Best Universities for Philosophy in the UK 2027
Swansea University tops our 2027 philosophy ranking with 157 points, achieving 100% academic support and 95% teaching quality. Durham University comes second with 143 points. University of Exeter is third with 142 points and 97% academic support. We ranked 54 UK universities offering philosophy degrees across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Philosophy graduate earnings range from £16,500 (University of Wales Trinity Saint David) to £34,000 (London School of Economics, joint 21st). UCL (24th) produces £33,500. Oxford (joint 14th) produces £33,000. Oxford Brookes (11th), University of Warwick (joint 13th), University of Sheffield (joint 16th), Keele (joint 18th), Leeds Trinity (27th) and University of Chichester (joint 31st) all achieve 100% academic support. University of Winchester (34th) has the lowest academic support at 62% and the lowest teaching quality at 67%.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Philosophy University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea University Swansea |
£24,000 | 79% | 95% | 100% | 157 |
| 2 | Durham University Durham |
£31,000 | 78% | 88% | 95% | 143 |
| 3 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£28,000 | 79% | 87% | 97% | 142 |
| 4 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£25,000 | 74% | 99% | 98% | 141 |
| 5 | Bangor University Bangor |
£23,000 | 76% | 94% | 94% | 136 |
| 6 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£26,500 | 78% | 93% | 95% | 135 |
| 6 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£24,500 | 79% | 94% | 92% | 135 |
| 7 | York St John University York |
£24,000 | 80% | 93% | 90% | 132 |
| 8 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£30,000 | 73% | 92% | 90% | 130 |
| 9 | University of St Andrews St Andrews |
£32,000 | 84% | 94% | 99% | 129 |
| 10 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£24,000 | 76% | 92% | 97% | 124 |
| 11 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford |
£25,000 | 74% | 100% | 100% | 122 |
| 12 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£25,000 | 73% | 92% | 90% | 121 |
| 12 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£25,000 | 82% | 98% | 95% | 121 |
| 13 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£24,500 | 79% | 92% | 88% | 120 |
| 13 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£24,000 | 75% | 95% | 96% | 120 |
| 13 | University of Warwick Coventry |
£32,000 | 74% | 98% | 100% | 120 |
| 14 | University of Oxford Oxford |
£33,000 | 76% | 91% | 91% | 119 |
| 14 | Cardiff University Cardiff |
£24,000 | 71% | 91% | 94% | 119 |
| 15 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£27,000 | 74% | 94% | 90% | 118 |
| 16 | University of Reading Reading |
£26,000 | 74% | 85% | 90% | 117 |
| 16 | University of Sheffield Sheffield |
£26,500 | 75% | 92% | 100% | 117 |
| 17 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£24,000 | 73% | 95% | 89% | 115 |
| 18 | Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme |
£24,000 | 81% | 91% | 100% | 114 |
| 18 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£26,000 | 71% | 92% | 90% | 114 |
| 19 | University of York York |
£24,000 | 77% | 91% | 93% | 112 |
| 19 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£25,000 | 76% | 92% | 92% | 112 |
| 19 | Coventry University Coventry |
£25,000 | 72% | 98% | 91% | 112 |
| 20 | University of Nottingham Nottingham |
£28,500 | 74% | 95% | 99% | 110 |
| 21 | University of Essex Colchester |
£25,000 | 74% | 90% | 86% | 108 |
| 21 | London School of Economics and Political Science London |
£34,000 | 69% | 90% | 90% | 108 |
| 21 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£20,000 | 70% | 95% | 96% | 108 |
| 22 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£30,000 | 76% | 96% | 98% | 107 |
| 23 | King's College London London |
£30,000 | 67% | 91% | 92% | 105 |
| 24 | UCL (University College London) London |
£33,500 | 68% | 91% | 89% | 102 |
| 25 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£24,500 | 74% | 87% | 87% | 100 |
| 25 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£25,000 | 70% | 92% | 84% | 100 |
| 25 | University of Cambridge Cambridge |
£27,000 | 76% | 93% | 98% | 100 |
| 26 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£16,500 | 79% | 89% | 93% | 98 |
