Best Universities for Actuarial Science in the UK 2027
Swansea University tops our 2027 actuarial science ranking, scoring 67 points across eight metrics to edge out Essex in second and UEA in third. Actuarial science is one of the most selective degree subjects in the UK: only 14 universities offer it. That concentration matters. Competition for places is high, and your choice of institution will directly shape both your professional exam journey and your starting salary.
Actuarial science graduates earn between £27,000 and £43,000 within six months of finishing. That is a significant spread for a cohort this size. LSE sits at the top of the earnings table but ranks only joint 9th overall once cost of living and safety are factored in. Swansea wins because it performs consistently across all eight metrics, not by dominating any single one.
To see how these universities perform outside this subject, check the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Actuarial Science University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea University Swansea |
£28,000 | 79% | 90% | 96% | 67 |
| 2 | University of Essex Colchester |
£30,000 | 74% | 95% | 92% | 58 |
| 3 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£27,000 | 79% | 83% | 88% | 52 |
| 4 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£27,000 | 71% | 86% | 97% | 50 |
| 5 | University of York York |
£30,000 | 77% | 86% | 88% | 49 |
| 6 | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh |
£33,000 | 75% | 92% | 91% | 46 |
| 7 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£30,000 | 70% | 88% | 88% | 45 |
| 8 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£28,000 | 74% | 78% | 78% | 42 |
| 9 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£32,000 | 72% | 85% | 85% | 40 |
| 9 | London School of Economics and Political Science London |
£43,000 | 69% | 87% | 87% | 40 |
| 10 | University of Leicester Leicester |
£33,000 | 73% | 77% | 85% | 35 |
| 11 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£32,000 | 76% | 60% | 60% | 30 |
| 12 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£29,000 | 69% | 82% | 87% | 29 |
| 13 | City St George's, University of London London |
£35,000 | 67% | 85% | 90% | 27 |
What the ranking tells you about studying actuarial science
Actuarial science is one of the most specialised degrees you can take in the UK. Only 14 universities offer it, and the programmes vary significantly in structure, professional exam coverage and industry connections. This ranking does not just look at academic prestige. It scores every university across eight metrics including cost of living, safety, social life and sustainability alongside teaching quality, student satisfaction and graduate earnings.
IFoA accreditation: the most important thing this ranking does not measure
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) grants exam exemptions to accredited programmes. This is critical. Fully qualifying as a Fellow of the IFoA (FIA) requires passing up to 17 professional exams across multiple stages. Accredited degrees can exempt you from the early CS and CM series papers, cutting years off your qualification timeline. The number of exemptions varies by programme, not just by university, so you need to check each course's IFoA exemption schedule directly. All 14 universities in this ranking are likely to have IFoA-accredited programmes, but confirm this and the specific exemptions for your shortlisted courses before applying.
The London factor in actuarial science
LSE, Queen Mary and City St George's all place in the bottom five of this ranking despite offering some of the strongest graduate earnings in the dataset. LSE graduates average £43,000 within six months, and City graduates average £35,000. Both numbers are genuinely impressive for a first job. But London's cost of living score of 91 out of 100 (the most expensive bracket in our dataset) and lower urban safety scores significantly reduce their total points. If your plan is to work in the City of London's insurance or investment sector after graduating, the London schools offer proximity to major employers and genuinely strong salary outcomes that this ranking cannot fully capture.
Heriot-Watt Edinburgh has a long-standing reputation as one of the UK's leading actuarial science universities and is well known in the industry. It ranks 6th in our 2027 table. Its sustainability score of 35.3 is the lowest in this dataset, which costs it points, and Edinburgh's relatively high cost of living limits its advantage there too. That said, Heriot-Watt's graduate earnings of £33,000 and strong teaching score of 92% reflect a genuinely high-quality programme. Reputation alone does not win this ranking, but it still matters to employers.
Why Swansea tops despite lower earnings
Swansea graduates earn £28,000 on average, which ranks second-lowest in this field. Yet Swansea wins overall because it scores in the top tier across sustainability, academic support, safety and social life simultaneously. Its cost of living is among the lowest in the dataset (64 out of 100), and its student satisfaction score of 79% ties with UEA for the highest in this ranking. For students who are not certain they want to work specifically in the City of London after graduating, Swansea offers a well-rounded three years and a strong foundation for the professional qualification path ahead.
For a broader view of how individual universities compare across all subjects and student experience factors, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking and the employability ranking.
