Best Universities for Sports Science in the UK 2027
Swansea University tops our 2027 sports science ranking with 206 points, achieving 95% academic support and 96% teaching quality. University of Worcester comes second with 197 points and 98% academic support. Durham University is third with 192 points. We ranked 78 UK universities offering sports science degrees across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
UCL (29th) produces £37,500 — the highest sports science graduate earnings in this ranking by £4,000. Lancaster University (joint 14th) achieves 100% academic support and 99% teaching quality. University of Northampton (40th) achieves 100% teaching quality — the only institution in this field to do so. University of Leeds (joint 34th) has the lowest academic support at 61% and lowest teaching quality at 61% — the most extreme course delivery outlier in this field. University of Sunderland (37th) and Teesside University (50th) both produce £19,500 — the lowest earnings in the field.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Sports Science University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea University Swansea |
£30,000 | 79% | 96% | 95% | 206 |
| 2 | University of Worcester Worcester |
£26,000 | 79% | 96% | 98% | 197 |
| 3 | Durham University Durham |
£26,000 | 78% | 92% | 97% | 192 |
| 4 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£26,000 | 78% | 93% | 98% | 181 |
| 5 | Glyndwr University, Wrexham Wrexham |
£20,500 | 74% | 95% | 100% | 177 |
| 6 | Bangor University Bangor |
£24,000 | 76% | 90% | 90% | 176 |
| 7 | York St John University York |
£21,000 | 80% | 88% | 97% | 174 |
| 8 | University of Plymouth Plymouth |
£28,000 | 75% | 86% | 95% | 171 |
| 8 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£26,000 | 79% | 87% | 87% | 171 |
| 9 | University of Gloucestershire Cheltenham / Gloucester |
£26,000 | 76% | 94% | 100% | 165 |
| 9 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£23,000 | 73% | 96% | 95% | 165 |
| 10 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£24,000 | 83% | 90% | 82% | 164 |
| 11 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth |
£24,000 | 71% | 91% | 91% | 163 |
| 12 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£22,500 | 74% | 83% | 89% | 162 |
| 13 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£22,500 | 75% | 82% | 85% | 160 |
| 14 | University of Salford Salford |
£22,000 | 73% | 96% | 100% | 159 |
| 14 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£26,500 | 82% | 99% | 100% | 159 |
| 15 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£25,000 | 72% | 96% | 98% | 158 |
| 16 | Robert Gordon University Aberdeen |
£25,500 | 77% | 94% | 96% | 157 |
| 16 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£24,000 | 75% | 98% | 95% | 157 |
| 17 | University of South Wales Pontypridd |
£21,000 | 72% | 95% | 91% | 156 |
| 18 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford |
£28,000 | 74% | 93% | 90% | 154 |
| 18 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£28,000 | 70% | 94% | 92% | 154 |
| 19 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£22,500 | 72% | 89% | 90% | 153 |
| 20 | University of Essex Colchester |
£26,000 | 74% | 90% | 90% | 151 |
| 20 | Coventry University Coventry |
£27,000 | 72% | 96% | 100% | 151 |
| 21 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£24,000 | 73% | 84% | 89% | 147 |
| 22 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£23,000 | 70% | 91% | 91% | 142 |
| 22 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£23,000 | 68% | 94% | 95% | 142 |
| 23 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£22,500 | 76% | 85% | 90% | 141 |
| 24 | University of Edinburgh Edinburgh |
£28,500 | 74% | 92% | 91% | 140 |
| 24 | University of Derby Derby |
£24,000 | 74% | 96% | 96% | 140 |
| 25 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£28,000 | 71% | 82% | 89% | 139 |
| 25 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£24,000 | 82% | 89% | 91% | 139 |
| 26 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£22,500 | 79% | 77% | 83% | 137 |
| 26 | University of Surrey Guildford |
£26,500 | 78% | 96% | 91% | 137 |
| 27 | Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme |
£24,500 | 81% | 84% | 93% | 136 |
| 27 | St Mary's University, Twickenham Twickenham |
£26,000 | 80% | 94% | 95% | 136 |
| 28 | University of Chester Chester |
£24,000 | 78% | 92% | 97% | 134 |
| 29 | UCL (University College London) London |
£37,500 | 68% | 92% | 90% | 133 |
| 30 | University of Wales Trinity Saint David Lampeter / Carmarthen / Swansea |
£24,000 | 79% | 90% | 85% | 132 |
| 31 | King's College London London |
£30,000 | 67% | 87% | 90% | 131 |
| 31 | University of Aberdeen Aberdeen |
£25,000 | 76% | 95% | 91% | 131 |
| 32 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£23,000 | 69% | 87% | 91% | 129 |
| 32 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£25,000 | 71% | 87% | 91% | 129 |
| 33 | University of Bath Bath |
£27,000 | 80% | 80% | 82% | 128 |
| 34 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£26,500 | 74% | 61% | 61% | 126 |
| 34 | Edinburgh Napier University Edinburgh |
£22,500 | 72% | 77% | 79% | 126 |
| 34 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£22,500 | 73% | 79% | 89% | 126 |
| 34 | University of Nottingham Nottingham |
£26,500 | 74% | 96% | 93% | 126 |
| 35 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£25,500 | 80% | 97% | 97% | 125 |
