Best Universities for English Literature in the UK 2027
Swansea University tops our 2027 English literature ranking with 153 points, achieving 100% academic support and 97% teaching quality alongside the highest sustainability score in the field. Durham University is second with 145 points. York St John University ranks third with 141 points and 98% teaching quality. We ranked 54 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
English literature graduate earnings range from £17,500 (Bishop Grosseteste University) to £29,000 (Edge Hill University and University of Southampton). Seven universities in this ranking achieve 100% academic support, including Swansea, UWE Bristol, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, Brookes, Winchester, Surrey and Bishop Grosseteste. Oxford ranks joint 11th — held back by city costs. Edge Hill University (14th) produces the highest graduate earnings at £29,000 but has the lowest academic support (60%) and lowest teaching quality (70%) of any university in the ranking. Bishop Grosseteste University (17th) achieves 100% on both course delivery metrics.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
English Literature University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea University Swansea |
£24,000 | 79% | 97% | 100% | 153 |
| 2 | Durham University Durham |
£27,000 | 78% | 93% | 94% | 145 |
| 3 | York St John University York |
£23,000 | 80% | 98% | 94% | 141 |
| 4 | University of Worcester Worcester |
£22,500 | 79% | 89% | 95% | 134 |
| 4 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£20,500 | 74% | 94% | 97% | 134 |
| 5 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£24,500 | 79% | 85% | 97% | 133 |
| 6 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£24,000 | 74% | 94% | 100% | 132 |
| 6 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£25,000 | 79% | 98% | 96% | 132 |
| 7 | Bangor University Bangor |
£21,000 | 76% | 100% | 82% | 130 |
| 8 | University of Reading Reading |
£24,000 | 74% | 95% | 95% | 129 |
| 9 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£23,000 | 70% | 99% | 97% | 128 |
| 10 | Cardiff University Cardiff |
£25,000 | 71% | 94% | 94% | 126 |
| 11 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£24,000 | 72% | 92% | 97% | 125 |
| 11 | University of Oxford Oxford |
£27,000 | 76% | 98% | 97% | 125 |
| 12 | University of Salford Salford |
£25,000 | 73% | 97% | 94% | 124 |
| 13 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£27,000 | 71% | 97% | 100% | 120 |
| 13 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£26,000 | 82% | 98% | 96% | 120 |
| 14 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£29,000 | 83% | 70% | 60% | 119 |
| 15 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£24,000 | 71% | 92% | 94% | 118 |
| 16 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£24,000 | 70% | 93% | 100% | 113 |
| 16 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£20,000 | 76% | 94% | 100% | 113 |
| 16 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford |
£25,000 | 74% | 95% | 95% | 113 |
| 17 | Bishop Grosseteste University Lincoln |
£17,500 | 84% | 100% | 100% | 109 |
| 18 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£23,000 | 75% | 86% | 96% | 108 |
| 19 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£24,000 | 82% | 89% | 100% | 106 |
| 20 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£25,000 | 72% | 91% | 91% | 105 |
| 20 | University of Sheffield Sheffield |
£24,000 | 75% | 93% | 93% | 105 |
| 20 | Coventry University Coventry |
£24,000 | 72% | 95% | 89% | 105 |
| 21 | University of Essex Colchester |
£27,000 | 74% | 83% | 83% | 104 |
| 21 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£28,000 | 74% | 94% | 92% | 104 |
| 21 | University of Greenwich London |
£26,000 | 69% | 98% | 86% | 104 |
| 22 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£25,000 | 74% | 87% | 87% | 103 |
| 22 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£24,000 | 69% | 92% | 92% | 103 |
| 23 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£26,000 | 70% | 86% | 86% | 102 |
| 23 | University of Surrey Guildford |
£26,000 | 78% | 88% | 100% | 102 |
| 24 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£29,000 | 76% | 94% | 96% | 100 |
| 25 | University of Warwick Coventry |
£26,000 | 74% | 93% | 89% | 99 |
| 26 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£24,000 | 77% | 95% | 97% | 95 |
| 27 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£25,000 | 80% | 91% | 97% | 92 |
| 27 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£22,500 | 77% | 93% | 93% | 92 |
| 28 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£23,000 | 70% | 85% | 85% | 91 |
| 29 | Aston University Birmingham |
£27,000 | 75% | 97% | 97% | 90 |
| 29 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£25,000 | 71% | 98% | 93% | 90 |
