Best Universities for Fashion Design in the UK 2027
Bath Spa University tops our 2027 fashion design ranking with 153 points, combining 96% on both teaching quality and academic support with the highest sustainability score in the field. Northumbria University comes second with 142 points. Cardiff Metropolitan University is third with 138 points and 95% teaching quality. We ranked 49 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Fashion design graduate earnings range from £17,000 (University of Bedfordshire) to £30,000 (University of Hertfordshire at 20th). Leeds Art University (4th) achieves the highest student satisfaction in the ranking at 86%. University of Edinburgh (8th) achieves 100% academic support. University of Central Lancashire (joint 21st) achieves 100% academic support and 98% teaching quality. University of South Wales (joint 24th) has the lowest academic support (55%) and lowest teaching quality (68%) of any fashion design department in the UK. London Metropolitan University (33rd) achieves 100% teaching quality but the second-lowest graduate earnings at £19,500.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Fashion Design University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£22,500 | 79% | 96% | 96% | 153 |
| 2 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£22,500 | 74% | 91% | 91% | 142 |
| 3 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£24,000 | 75% | 95% | 76% | 138 |
| 4 | Leeds Art University Leeds |
£20,000 | 86% | 95% | 96% | 130 |
| 5 | Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow |
£23,500 | 71% | 98% | 92% | 129 |
| 6 | Falmouth University Falmouth |
£25,000 | 82% | 85% | 89% | 125 |
| 7 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£24,500 | 74% | 83% | 83% | 124 |
| 7 | University for the Creative Arts Canterbury / Epsom / Farnham / Rochester |
£24,000 | 82% | 93% | 86% | 124 |
| 8 | University of Edinburgh Edinburgh |
£24,000 | 74% | 95% | 100% | 123 |
| 9 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£24,000 | 73% | 89% | 91% | 122 |
| 9 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£24,000 | 70% | 91% | 94% | 122 |
| 10 | Robert Gordon University Aberdeen |
£24,000 | 77% | 88% | 90% | 121 |
| 11 | University of Sunderland Sunderland |
£23,000 | 74% | 90% | 88% | 120 |
| 12 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£25,000 | 73% | 89% | 80% | 119 |
| 12 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£24,000 | 76% | 90% | 85% | 119 |
| 13 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£21,000 | 70% | 93% | 82% | 118 |
| 13 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£25,000 | 71% | 94% | 92% | 118 |
| 14 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£24,000 | 74% | 82% | 89% | 117 |
| 15 | University of Salford Salford |
£24,500 | 73% | 91% | 84% | 116 |
| 16 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£24,000 | 72% | 86% | 90% | 115 |
| 17 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£24,000 | 70% | 84% | 88% | 113 |
| 17 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£24,000 | 79% | 85% | 87% | 113 |
| 17 | University of the Arts London London |
£23,500 | 81% | 86% | 88% | 113 |
| 18 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£20,000 | 72% | 83% | 82% | 110 |
| 19 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£24,000 | 69% | 91% | 88% | 107 |
| 20 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£30,000 | 71% | 80% | 82% | 106 |
| 21 | Arts University Bournemouth Bournemouth |
£24,500 | 83% | 81% | 65% | 105 |
| 21 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£24,000 | 71% | 98% | 100% | 105 |
| 22 | University of Chester Chester |
£23,000 | 78% | 82% | 85% | 98 |
| 22 | Teesside University Middlesbrough |
£24,000 | 78% | 98% | 95% | 98 |
| 23 | Norwich University of the Arts Norwich |
£24,000 | 85% | 81% | 69% | 97 |
| 24 | University of South Wales Pontypridd |
£23,000 | 72% | 68% | 55% | 96 |
| 24 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£27,000 | 80% | 79% | 92% | 96 |
| 25 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£24,000 | 76% | 89% | 87% | 95 |
| 26 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£24,000 | 77% | 83% | 90% | 94 |
| 27 | Staffordshire University Stoke-on-Trent |
£23,500 | 72% | 88% | 90% | 93 |
| 28 | University of West London London |
£28,000 | 72% | 81% | 70% | 92 |
| 29 | University of Derby Derby |
£24,000 | 74% | 77% | 75% | 90 |
