Best Universities for Public Health in the UK 2027
University of West London tops our 2027 public health ranking with 61 points, achieving 100% academic support and 96% teaching quality. University of Manchester comes second with 56 points. University of Bradford is third with 53 points and 93% academic support. We ranked all 14 UK universities offering public health degrees across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Public health graduate earnings range from £23,000 (University of Central Lancashire, 11th) to £32,000 (Buckinghamshire New University, 6th). University of West London, Buckinghamshire New University, University of East London (8th) and University of Westminster (joint 10th) all achieve 100% academic support. Anglia Ruskin University (joint 10th) has the lowest academic support at 67% and University of Bedfordshire (joint 10th) has the lowest teaching quality at 70%.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Public Health University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of West London London |
£30,000 | 72% | 96% | 100% | 61 |
| 2 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£28,000 | 70% | 90% | 96% | 56 |
| 3 | University of Bradford Bradford |
£28,500 | 71% | 91% | 93% | 53 |
| 4 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£26,000 | 78% | 86% | 81% | 52 |
| 4 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£30,000 | 73% | 90% | 84% | 52 |
| 5 | University of Greenwich London |
£30,000 | 69% | 88% | 89% | 51 |
| 6 | Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe |
£32,000 | 70% | 95% | 100% | 47 |
| 7 | Coventry University Coventry |
£24,000 | 72% | 87% | 83% | 45 |
| 8 | University of East London London |
£31,000 | 68% | 88% | 100% | 44 |
| 9 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£28,000 | 71% | 83% | 85% | 37 |
| 10 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£28,000 | 68% | 70% | 69% | 36 |
| 10 | University of Westminster London |
£27,500 | 68% | 80% | 100% | 36 |
| 10 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£28,500 | 70% | 81% | 67% | 36 |
| 11 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£23,000 | 71% | 82% | 84% | 31 |
What the ranking tells you about studying public health
Public health is one of the smallest specialist undergraduate degree fields in the UK — offered at only 14 universities. It combines epidemiology, health promotion, environmental health, health policy, social determinants of health, research methods and population health science. With only 14 programmes, applicants are effectively comparing every institution in this table directly. Course delivery scores and the specific balance of academic and practical content in each programme are particularly important given the small field size.
University of Westminster at joint 10th: 100% academic support, 80% teaching quality
University of Westminster ranks joint 10th with 36 points and achieves 100% academic support — the joint-highest in the field alongside West London, BNU and UEL — but only 80% teaching quality, which is among the lower teaching quality scores in this ranking. Westminster ranks joint 10th rather than higher because of London's cost of living penalty. Its academic support score is strong; its teaching quality score is notably lower than the other 100% academic support institutions (West London 96%, BNU 95%, UEL 88%). For students specifically comparing Westminster with other London options for public health, UEL (8th) achieves 100% academic support and 88% teaching quality from a similar position.
Buckinghamshire New University at 6th: £32,000 — the highest public health earnings in the field
Buckinghamshire New University ranks 6th with 47 points and produces public health graduates earning £32,000 — the highest in this field and £2,000 above the next-highest (University of East London and University of East London at £31,000). BNU achieves 100% academic support and 95% teaching quality. It ranks 6th rather than higher because of low safety and sustainability scores. For students comparing BNU with University of West London (1st) — both post-92 institutions in the South East — BNU produces higher earnings and 100%/95% course delivery versus West London's 100%/96%. The 5-point gap between them (47 vs 61) is driven by city-level metrics rather than course quality differences.
University of Bedfordshire (joint 10th) has the lowest academic support at 69% and lowest teaching quality at 70% in this field. Bedfordshire ranks joint 10th with 36 points — the same score as Westminster and Anglia Ruskin. Its course delivery scores are the lowest in this 14-university field by a significant margin: the next-lowest teaching quality is Anglia Ruskin at 81% and Wolverhampton at 83%. For a degree where the quality of health data analysis teaching, epidemiology instruction and research methods training directly determines graduate competence, 70% teaching quality warrants investigation at open day.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking. For graduate employment data, see the employability ranking.
