Best universities for life sciences degrees in the UK 2024

By Joy.Hunter@tim…, 30 October, 2023

Top 10 universities in the UK for life science degrees 2024

Scroll down for the full list of best universities in the UK for life science degrees

UK life sciences rank 2024Life sciences rank 2024 UniversityCity/town
12 University of CambridgeCambridge
23 University of OxfordOxford
310 Imperial College LondonLondon
420 UCLLondon
528 University of EdinburghEdinburgh
635 King’s College LondonLondon
7=54 University of ManchesterManchester
881 University of GlasgowGlasgow
9=86 University of BristolBristol
1097 University of SheffieldSheffield

The life sciences include agriculture and forestry, biological sciences, veterinary science and sport science. 

Degrees in these subjects are a great preparation to becoming a scientist in a specialist field, for example as a vet, biotechnology researcher or conservation expert.

However, the skills you’ll pick up through these courses, such as problem solving, data analysis and research, are also transferable to jobs that don’t require a lab coat. Non-science career paths include consultancy, teaching, political policy and law.  

UK universities have supported many scientific breakthroughs, from the theory of evolution and natural selection, developed by University of Edinburgh and University of Cambridge alumnus Charles Darwin, to the more recent University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine, developed by Professor Sarah Gilbert and her colleagues at the University of Oxford.

Course options for the life sciences in the UK depend on the university. In general, undergraduate courses at UK universities are three years long and require you to pick one subject of study, such as biology or sports science. However, there are exceptions to this rule. At the postgraduate level, courses are specialised further, and you can choose between a taught course or a research dissertation.


Best universities in the world for life sciences degrees
Best universities for life science degrees in the US
Best universities for life sciences degrees in Australia
Best universities for life sciences degrees in Canada


5.  University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh is comprised of three colleges: arts, humanities and social sciences; science and engineering; and medicine and veterinary medicine. The university regularly ranks as one of the best universities in Scotland

Scotland’s university system differs from England’s; it’s similar to the American major/minor system.

Undergraduate courses at the University of Edinburgh are usually four years long. You have the option to take two extra subjects alongside your chosen subject in the first two years of study, before specialising entirely on one discipline in the final two years.

At the University of Edinburgh, you can choose between applied sport science and sport and recreation management.  

Within the university’s biology courses, you can choose to focus on biotechnology, biochemistry, cell biology, ecology, genetics and many other fields. Students are encouraged to either work or study abroad as part of their course.

4.  UCL

Located in the heart of London, UCL is a constituent college of the University of London and a member of the Russell Group.

International students make up around a third of UCL’s student body each year.

Courses on offer include biology and biochemistry, and the university has partnerships with the Natural History Museum, the Crick Institute and the ZSL London Zoo, and students can attend lectures from experts working at these institutions.

Within the UCL medical school is a three-year course in sport and exercise medical sciences, an innovative programme that applies sport science knowledge to help patients and populations tackle various diseases. 

UCL also offers an undergraduate and postgraduate course in human sciences, which brings together the disciplines of genetics, anatomy, psychology, ecology, sociology and more to create an interdisciplinary programme exploring the human body from all angles. You may also take a foreign language alongside this course.

UCL has been the birthplace of numerous significant scientific discoveries, with 29 Nobel Prizes awarded to UCL students or staff, including John O’Keefe, a current professor in the university’s research department of cell and developmental biology.


What can you do with an agriculture degree?
What can you do with a biology degree?
What can you do with a sports science degree?
What can you do with a veterinary science degree?


3.  Imperial College London

Imperial College London is the only UK university to focus entirely on science, engineering, business and medicine. 

The university is known for its strong global outlook, with around 58 per cent of its student body being international.

Courses offered in the life sciences at Imperial include biology, bioengineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, microbiology, ecology and environmental biology.

You can take these courses as a three-year or four-year programme, which includes a year abroad or a year in industry, as well as courses on management or a foreign language – such as Spanish, French or German – alongside your scientific studies. A three-year course means you will graduate with a Bachelor of Science, but many of the four-year options count as a master’s.

Notable alumni of the institution include Sir Alexander Fleming and Sir Ernst Boris Chain FRS, who together discovered penicillin, and recognition for the university’s ground-breaking work comes in the form of 14 Nobel Prizes.

2. University of Oxford

Life science courses at the University of Oxford include undergraduate degrees in biochemistry (molecular and cellular), biology and biomedical sciences.

