Top universities in the UK for social sciences 2026

By Joy.Hunter@tim…, 17 February, 2026

Top universities in the UK for social science degrees 2026

UK Social Sciences Rank 2026	Global Social Sciences Rank 2026	University	Overall	Teaching	Research Environment	Research Quality	Industry	International Outlook
1	2	University of Oxford	93.9	97.9	99.3	83.5	95.8	87.7
2	7	University of Cambridge	89.8	95.5	95.8	79.7	67.9	85.4
3	10	London School of Economics and Political Science	85.9	86.8	90.1	86.1	43.5	86.8
4	=16	UCL	82.7	75.8	85.4	87.9	67.6	91
5	30	University of Edinburgh	73.5	72.4	67.6	79.7	67	85
6	32	University of Manchester	72.9	62.4	70	87.3	67	84.6
7	37	King’s College London	72.5	68.4	71.9	77.3	60	83.1
8	67	University of Sheffield	62.8	48.1	55.9	84.6	70	78
9	72	University of Leeds	61.9	48.7	51.7	83.4	68.3	85.3
10	75	University of Glasgow	61.1	48	51.3	82.4	65.4	84.2
11	76	University of Sussex	60.9	49.4	49.1	85.3	49.7	84.9
12	77	Durham University	60.7	50.4	49.9	84.4	44.1	79.8
13	=85	University of Bristol	59.8	48.2	46.9	84.6	62.9	79.7
14	95	Loughborough University	57.6	38.4	44.2	88.1	68.1	88
=15	101–125	Lancaster University	53.3–56.7	41.1	41.9	86.5	65.2	80
=15	101–125	Newcastle University	53.3–56.7	35.9	44.3	85.1	66.4	79.9
=15	101–125	University of Essex	53.3–56.7	37.7	45.7	80.9	64.2	93.4
=15	101–125	University of Exeter	53.3–56.7	33.7	37.7	89.7	72.8	80.9
=15	101–125	University of Southampton	53.3–56.7	38.6	41	87.5	67.7	90.8
=15	101–125	University of Surrey	53.3–56.7	33.5	36.6	95.6	66.8	86.1
=15	101–125	University of Warwick	53.3–56.7	44	41.6	78.8	66	82.6
=22	126–150	Cardiff University	50.8–52.9	35.1	47.1	75.1	54.9	69
=22	126–150	SOAS University of London	50.8–52.9	47.8	46.2	61.3	40.3	75.3
=22	126–150	University of Bath	50.8–52.9	40.4	27.1	88.7	38.8	85.1
=22	126–150	University of Birmingham	50.8–52.9	35.1	41.6	78.8	59.8	80.9
=22	126–150	University of St Andrews	50.8–52.9	44.5	37	71.4	51.5	76.1
=22	126–150	University of York	50.8–52.9	40.1	40.5	75.7	56.8	81.8
=28	151–175	University of Nottingham	48.6–50.7	29.4	32.8	83.3	67.1	79.2
=28	151–175	University of Reading	48.6–50.7	27.7	30.2	88.1	83.6	88.1
=30	176–200	City St George's, University of London	47.3–48.5	25.9	32.1	81.3	63.9	88.6
=30	176–200	University of Liverpool	47.3–48.5	29.8	32.1	78.8	60.4	75.6
=32	201–250	Aston University	44.4–47.2	20.7	19.6	91.9	60.6	87
=32	201–250	Queen Mary University of London	44.4–47.2	29.3	32.1	75.4	67	81.6
=32	201–250	Queen’s University Belfast	44.4–47.2	28.4	32.1	71.7	57.5	88.9
=32	201–250	University of Aberdeen	44.4–47.2	32.2	27.3	75	63.1	84.6
=32	201–250	University of East Anglia	44.4–47.2	28.6	27.2	83.8	57.1	78.4
=32	201–250	University of Strathclyde	44.4–47.2	27.7	27.6	77.9	61.5	81.3
=38	251–300	Brunel University of London	42.1–44.3	21.2	17.7	85.4	63	91.7
=38	251–300	Goldsmiths, University of London	42.1–44.3	35.6	26.6	74.3	17.1	68.2
=38	251–300	Swansea University	42.1–44.3	20.5	18.1	91.8	52.9	80.9
=38	251–300	University of Greenwich	42.1–44.3	15.2	17.2	94.3	55.7	91.7
=38	251–300	University of Kent	42.1–44.3	26	26.5	75.1	50.9	81.8
=38	251–300	University of Leicester	42.1–44.3	28.2	20.5	77.3	56.3	75.7
=44	301–400	Bangor University	37.8–41.9	22.3	20.9	71.2	32	71.9
=44	301–400	Bournemouth University	37.8–41.9	18.5	16.4	85.7	51.5	76.9
=44	301–400	Liverpool John Moores University	37.8–41.9	13.3	15.1	91.2	58.5	62.8
=44	301–400	Manchester Metropolitan University	37.8–41.9	19.4	17.9	80.6	31.6	61.8
=44	301–400	Northumbria University	37.8–41.9	21.3	19.6	81.9	47	62.8
=44	301–400	Royal Holloway, University of London	37.8–41.9	26.3	25.4	66	41.7	74.8
=44	301–400	University of Bradford	37.8–41.9	17.8	14.3	86.7	51	78.9
=44	301–400	University of Huddersfield	37.8–41.9	19.1	19.8	79	59.3	59.6
