Be University Wise guides › Rankings › Architecture, building and planning
Top universities for architecture, building and planning in the UK: the Be Wise ranking
35 UK universities and colleges ranked for architecture, building and planning on official data.
Providers need at least 50 survey responses in architecture, building and planning to appear in the table. Student experience is the average share of final-year students giving positive answers across the seven National Student Survey themes. Earnings are medians five years after graduating, compared with the UK average for architecture, building and planning.
The table
| Position | University or college | Score out of 100 | Student experience | Continuation | Graduate prospects | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loughborough UniversityLoughborough, England | 100.0 | 89.7% | 90.2% | 87.8% | £49,80025% above the UK average for this subject |
| 2 | Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham, England | 88.3 | 88.4% | 88.3% | 79.5% | £49,80025% above the UK average for this subject |
| 3 | University of ReadingReading, England | 81.2 | 84.3% | 84.3% | 86.4% | £48,90022% above the UK average for this subject |
| 4 | Leeds Beckett UniversityLeeds, England | 76.9 | 91.1% | 81.1% | 89.3% | £37,0007% below the UK average for this subject |
| 5 | Oxford Brookes UniversityOxford, England | 76.5 | 85.3% | 88.8% | 73.4% | £48,70022% above the UK average for this subject |
| 6 | Sheffield Hallam UniversitySheffield, England | 76.0 | 85.6% | 91.1% | 82.7% | £39,7001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 7 | University of LiverpoolLiverpool, England | 75.9 | 91.7% | 96.6% | 74.6% | £31,80020% below the UK average for this subject |
| 8 | UWE BristolBristol, England | 74.8 | 90.4% | 88.1% | 77.5% | £38,2004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 9 | Queen's University BelfastBelfast, Northern Ireland | 73.7 | 87.3% | 95.4% | 69.1% | Not in LEO data |
| 10 | Liverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool, England | 73.1 | 88.5% | 88.7% | 81.1% | £36,6008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 11 | University of NottinghamNottingham, England | 71.1 | 88.5% | 96.0% | 68.8% | £37,0007% below the UK average for this subject |
| 12 | University of SheffieldSheffield, England | 71.0 | 89.8% | 94.3% | 73.6% | £33,30017% below the UK average for this subject |
| 13 | University of EdinburghEdinburgh, Scotland | 66.6 | 88.1% | 89.1% | 81.5% | £31,50021% below the UK average for this subject |
| 14 | UCL (University College London)London, England | 64.2 | 81.1% | 95.3% | 72.1% | £40,3001% above the UK average for this subject |
| 15 | University for the Creative ArtsCanterbury, England | 60.4 | 88.4% | 81.8% | 86.5% | £29,30027% below the UK average for this subject |
| 15 | University of BathBath, England | 60.4 | 80.7% | 97.0% | 79.3% | £31,70021% below the UK average for this subject |
| 17 | University of PortsmouthPortsmouth, England | 54.3 | 86.5% | 83.1% | 71.8% | £35,90010% below the UK average for this subject |
| 18 | Ulster UniversityBelfast, Northern Ireland | 53.5 | 82.5% | 89.0% | 68.7% | Not in LEO data |
| 19 | Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester, England | 53.2 | 85.2% | 92.0% | 69.0% | £31,10022% below the UK average for this subject |
| 20 | Glasgow Caledonian UniversityGlasgow, Scotland | 48.4 | 73.1% | 84.8% | 79.1% | £43,7009% above the UK average for this subject |
| 20 | University of WestminsterLondon, England | 48.4 | 86.5% | 76.7% | 66.6% | £40,4001% above the UK average for this subject |
| 22 | University of the Arts, LondonLondon, England | 48.2 | 74.1% | 91.0% | 78.8% | Not published |
| 23 | Northumbria UniversityNewcastle upon Tyne, England | 48.1 | 82.8% | 80.3% | Not published | £39,900In line with the UK average for this subject |
| 24 | Newcastle UniversityNewcastle upon Tyne, England | 47.8 | 81.7% | 89.2% | 65.7% | £36,4009% below the UK average for this subject |
| 25 | University of BrightonBrighton, England | 47.4 | 82.4% | 76.4% | 76.8% | £38,8003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 26 | Birmingham City UniversityBirmingham, England | 46.5 | 85.4% | 80.9% | 66.4% | £37,0007% below the UK average for this subject |
