Despite years of international attention on the issue, gender gaps remain. Numerous studies and surveys show that the global gender gap between women and men continues to be concerning. But how has this manifested in higher education in the UK? Let’s find out! Here is the list of unis with the biggest gender gap.
How we came up with the list
We took the most recent available enrolment data from HESA (2023/2024) to find out the number of females and males enrolled at each higher education institution. We then calculated the difference between the number of females and males as a percentage of the total number of enrolments to find the unis with the biggest gender gap.
Finally, we removed universities, colleges or other higher education institutions that had fewer than 5,000 total enrolments to focus on the major unis.
1. Queen Margaret University
Queen Margaret University currently has the largest gender gap of any UK university in the dataset. With nearly 78% of students identifying as female and just under 22% as male, the difference between genders exceeds 55 percentage points, making it a clear outlier.
This imbalance is closely tied to the university’s academic specialisms. Queen Margaret focuses heavily on health sciences, nursing, speech and language therapy, psychology, and social care, all of which remain female-dominated fields across the UK. The institution also attracts a high proportion of mature students and career changers, demographics that are statistically more likely to be women, particularly in caring and health-related professions. The result is a consistently female-heavy student population rather than a short-term fluctuation.
2. University of the Arts, London
The University of the Arts London has the second-largest gender gap, with women accounting for just over 76% of its students and men making up a little over 23%. This creates a gender difference of more than 53 percentage points.
UAL’s position reflects broader trends in creative education. Subjects such as fashion, textiles, fine art, illustration, and design attract far more female applicants than male ones, both in the UK and internationally. As a large specialist provider with multiple colleges dedicated to these disciplines, UAL amplifies national subject-level patterns rather than counteracting them. Its global appeal also brings in international students from countries where creative industries education is similarly gendered.
3. University of Worcester
At the University of Worcester, women make up just over 70% of the student body, while men account for under 29%, resulting in a gender gap of more than 42 percentage points.
This skew is strongly influenced by Worcester’s course portfolio. The university has well-established strengths in education, nursing, midwifery, psychology, and allied health professions, all of which consistently recruit more women than men nationwide. Worcester also serves a large commuter population and has strong links to local health and education employers, which further reinforces female participation through vocational and professional routes into higher education.
4. Edge Hill University
Edge Hill University shows a similar pattern, with women representing just over 70% of students and men just under 30%, creating a gender gap of around 40.5 percentage points.
Edge Hill is one of the UK’s largest providers of teacher training and health-related degrees, areas where female participation has historically been high and remains so today. The university also places a strong emphasis on widening participation and access routes, which tend to attract students from groups that are more likely to include women returning to education or entering caring professions later in life.
5. Cranfield University
Cranfield University is the only institution in the top ten where men outnumber women. Around 69% of its students are male, compared with just over 29% female, producing a gender gap of nearly 40 percentage points in the opposite direction to most universities on this list.
This imbalance is largely structural rather than cultural. Cranfield is a postgraduate-only university with a strong focus on engineering, aerospace, defence, manufacturing, and applied science. These sectors remain heavily male-dominated across both education and industry, and without an undergraduate intake to dilute this effect, the gender imbalance becomes particularly pronounced at institutional level.
6. Goldsmiths, University of London
Goldsmiths has a female student population of just under 69%, compared with around 30% male students, resulting in a gender gap of close to 39 percentage points.
Although Goldsmiths is often associated with arts and humanities, the gender split reflects the scale of its creative, cultural, and social science provision, which tends to attract more women overall. While the university has expanded into digital media, computing, and technology-focused courses that recruit more men, these remain smaller in size compared to its core subject areas, leaving the overall balance firmly female-dominated.
7. University of Chichester
At the University of Chichester, women account for just under 67% of the student population, while men make up around 33%, producing a gender gap of nearly 34 percentage points.
This distribution is influenced by strong enrolment in education, psychology, performing arts, and sport-related teaching degrees. While sport courses are often male-dominated elsewhere, Chichester’s emphasis on education-linked and teaching-focused pathways within sport attracts a higher proportion of female students than might be expected.
8. University of Winchester
The University of Winchester also shows a clear female majority, with women making up almost 67% of students and men just under 32%, resulting in a 35 percentage point gap.