=44	301–400	University of Portsmouth	37.8–41.9	16.5	12.2	86	58.8	72
=44	301–400	University of Stirling	37.8–41.9	23.7	19.9	75.9	46	77.9
=44	301–400	University of Westminster	37.8–41.9	20.9	20.2	74.5	60.7	74.2
=55	401–500	Aberystwyth University	34.6–37.7	27.9	19.1	56.6	61.7	61.9
=55	401–500	Birkbeck, University of London	34.6–37.7	19.9	21.7	65	57.7	77.3
=55	401–500	Coventry University	34.6–37.7	17.6	17.2	68.1	43.4	86.7
=55	401–500	Edinburgh Napier University	34.6–37.7	16	16.9	70.9	44	75.1
=55	401–500	Glasgow Caledonian University	34.6–37.7	20.4	19.6	66	33.7	75.9
=55	401–500	Leeds Beckett University	34.6–37.7	22.3	20	70.5	59.3	56
=55	401–500	Nottingham Trent University	34.6–37.7	17.8	10.7	78.9	34.9	74.9
=55	401–500	The Open University	34.6–37.7	20.7	15.2	75.4	49.2	44
=55	401–500	Ulster University	34.6–37.7	25.3	18.1	60.8	40	66.8
=55	401–500	University of Brighton	34.6–37.7	15.9	14.6	78.4	39.3	64.6
=55	401–500	University of Dundee	34.6–37.7	21.1	23	59	66	72.9
=55	401–500	University of Wolverhampton	34.6–37.7	18.3	15.9	73.8	47	63.6
=67	501–600	De Montfort University	31.7–34.5	13.4	11.6	67.9	58.2	67
=67	501–600	Keele University	31.7–34.5	21.7	15	56.5	63.3	65.3
=67	501–600	London Metropolitan University	31.7–34.5	11.9	11.7	77.7	24	80.4
=67	501–600	Middlesex University	31.7–34.5	16.1	12	63.9	31.1	80.9
=67	501–600	Oxford Brookes University	31.7–34.5	21.8	23.3	48.5	31.6	78.6
=67	501–600	UWE Bristol (University of the West of England)	31.7–34.5	15	11.3	75.3	46.5	58.8
=67	501–600	University of Bedfordshire	31.7–34.5	16.5	11.4	73	39.8	66.7
=67	501–600	University of Derby	31.7–34.5	12.6	11.2	75.1	47.9	61.6
=67	501–600	University of Hull	31.7–34.5	20.8	15.2	61.6	43.7	68.4
=67	501–600	University of Lincoln	31.7–34.5	17.2	11.3	71.2	24.3	63.1
=67	501–600	University of the West of Scotland	31.7–34.5	13.8	11.6	77.2	30	70.9
=78	601–800	Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)	26.6–31.6	11.5	10.7	63.8	25.1	70.5
=78	601–800	Birmingham City University	26.6–31.6	15.3	11.5	61.7	40.9	66.2
=78	601–800	Edge Hill University	26.6–31.6	14.1	12.5	63.8	31.5	39.5
=78	601–800	Kingston University	26.6–31.6	14.6	11.9	56.3	58.9	79.2
=78	601–800	London South Bank University	26.6–31.6	16.6	10.4	57.7	48.6	83
=78	601–800	Robert Gordon University	26.6–31.6	14.3	8.9	62	39.3	68.3
=78	601–800	Sheffield Hallam University	26.6–31.6	16.3	12.4	63.6	35.4	51
=78	601–800	Teesside University	26.6–31.6	16.9	11.7	60	31.3	71.7
=78	601–800	University of East London	26.6–31.6	13.3	13.4	63.7	31.8	74.4
=78	601–800	University of Gloucestershire	26.6–31.6	15.3	9.9	60.3	19.8	51.4
=78	601–800	University of Hertfordshire	26.6–31.6	14.8	9.9	53.2	28.7	73.3
=78	601–800	University of Roehampton	26.6–31.6	14.4	16.3	59.3	17	77.1
=78	601–800	University of Salford	26.6–31.6	16.9	8.9	63.9	49.6	64.4
=78	601–800	University of West London	26.6–31.6	19.1	9.3	58.5	24.2	79.9
=92	801–1000	Canterbury Christ Church University	21.6–26.5	11.5	11.5	52.6	17	51.2
=92	801–1000	Liverpool Hope University	21.6–26.5	12.3	13.6	40.6	22.2	65.7
=92	801–1000	University of Chester	21.6–26.5	24.3	11.1	44	25.2	38.2
=92	801–1000	University of Lancashire	21.6–26.5	15.5	11.6	46.5	31.2	46.9
=92	801–1000	University of Northampton	21.6–26.5	13.6	13.4	35.5	17.9	56.4
=92	801–1000	University of South Wales	21.6–26.5	14.4	11.7	42.3	55	49.1
=92	801–1000	University of Staffordshire	21.6–26.5	13.1	9.3	47.7	21.1	53.6
=92	801–1000	University of the Arts London	21.6–26.5	18.4	8.6	33	17	69.6
=92	801–1000	York St John University	21.6–26.5	15.3	11.2	49.6	17	49.7
=101	1001+	University of Sunderland	11.4–21.5	15.4	8	35.2	37.5	48.9
=101	1001+	University of Winchester	11.4–21.5	11.3	10.4	34.9	17	56.8
=101	1001+	University of Worcester	11.4–21.5	11	11.7	28.3	31.3	37.5

