Best Universities for Occupational Therapy in the UK 2027
Swansea University tops our 2027 occupational therapy ranking with 147 points, achieving 94% academic support and 96% teaching quality. University of Worcester comes second with 135 points and 95% teaching quality. York St John University is third with 126 points. We ranked 40 UK universities offering occupational therapy degrees across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Occupational therapy graduate earnings are tightly clustered because most graduates enter NHS Band 5, which sets a national starting salary. The apparent range from £20,000 (Buckinghamshire New University) to £32,000 (London South Bank University, 37th) primarily reflects London weighting, NHS location supplements and the timing of HCPC registration relative to data collection. Glasgow Caledonian University (5th) achieves 100% academic support - the only institution in this field to do so. Brunel University London (35th) has the lowest academic support at 48% and lowest teaching quality at 62%.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Occupational Therapy University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea University Swansea | £29,000 | 79% | 96% | 94% | 147 |
| 2 | University of Worcester Worcester | £29,000 | 79% | 95% | 90% | 135 |
| 3 | York St John University York | £28,000 | 80% | 89% | 89% | 126 |
| 4 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne | £28,500 | 74% | 91% | 86% | 124 |
| 5 | Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow | £30,000 | 71% | 97% | 100% | 120 |
| 6 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth | £28,500 | 71% | 92% | 94% | 119 |
| 7 | Glyndwr University, Wrexham Wrexham | £28,500 | 74% | 91% | 84% | 117 |
| 8 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich | £28,500 | 79% | 91% | 87% | 115 |
| 9 | Cardiff University Cardiff | £28,500 | 71% | 86% | 95% | 114 |
| 10 | University of Salford Salford | £28,500 | 73% | 95% | 95% | 113 |
| 11 | University of Sunderland Sunderland | £29,000 | 74% | 93% | 97% | 112 |
| 12 | University of Liverpool Liverpool | £28,500 | 71% | 88% | 99% | 111 |
| 13 | University of Essex Colchester | £29,000 | 74% | 90% | 90% | 106 |
| 14 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol | £28,500 | 74% | 81% | 79% | 104 |
| 15 | Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme | £29,000 | 81% | 88% | 93% | 101 |
| 16 | University of Plymouth Plymouth | £28,500 | 75% | 77% | 77% | 100 |
| 17 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham | £28,000 | 76% | 80% | 87% | 97 |
| 18 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester | £29,000 | 76% | 86% | 79% | 93 |
| 18 | Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh Edinburgh | £30,000 | 78% | 89% | 89% | 93 |
| 18 | University of Cumbria Carlisle | £28,500 | 77% | 94% | 83% | 93 |
| 19 | University of Bradford Bradford | £28,500 | 71% | 93% | 94% | 92 |
| 20 | University of Derby Derby | £28,500 | 74% | 92% | 85% | 91 |
| 21 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford | £28,000 | 74% | 83% | 83% | 90 |
| 22 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury | £28,500 | 73% | 80% | 71% | 89 |
| 23 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds | £28,500 | 70% | 86% | 72% | 86 |
| 24 | University of Bedfordshire Luton | £28,000 | 68% | 69% | 89% | 79 |
| 24 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield | £28,500 | 73% | 72% | 76% | 79 |
| 25 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield | £28,500 | 74% | 75% | 92% | 77 |
| 26 | Teesside University Middlesbrough | £29,500 | 78% | 91% | 86% | 76 |
| 27 | University of Southampton Southampton | £28,000 | 76% | 81% | 92% | 73 |
| 28 | Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe | £20,000 | 70% | 93% | 93% | 72 |
| 29 | University of Central Lancashire Preston | £28,500 | 71% | 84% | 93% | 69 |
| 30 | University of Northampton Northampton | £28,500 | 75% | 87% | 86% | 68 |
| 31 | Coventry University Coventry | £28,500 | 72% | 74% | 61% | 66 |
| 32 | University of East London London | £31,000 | 68% | 86% | 76% | 58 |
| 33 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton | £28,000 | 71% | 88% | 83% | 55 |
| 34 | University of Roehampton London | £26,000 | 72% | 84% | 81% | 48 |
| 35 | Brunel University London Uxbridge | £30,000 | 68% | 62% | 48% | 47 |
| 36 | City St George's, University of London London | £29,000 | 67% | 71% | 79% | 41 |
| 37 | London South Bank University London | £32,000 | 68% | 71% | 70% | 39 |
What the ranking tells you about studying occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a regulated Allied Health Profession. All UK OT programmes must be approved by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and HCPC registration is legally required to practise. With 40 universities in this ranking, programme differences in fieldwork placement quality, caseload variety and supervision structure are significant. Course delivery scores are especially meaningful for a practice-based profession where supervised clinical hours directly shape graduate competence.
Graduate earnings: why the range is misleading
Most OT graduates enter NHS Band 5, which sets a national starting salary of approximately £28,500 in England. The apparent range from £20,000 to £32,000 reflects three factors unrelated to programme quality: London High Cost Area Supplements (adding £2,000 to £5,000+ for London Trusts), the timing of HCPC registration relative to data collection, and NHS Scotland and Wales pay scales. London South Bank (37th, last) producing £32,000 and BNU (28th) producing £20,000 are both explained by these structural factors, not course quality.
Brunel at 35th: 48% academic support and 62% teaching quality
Brunel University London ranks 35th with 47 points and achieves 48% academic support and 62% teaching quality - both the lowest in this field by a significant margin. The next-lowest academic support is Coventry at 61%. For a practice-based health profession degree where academic support and teaching quality directly affect how students navigate clinical placements, 48% academic support requires direct investigation before any application.
Glasgow Caledonian University at 5th achieves 100% academic support - the only institution in this 40-programme field to do so - alongside 97% teaching quality and £30,000 graduate earnings. GCU ranks 5th with 120 points, held at that position by modest safety and sustainability scores. University of Liverpool (12th) achieves 99% academic support - second-highest in the field. For students prioritising the strongest-measured academic support in an applied clinical degree, GCU and Liverpool provide the two strongest data cases.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking. For graduate employment data, see the employability ranking.
