Best Universities for Biology in the UK 2027
Durham University tops our 2027 biology ranking with 155 points, performing consistently across all eight metrics and producing graduates earning £31,500 — the second-highest in this field. Edge Hill University comes second with 146 points, the highest student satisfaction in the ranking at 83% and the joint-highest academic support at 98%. University of Exeter is third with 143 points. We ranked 51 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Biology graduate earnings range from £22,000 (Leicester, Huddersfield) to £35,000 (Imperial College London). Imperial ranks 28th overall — London's cost of living is the key factor, not course quality. Oxford ranks 11th. Bath Spa University sits 4th, outperforming both institutions on the combined metrics. For students building a UCAS shortlist, this ranking challenges some of the assumptions that go into most biology applicant lists.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Biology University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durham University Durham |
£31,500 | 78% | 96% | 91% | 155 |
| 2 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£24,000 | 83% | 98% | 96% | 146 |
| 3 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£26,500 | 79% | 90% | 91% | 143 |
| 4 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£22,500 | 79% | 95% | 95% | 141 |
| 5 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£27,000 | 73% | 97% | 92% | 136 |
| 6 | Swansea University Swansea |
£26,000 | 79% | 81% | 83% | 133 |
| 6 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£26,000 | 79% | 93% | 93% | 133 |
| 7 | University of Essex Colchester |
£28,500 | 74% | 92% | 97% | 131 |
| 8 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£24,500 | 72% | 95% | 98% | 130 |
| 9 | University of Worcester Worcester |
£25,000 | 79% | 90% | 77% | 129 |
| 9 | University of St Andrews St Andrews |
£28,500 | 84% | 96% | 96% | 129 |
| 9 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£27,000 | 82% | 99% | 97% | 129 |
| 9 | Bangor University Bangor |
£24,000 | 76% | 86% | 86% | 128 |
| 10 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£24,000 | 76% | 98% | 96% | 127 |
| 11 | University of Oxford Oxford |
£29,500 | 76% | 93% | 89% | 125 |
| 12 | University of Salford Salford |
£25,000 | 73% | 97% | 97% | 124 |
| 13 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£25,000 | 73% | 95% | 95% | 121 |
| 14 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£29,000 | 73% | 84% | 89% | 120 |
| 14 | University of Bath Bath |
£28,000 | 80% | 91% | 94% | 120 |
| 15 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£27,000 | 74% | 88% | 88% | 114 |
| 15 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£24,000 | 70% | 95% | 95% | 114 |
| 16 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£24,000 | 73% | 87% | 90% | 112 |
| 16 | Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme |
£24,000 | 81% | 89% | 95% | 112 |
| 17 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£26,000 | 74% | 81% | 96% | 111 |
| 18 | University of York York |
£27,000 | 77% | 86% | 86% | 110 |
| 19 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£22,500 | 71% | 85% | 94% | 108 |
| 20 | University of Edinburgh Edinburgh |
£30,000 | 74% | 87% | 84% | 102 |
| 20 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£26,000 | 70% | 88% | 87% | 102 |
| 21 | University of Aberdeen Aberdeen |
£25,000 | 76% | 89% | 91% | 97 |
| 21 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£25,000 | 77% | 98% | 94% | 97 |
| 22 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£23,500 | 75% | 76% | 86% | 94 |
| 23 | University of Chester Chester |
£24,000 | 78% | 82% | 91% | 93 |
| 23 | University of Greenwich London |
£25,000 | 69% | 88% | 88% | 93 |
| 23 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£25,000 | 77% | 91% | 86% | 93 |
| 24 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£25,000 | 72% | 78% | 76% | 91 |
| 25 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£25,500 | 80% | 90% | 93% | 89 |
| 26 | University of Glasgow Glasgow |
£25,500 | 75% | 85% | 88% | 87 |
| 26 | University of Nottingham Nottingham |
£24,500 | 74% | 89% | 91% | 87 |
| 26 | University of Stirling Stirling |
£24,000 | 78% | 92% | 92% | 87 |
| 27 | University of Suffolk Ipswich |
£22,500 | 76% | 93% | 86% | 83 |
| 28 | Imperial College London London |
£35,000 | 66% | 93% | 90% | 80 |
| 28 | University of Hull Hull |
£27,000 | 76% | 96% | 89% | 80 |
| 29 | University of Leicester Leicester |
£22,000 | 73% | 79% | 94% | 79 |
| 30 | University of Derby Derby |
£23,500 | 74% | 79% | 74% | 78 |
