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Top universities for English studies in the UK: the Be Wise ranking
41 UK universities and colleges ranked for English studies on official data.
Providers need at least 50 survey responses in English studies 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 English studies.
The table
| Position | University or college | Score out of 100 | Student experience | Continuation | Graduate prospects | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of OxfordOxford, England | 100.0 | 86.6% | 97.7% | 71.3% | £38,10025% above the UK average for this subject |
| 2 | University of NottinghamNottingham, England | 84.6 | 88.2% | 95.6% | 65.2% | £34,40012% above the UK average for this subject |
| 3 | University of BirminghamBirmingham, England | 81.2 | 91.2% | 92.0% | 64.3% | £31,8004% above the UK average for this subject |
| 4 | University of ExeterExeter, England | 81.1 | 88.2% | 95.3% | 63.8% | £34,00011% above the UK average for this subject |
| 5 | Durham UniversityDurham, England | 79.7 | 85.2% | 94.3% | 69.4% | £35,90017% above the UK average for this subject |
| 6 | UCL (University College London)London, England | 79.5 | 88.3% | 92.6% | 60.7% | £37,30022% above the UK average for this subject |
| 7 | University of SouthamptonSouthampton, England | 77.4 | 90.3% | 91.6% | 59.4% | £34,80014% above the UK average for this subject |
| 8 | Queen's University BelfastBelfast, Northern Ireland | 75.8 | 88.3% | 93.8% | 62.9% | Not in LEO data |
| 9 | University of LincolnLincoln, England | 73.5 | 90.9% | 90.0% | 67.6% | £28,9006% below the UK average for this subject |
| 10 | King's College LondonLondon, England | 73.3 | 88.0% | 90.2% | 65.0% | £34,80014% above the UK average for this subject |
| 11 | University of SussexBrighton, England | 72.4 | 89.0% | 89.2% | 67.3% | £32,4006% above the UK average for this subject |
| 12 | University of WarwickWarwick and Leamington Spa, England | 71.6 | 84.2% | 92.7% | 70.7% | £34,80014% above the UK average for this subject |
| 13 | University of LeedsLeeds, England | 66.8 | 86.6% | 91.4% | 65.0% | £33,3009% above the UK average for this subject |
| 14 | Royal Holloway, University of LondonEgham, England | 64.4 | 89.6% | 88.3% | 62.1% | £31,8004% above the UK average for this subject |
| 15 | University of BristolBristol, England | 63.5 | 83.7% | 95.5% | 61.5% | £35,10015% above the UK average for this subject |
| 16 | Swansea UniversitySwansea, Wales | 62.7 | 92.8% | 85.8% | 58.8% | £30,0002% below the UK average for this subject |
| 17 | University of GreenwichLondon, England | 62.4 | 93.0% | 81.8% | 63.4% | £30,4001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 18 | University of LiverpoolLiverpool, England | 62.0 | 88.8% | 91.3% | 60.0% | £30,700In line with the UK average for this subject |
| 19 | University of SheffieldSheffield, England | 60.5 | 86.1% | 94.2% | 58.8% | £32,6007% above the UK average for this subject |
| 20 | Newcastle UniversityNewcastle upon Tyne, England | 56.4 | 85.8% | 92.6% | 61.0% | £31,5003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 21 | University of GlasgowGlasgow, Scotland | 55.5 | 88.9% | 90.0% | 58.2% | £30,0002% below the UK average for this subject |
| 22 | University of YorkYork, England | 53.4 | 86.5% | 92.6% | 57.6% | £31,1002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 23 | Queen Mary University of LondonLondon, England | 53.1 | 89.4% | 85.5% | 54.1% | £34,40012% above the UK average for this subject |
| 24 | Lancaster UniversityLancaster, England | 49.7 | 85.7% | 92.5% | 62.4% | £28,2008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 25 | University of ReadingReading, England | 49.0 | 87.5% | 83.9% | 60.8% | £33,3009% above the UK average for this subject |
| 26 | University of ManchesterManchester, England | 48.1 | 83.9% | 90.7% | 61.3% | £32,6007% above the UK average for this subject |
| 27 | Cardiff UniversityCardiff, Wales | 45.8 | 84.8% | 92.2% | 57.1% | £31,3002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 28 | Bath Spa UniversityBath, England | 43.0 | 89.4% | 87.4% | 56.7% | £27,10011% below the UK average for this subject |
| 29 | University of EdinburghEdinburgh, Scotland | 39.8 | 78.6% | 92.9% | 61.7% | £35,50016% above the UK average for this subject |