| 27 | University of GreenwichLondon, England | 43.3 | 76.0% | 84.2% | 75.9% | £38,4004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 28 | University of SalfordSalford, England | 43.2 | 79.9% | 78.8% | 71.3% | £40,6002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 29 | London South Bank UniversityLondon, England | 37.1 | 80.4% | 83.3% | 49.9% | £45,60014% above the UK average for this subject |
| 30 | Kingston UniversityLondon, England | 32.0 | 84.7% | 91.6% | 38.9% | £35,90010% below the UK average for this subject |
| 31 | Edinburgh Napier UniversityEdinburgh, Scotland | 29.2 | 71.4% | 87.7% | 69.0% | £35,50011% below the UK average for this subject |
| 32 | University of PlymouthPlymouth, England | 28.8 | 67.4% | 95.3% | 65.5% | £36,6008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 33 | Coventry UniversityCoventry, England | 28.2 | 84.4% | 47.7% | 59.8% | £46,80017% above the UK average for this subject |
| 34 | University of StrathclydeGlasgow, Scotland | 1.1 | 79.0% | 79.0% | 42.0% | £28,90028% below the UK average for this subject |
| 35 | University of KentCanterbury, England | 0.0 | 63.7% | 84.0% | 64.5% | £30,00025% below the UK average for this subject |
Sources: National Student Survey 2026, Office for Students (Open Government Licence v3.0), first degree, full-time, by teaching provider; LEO graduate outcomes, tax year 2023-24, Department for Education (Open Government Licence v3.0), median earnings five years after graduating; Discover Uni dataset, 8 September 2026 edition, HESA (CC BY 4.0), continuation and graduate prospects. All sources and licences.
Not enough data (38)
These providers teach architecture, building and planning but have fewer than 50 survey responses in the subject or too few published measures to include fairly. This says nothing about their quality. Discover Uni has their course-level data.
Anglia Ruskin University; Arts University Bournemouth; Aston University; Bath Spa University; Cardiff Metropolitan University; Cardiff University; De Montfort University; Falmouth University; Global Banking School; Heriot-Watt University; Lancaster University; London Metropolitan University; Norwich University of the Arts; Ravensbourne University London; Robert Gordon University; Southampton Solent University; The Glasgow School of Art; The Royal Agricultural University; University College Birmingham; University of Aberdeen; University of Birmingham; University of Cambridge; University of Derby; University of Dundee; University of East London; University of Gloucestershire; University of Greater Manchester; University of Hertfordshire; University of Huddersfield; University of Lancashire; University of Lincoln; University of Manchester; University of South Wales; University of Wales Trinity Saint David; University of West London; University of Wolverhampton; University of the Highlands and Islands; Wrexham University
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Quick answers
Which universities have the highest student satisfaction for architecture, building and planning?
In the 2026 National Student Survey, the highest average positive scores for architecture, building and planning among providers with at least 50 responses were University of Liverpool (91.7%), Leeds Beckett University (91.1%), UWE Bristol (90.4%), University of Sheffield (89.8%), Loughborough University (89.7%). This is one measure; the full table also shows graduate earnings.
How much do architecture, building and planning graduates earn?
Across UK providers, the typical (median) earnings of architecture, building and planning graduates five years after graduating were £39,900 in the 2023-24 tax year, according to the Department for Education's LEO data. Earnings vary a lot by university, region and job.
How is this architecture, building and planning table put together?
It uses only official data: the National Student Survey 2026, Discover Uni and LEO earnings. We do not copy commercial league tables. Universities with too little data are listed as not enough data rather than guessed.