| 27 | Leeds Trinity University Leeds |
£19,500 | 78% | 100% | 100% | 97 |
| 28 | University of Chester Chester |
£23,000 | 78% | 90% | 92% | 96 |
| 29 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£28,000 | 72% | 94% | 94% | 95 |
| 29 | University of Dundee Dundee |
£26,500 | 75% | 95% | 98% | 95 |
| 30 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£25,000 | 71% | 81% | 81% | 91 |
| 31 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£24,000 | 77% | 85% | 92% | 88 |
| 31 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£25,000 | 80% | 100% | 100% | 88 |
| 32 | Bishop Grosseteste University Lincoln |
£17,000 | 84% | 79% | 85% | 85 |
| 32 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£23,000 | 80% | 91% | 93% | 85 |
| 33 | Newman University, Birmingham Birmingham |
£30,000 | 83% | 96% | 97% | 83 |
| 34 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£23,000 | 82% | 67% | 62% | 80 |
| 35 | University of Stirling Stirling |
£23,500 | 78% | 76% | 91% | 72 |
| 36 | University of Hull Hull |
£26,000 | 76% | 84% | 93% | 70 |
| 37 | University of Roehampton London |
£27,500 | 72% | 91% | 91% | 65 |
| 38 | Goldsmiths, University of London London |
£27,000 | 64% | 87% | 79% | 51 |
What the ranking tells you about studying philosophy
Philosophy is one of the most analytically rigorous humanities degrees in the UK. It trains students to think clearly about fundamental questions — ethics, logic, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, political philosophy — and develops precision in argument, analysis and written communication that transfers powerfully to law, finance, consulting, the civil service and graduate roles across sectors. With 54 universities in this ranking, the variation in research specialisation, tutorial intensity and seminar quality is significant.
LSE at joint 21st: £34,000 — the highest philosophy graduate earnings in the UK
London School of Economics ranks joint 21st with 108 points and produces philosophy graduates earning £34,000 — the highest in this field. LSE offers philosophy primarily within its Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method department and through joint honours programmes with economics, politics and mathematics. Its graduates predominantly access finance, consulting, public policy and law at premium entry levels — driven by LSE's employer connections and graduate network rather than by a specialist philosophical career path. LSE ranks joint 21st because London's maximum cost of living and the second-lowest student satisfaction in the field (69%) suppress the overall score. UCL (24th) produces £33,500 — second-highest — from a similarly London-suppressed position.
Oxford at joint 14th: £33,000 — and below ten other institutions
University of Oxford ranks joint 14th with 119 points, achieving 91% academic support and 91% teaching quality — both above the field average — and producing graduates earning £33,000. Oxford ranks 14th because Oxford's cost of living is high and its sustainability and social life scores are modest relative to the leading universities. Oxford's PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) is the most prominent joint honours programme in UK academia and produces a disproportionate share of high-earning graduates in politics, law, finance and the civil service. Its 14th-place position is a city-metrics story, not a course quality story. Cambridge (joint 25th, 100 points) ranks 11 places below Oxford — again entirely driven by cost of living and sustainability penalties.
Oxford Brookes (11th), Warwick (joint 13th), Sheffield (joint 16th), Keele (joint 18th), Leeds Trinity (27th) and Chichester (joint 31st) all achieve 100% academic support. Among these, Oxford Brookes and Leeds Trinity achieve 100% on both metrics. Warwick's 100% academic support alongside £32,000 earnings makes it the strongest dual performance in the top 20 on both dimensions. For students comparing Oxford Brookes with University of Oxford — both in the same city, one ranked 11th, one ranked 14th — Brookes achieves higher course delivery scores on both metrics (100%/100% versus Oxford's 91%/91%) while producing £25,000 graduates versus Oxford's £33,000.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
