Best Universities for Quantity Surveying in the UK 2027
University of Plymouth tops our 2027 quantity surveying ranking with 112 points, achieving 95% academic support and 90% teaching quality. University of the West of England, Bristol comes second with 107 points. University of Reading is third with 104 points and 90% teaching quality. We ranked 35 UK universities offering quantity surveying degrees across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability. Three partial entries were excluded due to missing data.
University of South Wales (joint 4th) produces £38,000 — the highest quantity surveying graduate earnings in this ranking by a significant margin. Leeds Beckett University (joint 19th) produces £32,500. University of East London (joint 17th) achieves 100% academic support. Leeds Beckett has the lowest academic support at 72% and lowest teaching quality at 69%. Northumbria University (9th) also achieves 68% teaching quality — the joint-lowest in the field. De Montfort University (8th) produces £23,000 — the lowest earnings.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Quantity Surveying University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Plymouth Plymouth |
£27,000 | 75% | 90% | 95% | 112 |
| 2 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£31,000 | 74% | 82% | 89% | 107 |
| 3 | University of Reading Reading |
£32,000 | 74% | 90% | 81% | 104 |
| 4 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£30,000 | 72% | 86% | 88% | 103 |
| 4 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford |
£31,000 | 74% | 88% | 96% | 103 |
| 4 | University of South Wales Pontypridd |
£38,000 | 72% | 89% | 77% | 103 |
| 4 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£31,000 | 70% | 91% | 95% | 103 |
| 5 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£30,000 | 76% | 89% | 83% | 100 |
| 6 | University of West London London |
£29,000 | 72% | 90% | 93% | 95 |
| 7 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£23,000 | 70% | 91% | 86% | 93 |
| 8 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£33,000 | 77% | 89% | 91% | 91 |
| 9 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£30,500 | 74% | 68% | 81% | 96 |
| 10 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£30,000 | 72% | 79% | 94% | 90 |
| 11 | Robert Gordon University Aberdeen |
£25,000 | 77% | 78% | 95% | 88 |
| 11 | University of Salford Salford |
£30,000 | 73% | 82% | 77% | 88 |
| 12 | Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh |
£30,500 | 72% | 71% | 85% | 86 |
| 12 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£26,500 | 71% | 86% | 97% | 86 |
| 13 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£28,500 | 73% | 79% | 84% | 85 |
| 14 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£30,000 | 79% | 74% | 82% | 84 |
| 14 | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh |
£30,000 | 75% | 84% | 93% | 84 |
| 14 | University of Greenwich London |
£28,000 | 69% | 90% | 88% | 84 |
| 15 | Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow |
£29,000 | 71% | 84% | 74% | 81 |
| 16 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£28,500 | 69% | 92% | 73% | 80 |
| 17 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£24,500 | 74% | 87% | 93% | 79 |
| 17 | University of East London London |
£29,000 | 68% | 94% | 100% | 79 |
| 18 | Aston University Birmingham |
£32,000 | 75% | 89% | 91% | 78 |
| 19 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£32,500 | 70% | 69% | 72% | 75 |
| 19 | University of Derby Derby |
£27,500 | 74% | 85% | 79% | 75 |
| 20 | Coventry University Coventry |
£30,000 | 72% | 73% | 81% | 73 |
| 21 | Solent University Southampton |
£25,500 | 71% | 97% | 88% | 71 |
| 22 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£28,000 | 71% | 89% | 86% | 70 |
| 23 | University of Westminster London |
£28,500 | 68% | 89% | 92% | 68 |
| 24 | London Metropolitan University London |
£25,000 | 66% | 91% | 98% | 60 |
| 25 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£30,000 | 71% | 89% | 75% | 58 |
| 26 | London South Bank University London |
£27,000 | 68% | 80% | 83% | 40 |
What the ranking tells you about studying quantity surveying
Quantity surveying is a built environment profession covering construction cost management, contract administration, procurement, project finance and dispute resolution. Programmes are accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and RICS accreditation is the professional standard for the industry. With 35 universities in this ranking, variation in industry placements, live project exposure, software training (cost management and BIM platforms), and employer partnerships is significant. RICS accreditation should be confirmed before applying to any programme.
University of South Wales at joint 4th: £38,000 — the highest QS earnings in the UK
University of South Wales ranks joint 4th with 103 points and produces quantity surveying graduates earning £38,000 — the highest in this field by £5,000 above the next-highest (University of Portsmouth, 8th, at £33,000). South Wales achieves 89% teaching quality and 77% academic support. It ranks joint 4th because low cost of living and safety scores suppress the position. The £38,000 figure is well above the field median and reflects strong industry connections and employment outcomes for South Wales QS graduates entering the Welsh and South West construction markets. For students specifically comparing South Wales with higher-ranked institutions on earnings, this is the most significant single data point in the table.
University of East London at joint 17th: 100% academic support, 94% teaching quality
University of East London ranks joint 17th with 79 points and achieves 100% academic support and 94% teaching quality — the strongest academic support score in this 35-university field, and the highest course delivery combination in the bottom half of the ranking. UEL ranks joint 17th because London's cost of living penalty and low sustainability score suppress the overall position. For students comparing UEL with other London QS programmes, it significantly outperforms London Metropolitan (24th, 98%/91%), University of Greenwich (joint 14th, 88%/90%) and University of West London (6th, 93%/90%) on academic support.
Leeds Beckett University (joint 19th) produces £32,500 — the second-highest graduate earnings in this field — but achieves 69% teaching quality and 72% academic support, the lowest in the ranking. This is the starkest contradiction in this table: second-highest earnings paired with the lowest course delivery scores. The earnings figure reflects the strength of Leeds Beckett's employer connections and placement activity in the Yorkshire construction market rather than programme academic quality. Northumbria University (9th) also achieves 68% teaching quality — the joint-lowest in the field — despite ranking in the top 10 due to strong city-level metrics. Kingston University (joint 12th) achieves 97% academic support — the second-highest in the field — and is the clearest high-course-delivery alternative among mid-table institutions.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
