Best Universities for Accounting and Finance in the UK 2027
Swansea University tops our 2027 accounting and finance rankings with an overall score of 213, pulling ahead of Durham University in second place. We ranked 60 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, social life, safety, sustainability and cost of living. No single factor decides the winner — every metric counts.
Accounting and finance graduates earn anywhere from £19,500 to £50,000 within six months of graduating, depending on university and location. That is one of the widest salary spreads of any subject in our dataset. Your choice of institution matters more here than in most subjects.
To see how your shortlisted universities perform outside this subject ranking, check the best universities in the UK overall table — and our full awards rankings hub for category breakdowns by nightlife, sustainability, employability and more.
Accounting and Finance University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea University Swansea |
£28,000 | 79% | 93% | 98% | 213 |
| 2 | Durham University Durham |
£40,000 | 78% | 89% | 91% | 200 |
| 3 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£25,000 | 79% | 81% | 100% | 194 |
| 3 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£25,000 | 83% | 100% | 100% | 194 |
| 4 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£32,000 | 79% | 87% | 90% | 192 |
| 5 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£28,000 | 74% | 88% | 94% | 183 |
| 5 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£25,000 | 78% | 91% | 100% | 183 |
| 6 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£25,500 | 73% | 90% | 100% | 181 |
| 7 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£29,500 | 74% | 83% | 85% | 180 |
| 7 | Glyndwr University, Wrexham Wrexham |
£19,500 | 74% | 91% | 94% | 180 |
| 8 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£25,000 | 72% | 95% | 98% | 179 |
| 8 | University of Plymouth Plymouth |
£27,000 | 75% | 90% | 92% | 179 |
| 8 | Cardiff University Cardiff |
£30,000 | 71% | 94% | 92% | 179 |
| 8 | Bangor University Bangor |
£24,000 | 76% | 80% | 95% | 179 |
| 9 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£23,500 | 75% | 88% | 82% | 176 |
| 10 | University of South Wales Pontypridd |
£27,500 | 72% | 90% | 94% | 172 |
| 11 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£28,000 | 71% | 93% | 98% | 171 |
| 12 | Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh |
£25,000 | 72% | 98% | 98% | 169 |
| 13 | University of Reading Reading |
£30,000 | 74% | 82% | 82% | 168 |
| 14 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£27,500 | 76% | 89% | 95% | 167 |
| 15 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£27,000 | 73% | 85% | 89% | 165 |
| 15 | Robert Gordon University Aberdeen |
£27,000 | 77% | 93% | 99% | 165 |
| 15 | University of Bath Bath |
£35,000 | 80% | 93% | 96% | 165 |
| 15 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£30,000 | 74% | 90% | 97% | 165 |
| 16 | University of West London London |
£29,000 | 72% | 96% | 92% | 163 |
| 16 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth |
£27,500 | 71% | 83% | 83% | 163 |
| 17 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£27,000 | 70% | 85% | 87% | 162 |
| 18 | University of Salford Salford |
£25,000 | 73% | 89% | 93% | 161 |
| 19 | University of St Andrews St Andrews |
£33,500 | 84% | 93% | 95% | 159 |
| 20 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£28,000 | 76% | 95% | 84% | 158 |
What the ranking tells you about studying accounting and finance
Our ranking does not just look at how prestigious a university is. It measures what actually affects your three years: how well you are taught, what the student experience is like, what kind of city you are living in and what you earn when you leave. For accounting and finance specifically, this matters because the subject is offered at over 60 UK universities with very different profiles.
Graduate earnings: the widest spread in our dataset
Accounting and finance graduates earn between £19,500 and £50,000 within six months of finishing, based on our data. That is not a typo. The gap between the lowest and highest earning universities in this ranking is over £30,000 a year. Location, course accreditation and industry connections all drive this. London-based universities like LSE (£50,000) and King's College London (£35,000) sit at the top of the earnings table but rank much lower overall because the capital's cost of living scores dramatically reduced their total.
The London factor: LSE ranks 22nd overall despite producing the highest-earning graduates in this dataset at £50,000. London's cost of living score (91 out of 100 — the most expensive bracket) pulls it down significantly. If you are certain you want to work in the City, LSE's graduate outcomes may justify that trade-off. If you are keeping options open, universities like Exeter (£32,000 grad earnings, 4th overall) offer a stronger all-round package.
Teaching quality separates the top 10
Edge Hill University sits joint 3rd overall and scores 100% on both teaching quality and academic support — making it the highest-rated in the table on those two metrics. It is not a name you will see on many traditional league tables, but for students who prioritise classroom experience over institutional prestige, it is hard to ignore. Bath Spa also hits 100% on academic support. Swansea, the overall winner, scores 93% for teaching quality — strong but not the outright highest. It wins on the combination.
Is a Russell Group university better for accounting and finance?
Not automatically. Durham (Russell Group, 2nd) and Exeter (Russell Group, 4th) both perform strongly. But Manchester Metropolitan (6th) and Northumbria (7th) both outrank University of Manchester (34th) and Newcastle University (21st). The Russell Group badge carries weight with some employers, particularly in investment banking and Big Four accountancy. Outside those specific sectors, graduate outcomes data and professional accreditations matter more. Check whether any course you are considering carries ACCA, CIMA or ICAEW exemptions — these reduce the professional qualification load after graduation and are not linked to Russell Group membership.
For a broader picture of how individual universities perform across other factors, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our employability ranking, which covers graduate outcomes across all subjects.