| 30 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£26,000 | 69% | 87% | 87% | 78 |
| 31 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£22,000 | 74% | 72% | 88% | 77 |
| 32 | King's College London London |
£28,000 | 67% | 70% | 70% | 75 |
| 33 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£27,000 | 76% | 82% | 83% | 74 |
| 34 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£22,500 | 71% | 90% | 80% | 72 |
| 35 | University of Dundee Dundee |
£22,500 | 75% | 84% | 89% | 71 |
| 36 | Teesside University Middlesbrough |
£23,000 | 78% | 83% | 77% | 58 |
What the ranking tells you about studying biology
Biology is one of the most widely studied science degrees in the UK, available at over 50 universities with significant variation in focus, research intensity and graduate outcomes. This ranking scores all 51 universities on the metrics that matter across the full student experience. The result is a table that challenges the default assumption that the most prestigious names are always the best choice. Bath Spa University (4th) outranks Oxford (11th), Bristol (5th) and Edinburgh (20th). Lancaster (joint 9th) has the highest teaching quality score in the entire ranking at 99%. The data is worth understanding before finalising your list.
Lancaster, St Andrews and the case for non-obvious choices
Lancaster University (joint 9th, 129 points) has the highest teaching quality score in this entire ranking at 99% and achieves 97% on academic support — the second-highest double in the dataset. It also has the second-highest student satisfaction score at 82%, beaten only by St Andrews at 84%. St Andrews (also joint 9th, 129 points) combines the highest satisfaction in the field with 96% teaching quality, 96% academic support and graduate earnings of £28,500. Both universities rank several places above Manchester (20th), Edinburgh (20th) and Glasgow (26th) on the course quality metrics that most directly affect your learning experience. Neither appears on most applicants' biology shortlists. They both should.
Bath Spa 4th: what the data is telling you
Bath Spa University sits 4th overall with 141 points. It has the highest sustainability score in the entire ranking at 80.2, the joint-best cost of living advantage (index 82 — one of the lowest costs for any biology programme in the dataset), 95% on both teaching quality and academic support, and 79% student satisfaction. Graduate earnings of £22,500 are the lowest in the top five, which reflects the types of roles Bath Spa graduates typically enter: conservation, ecological consultancy, science education and environmental management. If those career paths interest you and you want a genuinely high-quality teaching environment in one of the UK's most beautiful cities, Bath Spa's data profile is compelling. If pharmaceutical or biotech research is the goal, the earnings data suggests you may be better served by a more research-intensive institution.
Imperial College London ranks 28th with 80 points, producing the highest-earning biology graduates in the dataset at £35,000 — £3,500 above the second-highest. London's cost of living (index 91 — highest bracket) is the dominant factor pulling it down, alongside the second-lowest student satisfaction score in the ranking at 66%. Imperial's biology programmes are research-intensive and feed strongly into competitive postgraduate pathways in life sciences and medicine. If you are targeting a research career in biomedical science, cancer biology or neuroscience, Imperial's laboratory environment and postgraduate placement record carry weight that this ranking cannot fully score. But the 66% satisfaction figure is a real data point worth taking seriously before applying.
King's College London: the lowest course metrics in the top 40
King's College London ranks 32nd with 75 points. It has the lowest student satisfaction in this ranking at 67%, and the joint-lowest teaching quality and academic support scores at 70% each. Graduate earnings of £28,000 are solid but do not stand out at this ranking position. King's biological sciences faculty has a strong research profile in cell biology, genetics and neuroscience. For students who want access to London's hospital and research networks and are prepared to prioritise research environment over taught course quality metrics, there is a case to be made. But for students who want to know what studying biology at King's is actually like in the classroom, these satisfaction and teaching scores are the most direct answer available.
For a broader view of how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking. For graduate employment data, see the employability ranking.