| 29 | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh |
£20,000 | 75% | 82% | 92% | 90 |
| 29 | University of Northampton Northampton |
£24,000 | 75% | 91% | 96% | 90 |
| 30 | University of Westminster London |
£25,000 | 68% | 92% | 88% | 88 |
| 31 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£24,500 | 74% | 70% | 86% | 87 |
| 31 | Coventry University Coventry |
£24,000 | 72% | 80% | 77% | 87 |
| 32 | University of East London London |
£29,000 | 68% | 88% | 88% | 86 |
| 33 | London Metropolitan University London |
£19,500 | 66% | 100% | 95% | 72 |
| 34 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£17,000 | 68% | 73% | 57% | 70 |
| 35 | Solent University Southampton |
£24,000 | 71% | 75% | 81% | 67 |
| 36 | Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe |
£24,000 | 70% | 77% | 71% | 64 |
| 37 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£22,000 | 80% | 85% | 86% | 62 |
What the ranking tells you about studying fashion design
Fashion design is a subject where industry connections, studio facility quality, placement access and graduate network matter as much as — and sometimes more than — the conventional metrics that shape university rankings. This ranking gives you data on the student experience metrics that directly affect your three years: teaching quality, academic support, student satisfaction, and the city environment you will learn in.
The UAL question: why it ranks 17th
University of the Arts London ranks joint 17th in this ranking with 113 points. UAL — which encompasses Central Saint Martins, London College of Fashion, Ravensbourne, Chelsea College of Arts and others — is the most globally recognised fashion education brand in the UK and the one most prominently connected to the British fashion industry. It ranks 17th because London's cost of living is the highest in the UK (index score 91 — maximum in this field), and because its course delivery scores of 86% teaching quality and 88% academic support sit below the top 10 median. UAL's industry placement depth, graduate network and graduate scheme access are not captured in this ranking but are genuinely significant for students aiming at the competitive end of the fashion industry. Students comparing UAL with first-ranked Bath Spa or second-ranked Northumbria should understand what each ranking position reflects and what it does not.
University of South Wales: the most important course quality warning
University of South Wales ranks joint 24th with 96 points and has the lowest academic support in this entire ranking at 55% — a 37-percentage-point gap below Edinburgh's 100% at 8th and 21 percentage points below the next-lowest (University of Bedfordshire at 57%). Its teaching quality of 68% is also the lowest in the field. For a studio-intensive, practically taught degree where the quality of tutor feedback, crits, and one-to-one supervision directly shapes your portfolio and your learning, academic support of 55% is the most significant course quality warning in this table.
University of Central Lancashire (joint 21st) achieves 100% academic support and 98% teaching quality — the highest academic support in the ranking alongside Edinburgh, and a strong teaching quality figure. UCLan's fashion design programme is based in Preston and has strong industry connections with the North West textiles and retail sector. Its low overall ranking reflects Preston's low social life score, low sustainability index and low earnings metrics — not its course quality. For students who want outstanding course delivery in a genuinely affordable city, UCLan's data profile is worth examining seriously before dismissing it on rank position alone.
Arts University Bournemouth: a quality concern
Arts University Bournemouth ranks joint 21st with 105 points and achieves the highest student satisfaction in this part of the table at 83%. But its academic support of 65% is the third-lowest in the ranking — above only University of South Wales (55%) and University of Bedfordshire (57%). AUB has a strong creative arts reputation and is one of the more sought-after specialist arts universities, but the 65% academic support score for fashion design is a specific course-level data point that applicants should check against — particularly when programmes at Falmouth, Northumbria and Bath Spa achieve 89% to 96% on the same metric.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