| 30 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£28,000 | 69% | 93% | 91% | 88 |
| 31 | University of Chester Chester |
£24,000 | 78% | 83% | 85% | 87 |
| 32 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£26,000 | 72% | 91% | 91% | 83 |
| 33 | St Mary's University, Twickenham Twickenham |
£24,000 | 80% | 88% | 85% | 82 |
| 33 | University of Hull Hull |
£27,500 | 76% | 93% | 94% | 82 |
| 34 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£22,500 | 72% | 72% | 64% | 78 |
| 35 | Staffordshire University Stoke-on-Trent |
£20,500 | 72% | 90% | 92% | 76 |
| 36 | University of Westminster London |
£26,000 | 68% | 86% | 93% | 71 |
| 37 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£24,000 | 71% | 97% | 90% | 68 |
| 38 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£20,000 | 80% | 98% | 95% | 67 |
| 39 | University of Roehampton London |
£25,500 | 72% | 92% | 93% | 62 |
What the ranking tells you about studying English literature
English literature is one of the most widely offered humanities degrees in the UK and one of the most varied in terms of academic focus — from medieval manuscripts to contemporary fiction, from postcolonial theory to creative writing pathways. With 54 universities in this ranking, the variation in teaching quality, course delivery and graduate outcomes is significant. This ranking scores all 54 on eight consistent metrics, giving you comparative data that challenges some widely held assumptions about which departments offer the best learning environment.
Oxford at joint 11th: where the data positions a prestigious department
University of Oxford ranks joint 11th in this field with 125 points — the same total as Liverpool John Moores University. Oxford achieves 98% teaching quality and 97% academic support, which are strong by any measure, and produces graduates earning £27,000. It ranks joint 11th rather than higher primarily because of Oxford's cost of living, which carries one of the highest index scores in the ranking, and a moderate sustainability score. Swansea (1st), Durham (2nd) and York St John (3rd) all rank above Oxford on the combined metrics. For students who want to understand where course quality and overall student experience align, Oxford's teaching and support scores are genuine, but the overall student experience is significantly more expensive and less affordable than the universities above it in this table.
Edge Hill at 14th: the most striking data anomaly in the ranking
Edge Hill University ranks 14th with 119 points, producing the joint-highest graduate earnings in the field at £29,000 alongside Southampton. But it has the lowest academic support score in this entire ranking at 60% and the lowest teaching quality at 70% — both substantially below every other institution in the table. The next-lowest academic support is University of Brighton at 64%, and the next-lowest teaching quality is Brighton at 72%. Twelve percentage points separates Edge Hill from the next-lowest academic support. Its overall 14th position is sustained by the highest safety score in the ranking (100%), high student satisfaction (83%) and strong city and sustainability metrics. For a subject where the quality of seminar teaching, reading supervision and one-to-one academic feedback directly determines the depth of your critical development, a 60% academic support score at rank 14 is a significant warning.
Bishop Grosseteste University at 17th is the most notable hidden value in this ranking. A small Church of England HEI in Lincoln, it achieves 100% on both teaching quality and academic support — the only university in this 54-institution ranking to achieve the perfect double. It has the highest student satisfaction of any institution in the top 20 at 84%. Graduate earnings of £17,500 are the lowest in the ranking, reflecting a small cohort entering entry-level creative, education and community roles. For students who want exceptionally well-measured course delivery in a genuinely affordable city, Bishop Grosseteste's data profile is worth taking seriously regardless of its size and name recognition.
UEA's position in English literature
University of East Anglia (joint 6th, 132 points) achieves 98% teaching quality and 96% academic support. UEA is one of the few institutions in the UK where the English literature department has a genuinely distinctive academic identity — built partly on its association with the UK's leading Creative Writing MA and its connection to the literary estates of major twentieth-century writers. Its overall joint 6th position reflects strong teaching data, good student satisfaction and an affordable city. For students specifically interested in literature's relationship with creative writing, publishing and literary culture, UEA's combination of data and identity is the strongest in this ranking.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
