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Top universities for sport and exercise sciences in the UK: the Be Wise ranking
43 UK universities and colleges ranked for sport and exercise sciences on official data.
Providers need at least 50 survey responses in sport and exercise sciences 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 sport and exercise sciences.
The table
| Position | University or college | Score out of 100 | Student experience | Continuation | Graduate prospects | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of BathBath, England | 100.0 | 90.9% | 92.3% | 81.0% | £36,20019% above the UK average for this subject |
| 2 | Loughborough UniversityLoughborough, England | 99.4 | 87.3% | 93.8% | 85.0% | £37,70023% above the UK average for this subject |
| 3 | Robert Gordon UniversityAberdeen, Scotland | 89.3 | 95.2% | 86.3% | 72.3% | £33,70010% above the UK average for this subject |
| 4 | Swansea UniversitySwansea, Wales | 84.6 | 97.0% | 87.6% | 66.7% | £31,8004% above the UK average for this subject |
| 5 | University of BirminghamBirmingham, England | 69.9 | 88.7% | 91.8% | 67.4% | £33,70010% above the UK average for this subject |
| 6 | University of ChichesterChichester, England | 68.4 | 90.7% | 88.1% | 69.6% | £31,5003% above the UK average for this subject |
| 7 | University of BrightonBrighton, England | 67.7 | 88.2% | 78.8% | 79.0% | £34,00011% above the UK average for this subject |
| 8 | University of HertfordshireHatfield, England | 63.1 | 90.0% | 84.1% | 69.3% | £32,2005% above the UK average for this subject |
| 9 | Oxford Brookes UniversityOxford, England | 63.0 | 89.4% | 85.3% | 69.6% | £32,2005% above the UK average for this subject |
| 10 | University of LincolnLincoln, England | 62.8 | 91.7% | 90.2% | 66.6% | £28,7006% below the UK average for this subject |
| 11 | Southampton Solent UniversitySouthampton, England | 62.4 | 90.4% | 85.0% | Not published | £31,1002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 12 | Birmingham City UniversityBirmingham, England | 61.3 | 91.1% | 82.8% | 66.5% | Not published |
| 13 | Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham, England | 58.5 | 89.5% | 84.1% | 72.7% | £29,6003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 14 | Anglia Ruskin UniversityCambridge, England | 58.0 | 91.7% | 77.5% | 71.2% | £30,4001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 15 | St Mary’s University, TwickenhamLondon, England | 57.2 | 87.5% | 76.9% | 71.9% | £34,80014% above the UK average for this subject |
| 16 | University of EdinburghEdinburgh, Scotland | 56.4 | 80.4% | 90.9% | 69.7% | £37,50023% above the UK average for this subject |
| 17 | University of NorthamptonNorthampton, England | 55.2 | 95.6% | 71.4% | 69.0% | £28,5007% below the UK average for this subject |
| 18 | Edge Hill UniversityOrmskirk, England | 53.7 | 91.6% | 82.5% | 67.9% | £28,2008% below the UK average for this subject |
| 19 | University of WorcesterWorcester, England | 52.5 | 89.9% | 85.5% | 67.5% | £28,6006% below the UK average for this subject |
| 20 | Canterbury Christ Church UniversityCanterbury, England | 48.8 | 88.2% | 80.4% | Not published | £31,8004% above the UK average for this subject |
| 21 | Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester, England | 48.3 | 89.8% | 80.4% | 66.9% | £29,6003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 22 | University of PortsmouthPortsmouth, England | 47.6 | 88.8% | 89.9% | 53.4% | £32,2005% above the UK average for this subject |
| 23 | Hartpury UniversityGloucester, England | 47.1 | 89.0% | 78.0% | 67.1% | Not published |
| 24 | Liverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool, England | 45.9 | 87.6% | 85.3% | Not published | £29,6003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 25 | Northumbria UniversityNewcastle upon Tyne, England | 44.5 | 90.0% | 78.0% | Not published | £29,6003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 26 | University of WolverhamptonWolverhampton, England | 43.9 | 88.6% | 83.2% | 63.5% | £29,6003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 27 | York St John UniversityYork, England | 43.8 | 92.4% | 89.0% | 47.8% | £29,5003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 28 | Leeds Beckett UniversityLeeds, England | 43.2 | 91.3% | 84.5% | 51.0% | £31,1002% above the UK average for this subject |