Key insights into the top universities for social sciences in the UK 2026

The University of Oxford is the best university in the UK for social sciences degrees
The University of Cambridge scores highly for research quality
UCL scores highly for international outlook
Some 103 universities in the UK are included in the social sciences ranking

Choosing the right university for social sciences in the UK

The social sciences are fields that explore the relationships between individuals and societies. Subjects under this umbrella include anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, linguistics, politics, psychology and sociology. Find out more about what the social sciences are here.

In the UK, undergraduate courses tend to be in one subject within the social sciences as opposed to a singular social sciences degree.

However, if you are looking for a broader foundation in the social sciences, there are an increasing number of joint honours and liberal arts courses on offer that allow you to study several social science subjects alongside each other.

The table for the best universities for social sciences in the UK was derived from data collected for the THE World University Subject Rankings: Social Sciences. The results are calculated using 18 performance indicators underlying five metrics: research environment, teaching (the learning environment), research quality, industry and international outlook. For more insights and a detailed breakdown of our ranking methodology, visit our methodology page. Use the ranking table above to explore the right institution for you.

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Discover the Times Higher Education rankings for the best social science schools in the UK 2026.

This list highlights the top-ranked universities for social sciences in the US, based on the Times Higher Education Subject Rankings: Social Sciences 2026. These rankings provide valuable insights into the leading institutions for engineering education and research.

A total of 103 UK universities have been ranked for their excellence in teaching, research, industry collaboration and international outlook.

The rankings are based on a rigorous methodology designed by Times Higher Education’s data experts, ensuring accuracy and reliability for students, academics, and industry leaders worldwide.

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Best universities for social sciences degrees in the UK 2026

Top universities in the UK for social science degrees 2026

Key insights into the top universities for social sciences in the UK 2026

Choosing the right university for social sciences in the UK

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