| 36 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£26,000 | 72% | 79% | 88% | 122 |
| 37 | University of Sunderland Sunderland |
£19,500 | 74% | 80% | 82% | 121 |
| 38 | University of Greenwich London |
£25,000 | 69% | 85% | 81% | 120 |
| 38 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£23,000 | 74% | 93% | 87% | 120 |
| 39 | University of Glasgow Glasgow |
£25,500 | 75% | 88% | 88% | 117 |
| 40 | University of Northampton Northampton |
£28,000 | 75% | 100% | 95% | 114 |
| 41 | Brunel University London Uxbridge |
£33,500 | 68% | 84% | 92% | 112 |
| 42 | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh |
£27,500 | 75% | 89% | 81% | 111 |
| 43 | Abertay University Dundee |
£25,000 | 72% | 99% | 98% | 109 |
| 44 | University of Stirling Stirling |
£25,500 | 78% | 89% | 97% | 107 |
| 44 | University of Central Lancashire Preston |
£20,500 | 71% | 96% | 94% | 107 |
| 45 | Buckinghamshire New University High Wycombe |
£27,000 | 70% | 94% | 88% | 105 |
| 46 | University of Suffolk Ipswich |
£22,000 | 76% | 91% | 88% | 101 |
| 46 | University of the West of Scotland Glasgow |
£25,000 | 73% | 91% | 91% | 101 |
| 46 | Solent University Southampton |
£22,000 | 71% | 92% | 95% | 101 |
| 47 | Staffordshire University Stoke-on-Trent |
£20,500 | 72% | 93% | 90% | 100 |
| 47 | Middlesex University Middlesex |
£26,000 | 69% | 94% | 94% | 100 |
| 48 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£25,000 | 72% | 86% | 89% | 98 |
| 49 | University of Hull Hull |
£23,000 | 76% | 96% | 100% | 96 |
| 50 | Teesside University Middlesbrough |
£19,500 | 78% | 86% | 96% | 82 |
| 51 | Leeds Trinity University Leeds |
£21,500 | 78% | 77% | 81% | 80 |
| 51 | University of Roehampton London |
£26,500 | 72% | 89% | 96% | 80 |
| 52 | University of Chichester Chichester |
£27,000 | 80% | 93% | 84% | 78 |
| 53 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£26,000 | 71% | 92% | 87% | 77 |
| 54 | Newman University, Birmingham Birmingham |
£21,000 | 83% | 95% | 90% | 68 |
| 55 | London South Bank University London |
£21,500 | 68% | 91% | 90% | 63 |
| 56 | London Metropolitan University London |
£22,000 | 66% | 85% | 79% | 53 |
What the ranking tells you about studying sports science
Sports science (also offered as sport and exercise science) is one of the most popular undergraduate degrees in the UK, offered at 78 universities in this ranking. The discipline combines exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports psychology, nutrition and dietetics, strength and conditioning, sports coaching, motor control and research methods. With such breadth, programme specialisation varies significantly — some programmes are more physiologically focused, others more psychological or performance-oriented. The quality of laboratory facilities, practical placement access and sports club partnerships matters enormously for a practice-based discipline.
University of Leeds at joint 34th: 61% on both metrics
University of Leeds ranks joint 34th with 126 points and achieves 61% on both teaching quality and academic support — the lowest scores on both metrics in this 78-university field by a significant margin. The next-lowest teaching quality is Edinburgh Napier at 77% and Sheffield Hallam at 79%. The next-lowest academic support is Edinburgh Napier at 79% and University of East Anglia at 83%. Leeds ranks joint 34th because of reasonable sustainability and social life scores alongside £26,500 earnings. University of Nottingham (joint 34th) achieves 96% teaching quality and 93% academic support from the same position — a direct comparison that shows course delivery divergence between two institutions at identical overall scores.
UCL at 29th: £37,500 — the highest sports science earnings by £4,000
UCL ranks 29th with 133 points and produces £37,500 — the highest graduate earnings in this 78-university field, £4,000 above Brunel (41st, £33,500) and £7,500 above King's College London (joint 31st, £30,000). UCL ranks 29th because London's maximum cost of living penalty and below-average satisfaction (68%) suppress the overall position. Its course delivery scores (92% teaching quality, 90% academic support) are solid but not the strongest in the table. For students comparing UCL with top-ranked institutions on course delivery, Lancaster (joint 14th) achieves 100% academic support and 99% teaching quality alongside a stronger overall position. UCL's premium earnings reflect the strength of its research environment and employer access in life sciences, sports medicine and performance analysis.
University of Northampton (40th) achieves 100% teaching quality — the only institution in this 78-university field to do so. Lancaster University (joint 14th) achieves 100% academic support and 99% teaching quality from a much stronger overall position. Glyndwr University (5th), University of Gloucestershire (joint 9th), University of Salford (joint 14th), Coventry University (joint 20th) and University of Hull (49th) all achieve 100% academic support. Abertay University (43rd) achieves 99% teaching quality and 98% academic support from a position outside the top 40. For students comparing on course delivery quality in this large field, Northampton's 100% teaching quality and Lancaster's 100%/99% provide the clearest benchmarks.
For a broader view of how these universities compare, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking.