| 29 | Bournemouth UniversityBournemouth and Poole, England | 42.0 | 86.0% | 84.2% | 57.5% | £34,00011% above the UK average for this subject |
| 30 | Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityCardiff, Wales | 41.4 | 86.4% | 83.7% | Not published | £30,4001% below the UK average for this subject |
| 31 | University of St Mark & St JohnEngland | 40.8 | 91.2% | 80.5% | 56.7% | £29,6003% below the UK average for this subject |
| 32 | Brunel University LondonLondon, England | 39.2 | 84.2% | 76.8% | 68.8% | £33,3009% above the UK average for this subject |
| 33 | University of East LondonLondon, England | 29.7 | 89.6% | 72.1% | Not published | £28,5007% below the UK average for this subject |
| 34 | University of SalfordSalford, England | 28.9 | 84.2% | 85.2% | 62.8% | £28,5007% below the UK average for this subject |
| 35 | University of StirlingStirling, Scotland | 28.2 | 85.3% | 82.7% | 58.3% | £30,0002% below the UK average for this subject |
| 36 | University of the West of ScotlandPaisley, Scotland | 25.9 | 85.2% | 74.7% | 67.1% | £28,9005% below the UK average for this subject |
| 37 | University of KentCanterbury, England | 23.1 | 83.9% | 84.4% | 55.9% | £30,0002% below the UK average for this subject |
| 38 | University of LancashirePreston, England | 22.5 | 90.8% | 61.1% | 67.2% | £27,10011% below the UK average for this subject |
| 39 | Sheffield Hallam UniversitySheffield, England | 22.0 | 82.9% | 79.3% | 64.3% | £29,3004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 40 | University of GloucestershireCheltenham, England | 21.9 | 85.5% | 65.7% | 70.9% | £29,3004% below the UK average for this subject |
| 41 | University of South WalesPontypridd, Wales | 20.1 | 84.8% | 80.5% | 60.0% | £27,8009% below the UK average for this subject |
| 42 | Edinburgh Napier UniversityEdinburgh, Scotland | 19.1 | 83.2% | 81.3% | Not published | £28,9005% below the UK average for this subject |
| 43 | Leeds Trinity UniversityLeeds, England | 0.0 | 80.9% | 69.9% | Not published | £31,1002% 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 (57)
These providers teach sport and exercise sciences 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.
Abertay University; Aberystwyth University; Bangor University; Birmingham Newman University; Bishop Burton College; Blackpool and the Fylde College; Buckinghamshire New University; CWSH, CWS & College of Esports; Coventry University; Durham University; Health Sciences University; Heriot-Watt University; King's College London; Kingston University; LTE Group; Lancaster University; Lincoln Bishop University; Liverpool Hope University; London Metropolitan University; London South Bank University; Loughborough College; Luminate Education Group; Middlesex University; NCG; Newcastle University; Stranmillis University College; Teesside University; University Academy 92; University Campus of Football Business; University College Birmingham; University of Aberdeen; University of Bedfordshire; University of Bradford; University of Chester; University of Cumbria; University of Derby; University of East Anglia; University of Essex; University of Exeter; University of Glasgow; University of Greater Manchester; University of Greenwich; University of Huddersfield; University of Hull; University of Leeds; University of Nottingham; University of Roehampton; University of Staffordshire; University of Strathclyde; University of Suffolk; University of Sunderland; University of Surrey; University of Wales Trinity Saint David; University of Winchester; University of the Highlands and Islands; Virtual Alliance; Wrexham University
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Quick answers
Which universities have the highest student satisfaction for sport and exercise sciences?
In the 2026 National Student Survey, the highest average positive scores for sport and exercise sciences among providers with at least 50 responses were Swansea University (97.0%), University of Northampton (95.6%), Robert Gordon University (95.2%), York St John University (92.4%), University of Lincoln (91.7%). This is one measure; the full table also shows graduate earnings.
How much do sport and exercise sciences graduates earn?
Across UK providers, the typical (median) earnings of sport and exercise sciences graduates five years after graduating were £30,500 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 sport and exercise sciences 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.