Best Universities for Business and Management in the UK 2027
Bangor University tops our 2027 business and management ranking with 242 points — achieving 100% on both teaching quality and academic support while offering the most affordable cost of living of any business school in this dataset. Durham University comes second with 240 points and Swansea University third with 235. We ranked 114 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Business and management is the most widely studied undergraduate degree in the UK, with 114 universities in this ranking. Graduate earnings range from £18,000 (Glyndwr) to £49,000 (Buckinghamshire New University) — the widest spread of any subject in our dataset. Oxford ranks 8th with graduate earnings of £45,000 and Buckinghamshire New University ranks 46th with the highest earnings of all at £49,000. Understanding why requires reading beyond the headline number.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Business and Management University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bangor University Bangor |
£24,000 | 76% | 100% | 100% | 242 |
| 2 | Durham University Durham |
£35,500 | 78% | 89% | 89% | 240 |
| 3 | Swansea University Swansea |
£28,000 | 79% | 82% | 90% | 235 |
| 4 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£25,000 | 79% | 85% | 91% | 231 |
| 5 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£33,000 | 79% | 82% | 87% | 226 |
| 6 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£32,500 | 73% | 89% | 89% | 216 |
| 7 | University of Oxford Oxford |
£45,000 | 76% | 90% | 92% | 215 |
| 8 | University of Reading Reading |
£30,000 | 74% | 77% | 93% | 214 |
| 8 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£28,500 | 74% | 84% | 90% | 214 |
| 9 | University of Worcester Worcester |
£25,000 | 79% | 74% | 88% | 213 |
| 9 | University of South Wales Pontypridd |
£27,500 | 72% | 94% | 93% | 213 |
| 10 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£26,000 | 73% | 93% | 92% | 212 |
| 11 | Glyndwr University, Wrexham Wrexham |
£18,000 | 74% | 90% | 90% | 210 |
| 12 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£23,500 | 72% | 94% | 96% | 209 |
| 13 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£24,000 | 83% | 81% | 90% | 206 |
| 14 | University of Plymouth Plymouth |
£27,000 | 75% | 84% | 86% | 205 |
| 15 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£26,500 | 78% | 85% | 85% | 204 |
| 16 | York St John University York |
£25,000 | 80% | 67% | 88% | 203 |
| 16 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£24,000 | 75% | 80% | 80% | 203 |
| 17 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£26,000 | 70% | 87% | 88% | 201 |
| 18 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£26,000 | 74% | 77% | 78% | 200 |
| 18 | Cardiff University Cardiff |
£29,500 | 71% | 81% | 89% | 200 |
| 19 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£27,000 | 73% | 81% | 91% | 198 |
| 20 | University of West London London |
£29,000 | 72% | 91% | 91% | 195 |
| 21 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£30,000 | 71% | 83% | 91% | 194 |
| 22 | Robert Gordon University Aberdeen |
£29,000 | 77% | 85% | 92% | 193 |
| 23 | University of Essex Colchester |
£31,000 | 74% | 84% | 87% | 192 |
| 23 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£28,000 | 76% | 84% | 88% | 192 |
| 23 | UCL (University College London) London |
£40,000 | 68% | 93% | 97% | 192 |
| 24 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£33,000 | 74% | 84% | 89% | 191 |
| 24 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£30,000 | 74% | 86% | 86% | 191 |
| 25 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford |
£28,000 | 74% | 88% | 89% | 190 |
| 26 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth |
£28,500 | 71% | 66% | 82% | 189 |
| 26 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£27,000 | 79% | 83% | 83% | 189 |
| 27 | University of Bath Bath |
£35,500 | 80% | 80% | 90% | 187 |
| 27 | London School of Economics and Political Science London |
£40,000 | 69% | 88% | 91% | 187 |
| 27 | Coventry University Coventry |
£28,000 | 72% | 95% | 92% | 187 |
| 28 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£30,000 | 70% | 84% | 95% | 186 |
| 29 | University of Warwick Coventry |
£34,500 | 74% | 92% | 96% | 185 |
| 30 | SOAS University of London London |
£27,000 | 66% | 96% | 100% | 182 |
| 31 | University of York York |
£30,000 | 77% | 78% | 87% | 181 |
| 31 | University of Salford Salford |
£25,000 | 73% | 78% | 88% | 181 |
| 31 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£29,000 | 70% | 81% | 86% | 181 |
| 32 | University of Derby Derby |
£25,000 | 74% | 92% | 100% | 180 |
| 33 | King's College London London |
£35,000 | 67% | 86% | 86% | 177 |
| 34 | University of Sunderland Sunderland |
£20,000 | 74% | 91% | 87% | 176 |
| 35 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£29,500 | 82% | 82% | 89% | 175 |
| 36 | University of St Andrews St Andrews |
£33,000 | 84% | 84% | 90% | 175 |
| 37 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£32,000 | 75% | 70% | 82% | 174 |
| 37 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£28,000 | 76% | 75% | 80% | 174 |
