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Top universities for economics in the UK: the Be Wise ranking
49 UK universities and colleges ranked for economics on official data.
Providers need at least 50 survey responses in economics 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 economics.
The table
| Position | University or college | Score out of 100 | Student experience | Continuation | Graduate prospects | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of CambridgeCambridge, England | 100.0 | 84.2% | 99.0% | 81.5% | £105,00099% above the UK average for this subject |
| 2 | University of WarwickWarwick and Leamington Spa, England | 98.1 | 89.3% | 96.0% | 82.8% | £68,40030% above the UK average for this subject |
| 3 | London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)London, England | 95.7 | 88.5% | 95.9% | 76.0% | £79,80051% above the UK average for this subject |
| 4 | University of OxfordOxford, England | 87.4 | 85.2% | 98.3% | 79.7% | £67,00027% above the UK average for this subject |
| 5 | University of BathBath, England | 86.7 | 84.5% | 97.2% | 79.8% | £72,80038% above the UK average for this subject |
| 6 | Loughborough UniversityLoughborough, England | 85.1 | 88.7% | 95.0% | 80.3% | £54,5003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 7 | Aston UniversityBirmingham, England | 82.4 | 91.8% | 92.2% | 75.9% | £50,1005% below the UK average for this subject |
| 8 | University of St AndrewsSt Andrews, Scotland | 80.1 | 90.4% | 95.0% | 69.7% | £54,2003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 9 | Durham UniversityDurham, England | 78.6 | 87.7% | 93.6% | 73.7% | £63,30020% above the UK average for this subject |
| 10 | University of SurreyGuildford, England | 77.8 | 90.2% | 92.0% | 71.1% | £58,60011% above the UK average for this subject |
| 11 | University of BirminghamBirmingham, England | 75.9 | 88.6% | 95.7% | 69.2% | £54,2003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 12 | University of ExeterExeter, England | 75.5 | 84.1% | 93.7% | 81.1% | £63,30020% above the UK average for this subject |
| 13 | University of NottinghamNottingham, England | 74.0 | 84.4% | 96.4% | 75.3% | £59,70013% above the UK average for this subject |
| 14 | UCL (University College London)London, England | 72.6 | 80.5% | 96.0% | 80.7% | £69,50032% above the UK average for this subject |
| 15 | University of LiverpoolLiverpool, England | 70.3 | 90.5% | 93.5% | 63.7% | £50,5004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 16 | Cardiff UniversityCardiff, Wales | 69.4 | 84.1% | 97.0% | 76.3% | £49,0007% below the UK average for this subject |
| 17 | University of SheffieldSheffield, England | 68.9 | 88.5% | 94.0% | 68.9% | £47,60010% below the UK average for this subject |
| 18 | Lancaster UniversityLancaster, England | 66.4 | 87.5% | 94.3% | 70.0% | £45,40014% below the UK average for this subject |
| 19 | Queen's University BelfastBelfast, Northern Ireland | 65.4 | 84.5% | 92.7% | 75.1% | Not in LEO data |
| 20 | University of SouthamptonSouthampton, England | 65.3 | 85.8% | 94.0% | 72.1% | £49,4006% below the UK average for this subject |
| 21 | University of YorkYork, England | 64.1 | 85.4% | 95.2% | 67.8% | £52,700In line with the UK average for this subject |
| 22 | University of LeedsLeeds, England | 63.8 | 85.3% | 94.9% | 67.7% | £53,8002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 23 | University of BristolBristol, England | 62.7 | 83.2% | 92.6% | 71.4% | £64,00021% above the UK average for this subject |
| 24 | University of East AngliaNorwich, England | 61.3 | 87.4% | 91.8% | 67.7% | £48,5008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 25 | King's College LondonLondon, England | 59.5 | 81.8% | 97.2% | 68.9% | £54,2003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 26 | University of EdinburghEdinburgh, Scotland | 57.8 | 81.1% | 95.1% | 73.0% | £54,5003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 27 | University of StrathclydeGlasgow, Scotland | 54.8 | 89.2% | 86.3% | 69.1% | £42,80019% below the UK average for this subject |
| 28 | Queen Mary University of LondonLondon, England | 52.6 | 85.5% | 87.9% | 67.1% | £56,0006% above the UK average for this subject |
| 29 | University of ManchesterManchester, England | 47.6 | 80.4% | 96.1% | 67.3% | £45,40014% below the UK average for this subject |
