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Top universities for politics in the UK: the Be Wise ranking
43 UK universities and colleges ranked for politics on official data.
Providers need at least 50 survey responses in politics 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 politics.
The table
| Position | University or college | Score out of 100 | Student experience | Continuation | Graduate prospects | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of WarwickWarwick and Leamington Spa, England | 100.0 | 90.9% | 96.4% | 74.0% | £52,70038% above the UK average for this subject |
| 2 | London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)London, England | 98.2 | 88.9% | 96.7% | 79.8% | £48,70027% above the UK average for this subject |
| 3 | Durham UniversityDurham, England | 92.1 | 91.1% | 97.5% | 66.7% | £49,80030% above the UK average for this subject |
| 4 | University of BathBath, England | 83.3 | 83.8% | 96.5% | 72.9% | £52,70038% above the UK average for this subject |
| 5 | University of OxfordOxford, England | 82.0 | 83.6% | 95.0% | 72.0% | £55,60045% above the UK average for this subject |
| 6 | Loughborough UniversityLoughborough, England | 80.3 | 88.5% | 95.7% | 69.5% | £43,90015% above the UK average for this subject |
| 7 | University of BristolBristol, England | 66.6 | 83.8% | 93.9% | 62.3% | £51,60035% above the UK average for this subject |
| 8 | City St George's, University of LondonLondon, England | 66.1 | 85.2% | 89.2% | 82.2% | £35,1008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 9 | University of SurreyGuildford, England | 65.5 | 92.0% | 88.7% | 65.4% | £37,7001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 10 | University of NottinghamNottingham, England | 64.3 | 85.5% | 95.1% | 59.7% | £45,80020% above the UK average for this subject |
| 11 | University of BirminghamBirmingham, England | 61.3 | 85.4% | 93.2% | 66.1% | £39,5003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 12 | Swansea UniversitySwansea, Wales | 58.1 | 91.3% | 88.9% | 62.9% | £34,00011% below the UK average for this subject |
| 13 | University of ExeterExeter, England | 58.0 | 81.0% | 91.4% | 70.0% | £45,40019% above the UK average for this subject |
| 14 | Aberystwyth UniversityAberystwyth, Wales | 56.7 | 90.7% | 91.6% | 59.8% | £32,20016% below the UK average for this subject |
| 15 | King's College LondonLondon, England | 56.6 | 81.1% | 96.3% | 65.5% | £39,5003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 16 | Newcastle UniversityNewcastle upon Tyne, England | 54.4 | 83.2% | 94.4% | 62.4% | £39,2002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 17 | UCL (University College London)London, England | 52.7 | 80.0% | 91.4% | 72.6% | Not published |
| 18 | University of SussexBrighton, England | 51.8 | 88.9% | 92.3% | 52.6% | £37,7001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 19 | Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham, England | 50.9 | 92.6% | 86.5% | 57.5% | £33,70012% below the UK average for this subject |
| 20 | University of SheffieldSheffield, England | 48.4 | 82.7% | 93.6% | 60.4% | £37,7001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 21 | University of YorkYork, England | 48.3 | 83.2% | 93.1% | 60.1% | £37,7001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 22 | University of LeedsLeeds, England | 48.0 | 83.4% | 90.7% | 61.1% | £40,3005% above the UK average for this subject |
| 23 | University of LiverpoolLiverpool, England | 47.5 | 84.7% | 88.6% | 68.6% | £32,60015% below the UK average for this subject |
| 24 | University of AberdeenAberdeen, Scotland | 46.2 | 84.9% | 90.3% | 63.7% | £32,90014% below the UK average for this subject |
| 25 | University of GlasgowGlasgow, Scotland | 45.9 | 82.6% | 91.7% | 62.5% | £36,6004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 26 | Royal Holloway, University of LondonEgham, England | 45.2 | 86.9% | 89.0% | 55.9% | £38,100In line with the UK average for this subject |
| 27 | University of HullHull, England | 45.1 | 91.5% | 86.4% | 56.9% | £31,10019% below the UK average for this subject |