| 30 | University of East AngliaNorwich, England | 36.5 | 85.4% | 89.6% | 56.0% | £29,3004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 31 | Liverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool, England | 35.5 | 89.6% | 88.4% | 48.6% | £27,40010% below the UK average for this subject |
| 32 | Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester, England | 34.5 | 86.7% | 85.6% | 60.3% | £27,40010% below the UK average for this subject |
| 33 | UWE BristolBristol, England | 33.0 | 86.4% | 84.1% | 55.8% | £31,1002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 34 | University of PortsmouthPortsmouth, England | 31.8 | 86.8% | 88.1% | 49.7% | £30,0002% below the UK average for this subject |
| 35 | University of WestminsterLondon, England | 26.3 | 89.4% | 80.3% | 51.4% | £29,3004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 36 | Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham, England | 19.4 | 86.8% | 82.6% | 50.2% | £29,3004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 37 | York St John UniversityYork, England | 17.8 | 90.0% | 84.3% | 43.9% | £25,60016% below the UK average for this subject |
| 38 | University of KentCanterbury, England | 17.6 | 86.5% | 87.3% | 37.1% | £31,8004% above the UK average for this subject |
| 39 | University of ChichesterChichester, England | 14.2 | 86.5% | 85.9% | 50.0% | £24,90019% below the UK average for this subject |
| 40 | Aberystwyth UniversityAberystwyth, Wales | 5.3 | 81.5% | 88.2% | 53.4% | £25,30017% below the UK average for this subject |
| 41 | University of BrightonBrighton, England | 0.0 | 80.2% | 75.5% | 59.0% | £32,9008% above 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 (69)
These providers teach English studies 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; Aston University; Bangor University; Birkbeck, University of London; Birmingham City University; Birmingham Newman University; Bournemouth University; Brunel University London; Canterbury Christ Church University; Cardiff Metropolitan University; City College Norwich; City St George's, University of London; Coventry University; DN Colleges Group; De Montfort University; Edge Hill University; Edinburgh Napier University; Falmouth University; Futureworks Training; Goldsmiths, University of London; Keele University; Kingston University; Leeds Arts University; Leeds Beckett University; Leeds Trinity University; Lincoln Bishop University; Liverpool Hope University; London Metropolitan University; London South Bank University; Loughborough University; Met Film School; Northumbria University; Oxford Brookes University; SOAS University of London; Sheffield Hallam University; Southampton Solent University; St Mary’s University, Twickenham; Teesside University; Ulster University; University of Aberdeen; University of Bedfordshire; University of Cambridge; University of Chester; University of Derby; University of Dundee; University of East London; University of Essex; University of Gloucestershire; University of Hertfordshire; University of Huddersfield; University of Hull; University of Lancashire; University of Leicester; University of Northampton; University of Plymouth; University of Roehampton; University of Salford; University of South Wales; University of St Andrews; University of Staffordshire; University of Stirling; University of Strathclyde; University of Sunderland; University of Surrey; University of West London; University of Winchester; University of Wolverhampton; University of Worcester; University of the West of Scotland
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Quick answers
Which universities have the highest student satisfaction for English studies?
In the 2026 National Student Survey, the highest average positive scores for English studies among providers with at least 50 responses were University of Greenwich (93.0%), Swansea University (92.8%), University of Birmingham (91.2%), University of Lincoln (90.9%), University of Southampton (90.3%). This is one measure; the full table also shows graduate earnings.
How much do English studies graduates earn?
Across UK providers, the typical (median) earnings of English studies graduates five years after graduating were £30,600 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 English studies 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.