| 30 | University of SussexBrighton, England | 47.4 | 85.7% | 92.8% | 58.8% | £42,80019% below the UK average for this subject |
| 31 | University of LeicesterLeicester, England | 47.3 | 83.8% | 91.2% | 66.4% | £45,00015% below the UK average for this subject |
| 32 | University of EssexColchester, England | 45.3 | 88.7% | 88.6% | 57.0% | £40,30024% below the UK average for this subject |
| 33 | Swansea UniversitySwansea, Wales | 44.4 | 85.8% | 88.0% | 66.5% | £39,50025% below the UK average for this subject |
| 34 | Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham, England | 44.0 | 88.6% | 82.0% | 66.5% | £44,30016% below the UK average for this subject |
| 35 | Newcastle UniversityNewcastle upon Tyne, England | 42.9 | 79.0% | 92.4% | 71.0% | £49,8006% below the UK average for this subject |
| 36 | University of GreenwichLondon, England | 39.8 | 87.4% | 86.7% | 60.4% | £37,30029% below the UK average for this subject |
| 37 | University of ReadingReading, England | 37.9 | 83.6% | 85.2% | 68.3% | £45,00015% below the UK average for this subject |
| 38 | Royal Holloway, University of LondonEgham, England | 35.2 | 83.9% | 88.2% | 59.8% | £42,80019% below the UK average for this subject |
| 39 | University of WestminsterLondon, England | 35.0 | 86.5% | 85.9% | 55.3% | Not published |
| 40 | City St George's, University of LondonLondon, England | 32.0 | 82.4% | 86.9% | 60.2% | £48,3008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 41 | University of GlasgowGlasgow, Scotland | 30.8 | 77.6% | 92.0% | 65.9% | £44,30016% below the UK average for this subject |
| 42 | Sheffield Hallam UniversitySheffield, England | 28.6 | 83.5% | 82.7% | 63.6% | £44,30016% below the UK average for this subject |
| 43 | University of KentCanterbury, England | 27.0 | 83.7% | 86.0% | 54.5% | £44,70015% below the UK average for this subject |
| 44 | SOAS University of LondonLondon, England | 25.6 | 79.3% | 88.8% | 60.9% | £44,70015% below the UK average for this subject |
| 45 | Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester, England | 18.2 | 79.5% | 85.5% | 63.1% | £37,00030% below the UK average for this subject |
| 46 | Leeds Beckett UniversityLeeds, England | 16.3 | 83.0% | 83.7% | Not published | £31,10041% below the UK average for this subject |
| 47 | UWE BristolBristol, England | 14.7 | 81.2% | 82.4% | 57.3% | £41,70021% below the UK average for this subject |
| 48 | Kingston UniversityLondon, England | 14.0 | 84.2% | 89.2% | 26.2% | £32,60038% below the UK average for this subject |
| 49 | Brunel University LondonLondon, England | 0.0 | 76.3% | 79.2% | 61.4% | £43,20018% 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 economics 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.
Aberystwyth University; Anglia Ruskin University; Birkbeck, University of London; Birmingham City University; Bournemouth University; Cardiff Metropolitan University; Coventry University; De Montfort University; Goldsmiths, University of London; Heriot-Watt University; Keele University; Liverpool Hope University; London Metropolitan University; London South Bank University; Middlesex University; Northeastern University – London; Northumbria University; Oxford Brookes University; Paris Dauphine International; Ulster University; University of Aberdeen; University of Bradford; University of Brighton; University of Chester; University of Derby; University of Dundee; University of East London; University of Hertfordshire; University of Huddersfield; University of Hull; University of Lincoln; University of Plymouth; University of Portsmouth; University of Roehampton; University of Stirling; University of West London; University of Wolverhampton; York St John University
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Quick answers
Which universities have the highest student satisfaction for economics?
In the 2026 National Student Survey, the highest average positive scores for economics among providers with at least 50 responses were Aston University (91.8%), University of Liverpool (90.5%), University of St Andrews (90.4%), University of Surrey (90.2%), University of Warwick (89.3%). This is one measure; the full table also shows graduate earnings.
How much do economics graduates earn?
Across UK providers, the typical (median) earnings of economics graduates five years after graduating were £52,700 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 economics 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.