| 28 | University of EdinburghEdinburgh, Scotland | 44.6 | 78.3% | 92.1% | 64.5% | £42,30011% above the UK average for this subject |
| 29 | Lancaster UniversityLancaster, England | 42.6 | 78.1% | 92.8% | 65.1% | £38,8001% above the UK average for this subject |
| 30 | University of LeicesterLeicester, England | 42.3 | 83.7% | 89.9% | 60.1% | £36,2005% below the UK average for this subject |
| 31 | Cardiff UniversityCardiff, Wales | 40.5 | 78.5% | 93.4% | 61.5% | £38,400In line with the UK average for this subject |
| 32 | University of ReadingReading, England | 39.9 | 85.2% | 85.2% | 61.0% | £38,100In line with the UK average for this subject |
| 33 | Queen's University BelfastBelfast, Northern Ireland | 37.5 | 79.0% | 93.4% | 59.5% | Not in LEO data |
| 34 | University of StrathclydeGlasgow, Scotland | 37.0 | 85.8% | 85.6% | 60.3% | £33,70012% below the UK average for this subject |
| 35 | University of ManchesterManchester, England | 36.7 | 82.1% | 90.2% | 57.6% | £36,2005% below the UK average for this subject |
| 36 | University of KentCanterbury, England | 34.5 | 80.2% | 88.7% | 63.2% | £35,1008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 37 | Queen Mary University of LondonLondon, England | 33.5 | 85.9% | 83.8% | 57.1% | £36,6004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 38 | University of EssexColchester, England | 33.2 | 87.4% | 81.7% | 55.1% | £38,8001% above the UK average for this subject |
| 39 | University of SouthamptonSouthampton, England | 31.9 | 76.0% | 93.2% | 59.2% | £38,100In line with the UK average for this subject |
| 40 | SOAS University of LondonLondon, England | 29.7 | 81.5% | 86.7% | 58.3% | £36,1006% below the UK average for this subject |
| 41 | Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester, England | 26.0 | 84.3% | 86.3% | 56.5% | £28,50026% below the UK average for this subject |
| 42 | University of WestminsterLondon, England | 16.0 | 87.2% | 81.9% | 45.7% | £31,10019% below the UK average for this subject |
| 43 | University of BrightonBrighton, England | 0.0 | 81.4% | 79.6% | 43.8% | £34,20011% 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 (45)
These providers teach politics 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; Bath Spa University; Birkbeck, University of London; Blackpool and the Fylde College; Bournemouth University; Brunel University London; Canterbury Christ Church University; Coventry University; De Montfort University; Edge Hill University; Goldsmiths, University of London; Keele University; Kingston University; Leeds Beckett University; Liverpool Hope University; Liverpool John Moores University; London Metropolitan University; Northeastern University – London; Northumbria University; Oxford Brookes University; Regent's University London; Sheffield Hallam University; UWE Bristol; University of Bradford; University of Cambridge; University of Chester; University of Chichester; University of Dundee; University of East Anglia; University of Greenwich; University of Huddersfield; University of Lancashire; University of Lincoln; University of London Institute in Paris; University of Plymouth; University of Portsmouth; University of Salford; University of St Andrews; University of Staffordshire; University of Stirling; University of West London; University of Winchester; University of the West of Scotland; York St John University
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Quick answers
Which universities have the highest student satisfaction for politics?
In the 2026 National Student Survey, the highest average positive scores for politics among providers with at least 50 responses were Nottingham Trent University (92.6%), University of Surrey (92.0%), University of Hull (91.5%), Swansea University (91.3%), Durham University (91.1%). This is one measure; the full table also shows graduate earnings.
How much do politics graduates earn?
Across UK providers, the typical (median) earnings of politics graduates five years after graduating were £38,200 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 politics 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.