Best Universities for Archaeology in the UK 2027
University of Exeter tops our 2027 archaeology ranking with a score of 103, achieving 100% on academic support and 94% on teaching quality while performing strongly across sustainability, safety and social life. Durham University comes second with 100 points and University of Bristol third with 98. We ranked 28 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Archaeology is available at 28 UK universities in this ranking, and the gap between them on course delivery metrics is wider than you might expect. Teaching quality scores range from 84% to 100%. Graduate earnings run from £18,000 (University of Wales Trinity Saint David) to £32,000 (UCL). Oxford and Cambridge both appear in the lower half of this table — 18th and joint 21st respectively — held down primarily by cost of living and sustainability scores.
To see how these universities perform across all subjects, check the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Archaeology University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£25,000 | 79% | 94% | 100% | 103 |
| 2 | Durham University Durham |
£25,000 | 78% | 93% | 95% | 100 |
| 3 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£27,000 | 73% | 98% | 100% | 98 |
| 4 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£26,000 | 75% | 100% | 100% | 95 |
| 5 | Bangor University Bangor |
£23,000 | 76% | 94% | 92% | 93 |
| 6 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£25,500 | 79% | 92% | 88% | 89 |
| 6 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£27,000 | 74% | 95% | 95% | 89 |
| 7 | University of Reading Reading |
£25,500 | 74% | 91% | 100% | 87 |
| 8 | University of Chester Chester |
£23,000 | 78% | 100% | 97% | 85 |
| 9 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth |
£25,000 | 71% | 93% | 92% | 82 |
| 10 | Cardiff University Cardiff |
£25,000 | 71% | 91% | 91% | 81 |
| 11 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£21,000 | 73% | 95% | 97% | 80 |
| 12 | University of York York |
£23,000 | 77% | 90% | 98% | 79 |
| 12 | University of Aberdeen Aberdeen |
£28,500 | 76% | 99% | 97% | 79 |
| 13 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£18,000 | 79% | 100% | 94% | 78 |
| 13 | University of Leicester Leicester |
£25,000 | 73% | 100% | 100% | 78 |
| 14 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£25,000 | 82% | 94% | 91% | 74 |
| 15 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£25,000 | 71% | 92% | 84% | 72 |
| 16 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£21,500 | 70% | 95% | 90% | 69 |
| 17 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£24,500 | 71% | 96% | 100% | 67 |
| 18 | University of Oxford Oxford |
£29,000 | 76% | 85% | 85% | 66 |
| 19 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£24,000 | 76% | 96% | 92% | 64 |
| 20 | UCL (University College London) London |
£32,000 | 68% | 87% | 87% | 59 |
| 20 | University of Bradford Bradford |
£25,000 | 71% | 87% | 91% | 59 |
| 21 | University of Glasgow Glasgow |
£29,000 | 75% | 84% | 83% | 57 |
| 21 | University of Cambridge Cambridge |
£31,000 | 76% | 88% | 88% | 57 |
| 22 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£27,000 | 72% | 89% | 89% | 56 |
| 23 | University of Nottingham Nottingham |
£23,000 | 74% | 93% | 83% | 55 |
What the ranking tells you about studying archaeology
Archaeology is a subject where the gap between reputation and student experience is particularly pronounced. Oxford and Cambridge, the two institutions most commonly associated with the discipline, rank 18th and joint 21st in this table. Exeter, Durham and Bristol lead a ranking that rewards consistent performance across teaching quality, student satisfaction and the practical realities of where you will live. This is useful information for applicants who are building their UCAS list.
Exeter leads on the metrics that matter most for course quality
Exeter tops this ranking with 100% on academic support and 94% on teaching quality, while also scoring strongly across sustainability, student satisfaction and safety. Its archaeology department covers prehistoric, Roman and medieval archaeology with strong coastal and environmental dimensions. Exeter's campus is well-resourced for field training and has established excavation partnerships across the South West. Graduate earnings of £25,000 sit mid-table, consistent with the broader archaeology salary picture. For students who want a high-quality teaching environment without the pressures of Oxford or London living costs, Exeter's data profile is the most compelling in this dataset.
Newcastle and Bristol: the 100% double achievers
Newcastle University and University of Bristol are the only universities in this ranking to score 100% on both teaching quality and academic support. Newcastle ranks 4th overall with £26,000 graduate earnings and strong social life and safety scores. Bristol ranks 3rd with the highest sustainability score in the top five and the strongest graduate earnings at this level (£27,000). Both are Russell Group universities in cities that score well on social life — factors that matter for three years of student life, not just the course itself.
Oxford ranks 18th. Cambridge ranks joint 21st. Both produce strong graduate earners — Oxford at £29,000, Cambridge at £31,000 — and both have internationally recognised archaeology departments. What pulls them down in this ranking is a combination of high cost of living, lower sustainability scores and student satisfaction scores that, while solid (Oxford 76%, Cambridge 76%), do not match the teaching-focused universities at the top. If you are applying to Oxford or Cambridge for archaeology, you are applying for the tutorial system, the library access and the alumni network. This ranking is not the right tool for making that case either way. But if your shortlist also includes Durham, Exeter or Newcastle, this data gives you a more complete picture of what the comparison actually looks like.
Aberdeen: the overlooked option with the second-highest earnings
University of Aberdeen ranks joint 12th with 79 points and produces the second-highest-earning archaeology graduates in the dataset at £28,500. Its teaching quality score of 99% and academic support of 97% are among the strongest in the ranking. Aberdeen is Scotland's third-oldest university and its archaeology department has a strong focus on prehistoric Scotland, Viking-age studies and environmental archaeology — areas where it competes with any institution in the UK. Its sustainability score of 45.3 costs it points, and its cost of living is among the lowest in the dataset. For students considering Scotland, Aberdeen's combination of course quality and graduate outcomes is genuinely underrated.
For a broader view of how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