| 37 | Falmouth University Falmouth |
£26,000 | 82% | 75% | 90% | 174 |
| 38 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£24,500 | 70% | 86% | 85% | 172 |
| 39 | Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh |
£25,000 | 72% | 73% | 84% | 171 |
| 40 | Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow |
£23,000 | 71% | 85% | 80% | 170 |
| 40 | University of Greenwich London |
£23,500 | 69% | 87% | 87% | 170 |
| 41 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£25,000 | 69% | 83% | 87% | 168 |
| 41 | University of Bradford Bradford |
£27,000 | 71% | 87% | 95% | 168 |
| 42 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£27,000 | 72% | 77% | 79% | 167 |
| 42 | University of Sheffield Sheffield |
£30,000 | 75% | 81% | 88% | 167 |
| 43 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£19,000 | 79% | 91% | 90% | 165 |
| 44 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£26,000 | 68% | 84% | 77% | 164 |
| 45 | Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe |
£49,000 | 70% | 96% | 96% | 162 |
| 46 | Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme |
£25,000 | 81% | 75% | 85% | 159 |
| 46 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£27,000 | 71% | 81% | 77% | 159 |
| 46 | Norwich University of the Arts Norwich |
£25,000 | 85% | 85% | 90% | 159 |
| 47 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£25,500 | 71% | 82% | 88% | 155 |
| 48 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£25,000 | 74% | 87% | 86% | 153 |
| 49 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£25,000 | 73% | 70% | 76% | 152 |
| 49 | University of Cumbria Carlisle |
£24,000 | 77% | 89% | 100% | 152 |
| 50 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£27,000 | 82% | 68% | 79% | 149 |
| 50 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£27,000 | 72% | 74% | 78% | 149 |
| 50 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£30,000 | 77% | 81% | 83% | 149 |
| 51 | University for the Creative Arts Canterbury / Epsom / Farnham / Rochester |
£24,000 | 82% | 59% | 81% | 148 |
| 51 | Solent University Southampton |
£26,000 | 71% | 100% | 100% | 148 |
| 52 | Queen Margaret University Edinburgh |
£25,000 | 78% | 93% | 94% | 147 |
| 53 | University of Leicester Leicester |
£30,000 | 73% | 76% | 86% | 146 |
| 53 | University of Surrey Guildford |
£30,000 | 78% | 78% | 77% | 146 |
| 54 | University of Aberdeen Aberdeen |
£28,500 | 76% | 77% | 83% | 145 |
| 55 | University of East London London |
£22,500 | 68% | 99% | 98% | 143 |
| 56 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£25,000 | 71% | 86% | 94% | 141 |
| 57 | Brunel University London Uxbridge |
£26,500 | 68% | 85% | 89% | 140 |
| 58 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£29,000 | 69% | 82% | 86% | 139 |
| 58 | Leeds Trinity University Leeds |
£25,500 | 78% | 90% | 95% | 139 |
| 59 | University of Nottingham Nottingham |
£31,000 | 74% | 78% | 83% | 138 |
| 59 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£28,000 | 80% | 78% | 95% | 138 |
| 59 | University of Strathclyde Glasgow |
£30,000 | 75% | 81% | 88% | 138 |
| 60 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£30,000 | 72% | 87% | 88% | 137 |
| 61 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£33,000 | 76% | 82% | 82% | 136 |
| 62 | University of Chester Chester |
£25,000 | 78% | 78% | 83% | 135 |
| 63 | St Mary's University, Twickenham Twickenham |
£25,000 | 80% | 75% | 81% | 134 |
| 63 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£27,000 | 77% | 85% | 88% | 134 |
| 64 | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh |
£27,500 | 75% | 83% | 73% | 130 |
| 65 | University of Dundee Dundee |
£29,000 | 75% | 84% | 93% | 129 |
| 65 | University of Suffolk Ipswich |
£21,000 | 76% | 98% | 86% | 129 |
| 66 | Royal Agricultural University Cirencester |
£27,000 | 85% | 64% | 83% | 128 |
| 67 | Harper Adams University Newport, Shropshire |
£28,000 | 88% | 84% | 88% | 125 |
| 68 | University of Stirling Stirling |
£27,000 | 78% | 87% | 83% | 120 |
| 69 | University of Westminster London |
£27,500 | 68% | 80% | 84% | 118 |
| 69 | Aston University Birmingham |
£28,000 | 75% | 80% | 87% | 118 |
| 70 | University of Hull Hull |
£25,000 | 76% | 92% | 95% | 115 |
| 71 | Teesside University Middlesbrough |
£30,000 | 78% | 75% | 92% | 114 |
| 71 | City St George's, University of London London |
£35,000 | 67% | 84% | 81% | 114 |
| 72 | Middlesex University Middlesex |
£26,000 | 69% | 85% | 81% | 113 |
| 73 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£28,000 | 80% | 93% | 91% | 112 |
| 74 | University of Northampton Northampton |
£25,000 | 75% | 83% | 83% | 107 |
| 74 | London Metropolitan University London |
£25,000 | 66% | 90% | 97% | 107 |
| 75 | University of the West of Scotland Glasgow |
£21,000 | 73% | 85% | 80% | 106 |
| 76 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£26,000 | 71% | 89% | 91% | 103 |
| 76 | London South Bank University London |
£28,000 | 68% | 93% | 89% | 103 |
| 77 | Staffordshire University Stoke-on-Trent |
£20,000 | 72% | 63% | 81% | 95 |
| 77 | University College Birmingham Birmingham |