Winchester’s strengths lie in humanities, education, theology, and professional studies, alongside a sizeable postgraduate cohort. These subject areas tend to attract more women nationally, particularly among mature students and those pursuing vocational or values-driven careers, which helps explain the persistent imbalance.
9. University of Law
At the University of Law, women account for approximately 66.5% of the student body, compared with around 33% men, creating a gender gap of just over 33 percentage points.
This is notable given that law as a discipline is relatively balanced at undergraduate level nationally. However, the University of Law’s focus on postgraduate professional training, conversion courses, part-time study, and career-switching routes attracts a different demographic. These pathways are increasingly popular among women returning to education or changing careers, which shifts the gender balance at institutional level.
10. University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton rounds out the list, with women making up just under 66% of students and men just over 34%, resulting in a gender gap of nearly 32 percentage points.
This pattern reflects strong enrolment in health, education, and social care courses, combined with widening participation initiatives that have been particularly successful in attracting female students. While the university does offer male-dominated subjects such as engineering and construction, these make up a smaller share of total enrolments, leaving the overall gender balance female-heavy.
Overall, the data shows that subject mix remains the dominant factor shaping gender imbalances in UK universities. Institutions specialising in health, education, and creative arts tend to enrol far more women, while highly technical, postgraduate-only universities like Cranfield continue to skew male. These patterns are consistent across the sector and reflect wider trends in education and employment rather than short-term changes in student preference.
So, that’s the wind-up on the UK unis with the biggest gender gap. To look at the other end of the spectrum, why not check out our post on the UK unis with the most female students?
FAQs on Gender Gaps at UK Universities
Based on the latest enrolment data, the largest gender gaps are found at universities where one gender makes up more than two thirds of the student population. Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh and the University of the Arts London have the biggest gaps, with over three quarters of students being female. Other universities with large imbalances include the University of Worcester, Edge Hill University, and Goldsmiths. Cranfield University stands out as the main exception, with a strong male majority due to its specialist postgraduate STEM focus.
Gender gaps are most strongly linked to subject choice rather than university policy. Degrees in health, education, psychology, and the creative arts tend to attract more female students, while engineering, technology, and applied sciences attract more male applicants. Universities that specialise heavily in one group of subjects often reflect these national patterns very clearly in their overall student populations.
Overall, women now make up a larger share of the UK student population than men, and this gap has widened slightly in recent years. While some universities have become more balanced, others have seen their gender gaps grow as demand increases for health, education, and creative degrees. In contrast, male-dominated subjects such as engineering have remained relatively stable, particularly at postgraduate level.
Yes, many UK universities now have a clear female majority. Institutions with strong provision in health sciences, education, social care, and the creative arts often have significantly more female students than male students. In some cases, women make up more than two thirds of the entire student body.
Internationally, the UK performs relatively well on overall gender participation in higher education, with women more likely than men to attend university. However, like many countries, the UK still shows strong gender divides by subject area. Engineering and technology remain male-dominated worldwide, while health, education, and social sciences are female-led across most higher education systems.
Gender gaps can influence the types of careers graduates enter, largely because different subjects lead to different industries. Male-dominated fields such as engineering and technology often offer higher average starting salaries, while female-dominated sectors like health, education, and social care tend to provide stronger job security and clear career pathways. These differences are increasingly shaped by labour market trends rather than university choice alone.
Many universities run initiatives aimed at encouraging applications from underrepresented genders in specific subjects. These include outreach programmes in schools, mentoring schemes, targeted scholarships, and participation in equality frameworks such as Athena Swan. Some institutions also focus on improving retention and student experience rather than only recruitment.
In courses or universities with very uneven gender balances, some students report feeling more visible or underrepresented within their cohort. Universities often respond by offering mentoring, peer support, and inclusive student societies to help ensure that all students feel supported regardless of gender makeup.
In many cases, yes. Postgraduate courses in engineering, technology, and business remain male-dominated, while postgraduate study in health, education, and psychology is often strongly female-led. Specialist postgraduate-only universities can therefore show particularly large gender gaps compared to undergraduate institutions.
Most university league tables do not directly rank institutions by gender balance. However, diversity and inclusion are becoming more visible factors in reputation, student choice, and employer perception. As a result, universities are increasingly aware that large gender imbalances can influence how they are viewed by prospective students.