | 80 |
| 55 | University of Hull Hull |
£26,000 | 76% | 84% | 93% | 78 |
| 56 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£27,000 | 80% | 81% | 93% | 73 |
| 57 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£27,000 | 71% | 88% | 87% | 71 |
| 58 | Aston University Birmingham |
£28,000 | 75% | 77% | 81% | 70 |
| 59 | University of Roehampton London |
£26,000 | 72% | 84% | 93% | 66 |
| 60 | Goldsmiths, University of London London |
£27,000 | 64% | 87% | 79% | 57 |
| 61 | London Metropolitan University London |
£24,000 | 66% | 83% | 88% | 54 |
| 62 | London South Bank University London |
£24,000 | 68% | 84% | 71% | 41 |
What the ranking tells you about studying politics
Politics degrees cover political theory, comparative politics, international relations, public policy, political economy, political history and research methods. The degree develops analytical rigour, critical reasoning and the ability to interpret complex institutional and societal structures — skills that transfer powerfully into policy, law, journalism, public affairs, finance and consulting. With 62 universities in this ranking, programme differences in specialist area coverage, seminar quality, dissertation supervision and employer engagement vary significantly.
Oxford at joint 7th: £45,000 — the highest politics earnings in the UK by £10,000
University of Oxford ranks joint 7th with 159 points and produces politics graduates earning £45,000 — the highest in this field by £10,000 above LSE (35th, £35,000) and £11,000 above Surrey (31st, £34,000). Oxford's PPE programme (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) is the most prominent undergraduate politics-adjacent degree in the world and produces a disproportionate share of graduates entering politics, the civil service, finance and consulting at premium salaries. Oxford ranks joint 7th rather than higher because Oxford city's cost of living and sustainability scores suppress the overall position. Its 95% academic support and 95% teaching quality are both in the top tier of this field. Cambridge (34th, 122 points) ranks 27 positions below Oxford — driven entirely by cost of living and sustainability city-level factors, not course quality. Cambridge also achieves 95% on both course delivery metrics.
University of Hertfordshire at 14th: 100% on both metrics
University of Hertfordshire ranks 14th with 147 points and achieves 100% on both teaching quality and academic support — the only institution in this 62-university field to achieve the double 100%. Hertfordshire ranks 14th because modest safety and social life scores suppress the position. Its course delivery data is the strongest measured in this entire field. For students comparing Hertfordshire with more prominent institutions and using course delivery scores as the primary filter, Hertfordshire's data stands alone in this ranking.
LSE at 35th produces £35,000 — second-highest in the field — but achieves 82% academic support and 88% teaching quality. Both are below the field average of approximately 90% for academic support and 88% for teaching quality. LSE's politics graduates access premium roles in finance, consulting, government and international organisations at above-field earnings. Its 35th-place position reflects London's maximum cost of living and below-average satisfaction (69%) alongside the course delivery scores. For students choosing between LSE and higher-ranked institutions on course delivery metrics: LSE's employer positioning is real and material. The tradeoff between measured course delivery and employer access is genuine, not manufactured.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