£26,000 | 79% | 93% | 80% | 95 |
| 78 | Abertay University Dundee |
£27,000 | 72% | 66% | 79% | 92 |
| 79 | University of Roehampton London |
£26,000 | 72% | 81% | 81% | 83 |
| 80 | Newman University Birmingham |
£22,500 | 83% | 80% | 77% | 60 |
What the ranking tells you about studying business and management
Business and management is the most widely studied undergraduate degree in the UK, which means the variation in quality, focus and graduate outcomes across 114 universities is enormous. This ranking applies the same eight metrics to all of them — giving you a comparative data set that most applicant guidance does not. The results are genuinely counterintuitive in places. Bangor University tops the table. Oxford ranks 7th. Buckinghamshire New University (46th) produces the highest-earning graduates of any university in this ranking at £49,000. Understanding the data is more useful than taking the positions at face value.
Bangor at 1st: why 100% on course delivery matters
Bangor University tops this ranking with 242 points, achieving 100% on both teaching quality and academic support — one of only five universities in this field to achieve that double. It benefits from the lowest cost of living index of any university in the top 10 (index 59) and a strong safety score. Graduate earnings of £24,000 are below the field average, which reflects both the Welsh graduate labour market and the types of management roles Bangor graduates typically enter. Durham comes second (240 points, £35,500 graduate earnings) and Swansea third (235 points). All three represent strong all-round student experience packages for business students who are not singularly focused on starting salary.
The Buckinghamshire New University anomaly
Buckinghamshire New University ranks 46th overall with 162 points, yet its graduate earnings of £49,000 are the highest of any business school in this 114-university dataset — significantly above Oxford (£45,000), LSE (£40,000) and UCL (£40,000). This is almost certainly explained by the specific business programmes offered at Bucks — its aviation and airline management programmes have historically produced graduates entering well-paid aviation management roles. The institution-level graduate earnings figure does not reflect general business management outcomes. If you are specifically interested in aviation-related business management, Bucks is genuinely worth researching. If you want a general business degree, the £49,000 figure should not be read as a universal outcome from this university.
LSE and Oxford: reading the data correctly. LSE ranks joint 27th (187 points) despite producing £40,000 average graduate earnings. Oxford ranks 7th (215 points) with £45,000 graduate earnings — the second-highest in the field. Both are held down by London or Oxford cost of living. LSE's student satisfaction score of 69% is one of the lower scores in the top 30. Oxford's satisfaction is 76%, which is solid. For students who want to work in finance, consulting or international business, the network and brand value of LSE and Oxford in those sectors is real and not captured in this ranking. But for students comparing the overall student experience, the data shows that Bangor, Durham, Swansea and Exeter all offer a measurably better combined package on the metrics this ranking uses.
Business accreditation: what to look for before applying
Several major business school accreditations affect how employers perceive your degree. AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) is the most globally recognised, held by fewer than 5% of business schools worldwide. EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) and AMBA (Association of MBAs) are also respected. Few UK undergraduate programmes highlight these accreditations explicitly, but the departments they belong to will note them. For undergraduate business and management, the more practical pre-application checks are whether the programme offers an integrated placement year with supported employer partnerships, what specific specialisms are available (finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, international business), and whether the school has sector-specific industry connections relevant to your career interests. AACSB-accredited departments in this ranking include those at Bath, Warwick, Manchester and LSE.
Harper Adams and the management degree you might not have considered
Harper Adams University ranks 67th overall with 125 points and the highest student satisfaction of any university in the bottom half of this ranking at 88%. Its business management programmes have a rural, agri-business and land-based industry focus. If you are interested in food supply chain management, agricultural business or rural enterprise, Harper Adams has specialist industry connections and a placement network that is difficult to replicate at a general business school. Graduate earnings of £28,000 sit above the field average. It will not appear on most business applicants' shortlists and almost certainly should for the right type of student.
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.