Another offering is the human sciences course, which uses an array of arts and science subjects, from genetics and demography to sociology, to study humans from an interdisciplinary viewpoint.

An even wider range of life science courses is available at master’s level and beyond. The university does not offer courses in veterinary medicine, sports science or agriculture and forestry.

As well as lectures and labs, the Oxford has classes known as tutorials, where students discuss their work each week with a leading researcher in the field. This system of teaching is done in small groups, usually no more than three, so students can access highly personalised mentorship on their academic progress.

1. University of Cambridge

Founded in 1209, with alumni including Isaac Newton, Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin, the University of Cambridge’s long-standing reputation for scientific excellence speaks for itself.

At undergraduate level the university offers the natural sciences course, a three- or four-year programme and the framework within which most science subjects are taught at the university. This includes biology.

The first year is broad, allowing students to pick from modules covering behavioural sciences, cell biology, zoology and many more. You can increase your specialisation in second year, with the option for total specialisation from third year. Veterinary medicine is a separate six-year course.

The land economy course combines international development, economics, law and environmental science to prepare students to tackle 21st century questions about the future of the environment.  

The University of Cambridge offers lectures and labs, but is renowned for its supervisions, where students discuss their work each week with a leading researcher in the field. This system of teaching is done in small groups, usually no more than three, so students can get highly personalised mentorship on their academic progress.


Top universities in the UK for life sciences degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 results

UK life sciences rank 2024Life sciences rank 2024 UniversityCity/town
12 University of CambridgeCambridge
23 University of OxfordOxford
310 Imperial College LondonLondon
420 UCLLondon
528 University of EdinburghEdinburgh
635 King’s College LondonLondon
7=54 University of ManchesterManchester
881 University of GlasgowGlasgow
9=86 University of BristolBristol
1097 University of SheffieldSheffield
=11101–125 University of AberdeenAberdeen
=11101–125 University of BirminghamBirmingham
=11101–125 University of DundeeDundee
=11101–125 University of ExeterExeter
=11101–125 University of LeedsLeeds
=11101–125 Newcastle UniversityNewcastle
=11101–125 Queen Mary University of LondonLondon
=18126–150 Cardiff UniversityCardiff
=18126–150 University of East AngliaNorwich
=18126–150 University of NottinghamNottingham
=18126–150 Queen’s University BelfastBelfast
=18126–150 University of SouthamptonSouthampton
=18126–150 University of St AndrewsSt Andrews
=24151–175 University of LiverpoolLiverpool
=24151–175 University of ReadingReading
=24151–175 University of YorkYork
27176–200 University of LeicesterLeicester
=28201–250 Durham UniversityDurham
=28201–250 Lancaster UniversityLancaster
=28201–250 University of WarwickWarwick
=31251–300 Bangor UniversityBangor
=31251–300 University of BathBath
=31251–300 University of KentKent
=31251–300 Loughborough UniversityLoughborough
=31251–300 Royal Veterinary CollegeLondon
=31251–300 University of StirlingStirling
=31251–300 University of SussexBrighton
=38301–400 Aberystwyth UniversityAberystwyth
=38301–400 University of EssexEssex
=38301–400 University of GreenwichLondon
=38301–400 Liverpool John Moores UniversityLiverpool
=38301–400 University of PlymouthPlymouth
=43401–500 Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)East Anglia
=43401–500 Aston UniversityBirmingham
=43401–500 Brunel University LondonLondon
=43401–500 Heriot-Watt UniversityEdinburgh
=43401–500 University of HullHull
=43401–500 University of LincolnLincoln
=43401–500 Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester
=43401–500 Oxford Brookes UniversityOxford
=43401–500 University of PortsmouthPortsmouth
=43401–500 SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College)Edinburgh
=43401–500 University of SurreyGuildford
=43401–500 Ulster UniversityUlster
=55501–600 Bournemouth UniversityBournemouth
=55501–600 University of BrightonBrighton
=55501–600 Coventry UniversityCoventry
=55501–600 Keele UniversityKeele
=55501–600 Leeds Beckett UniversityLeeds
=55501–600 Northumbria UniversityNorthumbria
=55501–600 Nottingham Trent UniversityNottingham
=55501–600 University of SalfordSalford
=63601–800 University of Central LancashirePreston
=63601–800 Sheffield Hallam UniversitySheffield
=63601–800 University of the West of EnglandBristol
Standfirst

Explore the top universities in the UK for life sciences degrees using data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings

 

 

Country
Display TAP Popcard?
On

Comments