Best universities for geography

Durham University comes top for geography, with a median salary of £31.5k 15 months after graduating and 76% of graduates in professional jobs. University of Cambridge, Oxford University and Loughborough University complete the top four.

71 unis ranked£28k typical early salary63% in graduate jobs

#1 for geography100

Durham University

Satisfaction93%better than 83% of geography unis
Stay on course96%better than 69% of geography unis
Graduate jobs76%better than 86% of geography unis
Early salary£31.5kbetter than 92% of geography unis

Half of students who started had more than 165 UCAS points, counting all their qualifications

Ranked 2 to 5

2University of Cambridge9493% satisfied, £31.5k salary
3Oxford University9291% satisfied, £32.2k salary
4Loughborough University9195% satisfied, £30k salary
5UCL8988% satisfied, £34.8k salary

Scores are out of 100 and relative to other unis offering geography. Data: Discover Uni, September 2026.

Will my grades get me in?

Enter your predicted grades to see which geography courses you’d meet the offer for, where you’re a good match and which are a stretch.

We use each university’s typical offer from its course pages. Where we couldn’t get it, we show an estimated offer (marked ~) worked out from courses whose students had similar grades, so always check the course page. Your grades stay on this device. Jump to the table

Best for…

Happiest studentsUWE, Bristol98%positive about their course
Highest early salaryUCL£34.8kmedian, 15 months after graduating
Best for graduate jobsBirkbeck, University of London85%of working graduates in professional jobs
Best if you’re aiming below ABBCoventry University58/100half of starters had under 97 UCAS points

Full geography ranking

Tap a column to sort. Bars show where each uni sits between the lowest and highest for geography. ^* Ranked on fewer than five measures because some data isn’t published. ~ estimate = we couldn’t get the university’s own offer, so it’s estimated from similar courses. Check the course page.

Find a university

Region Fits my grades Placement year Year abroad Foundation year

	University
1	Durham University4 courses	A*AB–AAA	100	93%	96%	76%	£31.5k	165
2	University of Cambridge1 course	A*AA	94	93%	100%	70%	£31.5k	183
3	Oxford University1 course	A*AA	92	91%	99%	75%	£32.2k	181
4	Loughborough University11 courses	AAB	91	95%	96%	80%	£30k	141
5	UCL5 courses	AAB+ others	89	88%	97%	76%	£34.8k	146
6	London School of Economics and Political Science5 courses	AAA+ others	77	81%	99%	80%	£33k	167
7	University of St Andrews40 courses	AAA+ others	76	91%	94%	76%	£28.6k	212
8	University of Warwick13 courses	AAA+ others	76	89%	98%	75%	£32k	148
9	University of Bristol4 courses	AAB	75	87%	97%	74%	£30k	152
10	University of Birmingham10 courses	AAB+ others	73	84%	96%	83%	£29.5k	138
11	Lancaster University20 courses	BBB+ others	71	86%	96%	80%	£29k	135
12	University of Southampton4 courses	ABB	67	90%	100%	62%	£30k	138
13	University of Exeter7 courses	AAA–AAB+ others	67	88%	97%	68%	£29k	148
14	University of Sheffield7 courses	AAB+ others	64	92%	97%	59%	£28.5k	153
15	University of Nottingham4 courses	AAB+ others	63	89%	96%	66%	£29.7k	129
16	University of Leeds8 courses	AAB+ others	59	84%	98%	68%	£29.6k	142
17	Newcastle University3 courses	ABB	59	87%	98%	70%	£29k	129
18	King's College London2 courses	AAB	58	86%	95%	61%	£31.4k	141
18	University of York10 courses	AAB+ others	58	86%	92%	72%	£29.8k	133
20	Coventry University4 courses	BBC	58	94%	88%	70%	£29k	97
21	Nottingham Trent University3 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	57	90%	100%	78%	£26.5k	104
22	University of Portsmouth3 courses	BBB–BCC	53	87%	100%	73%	£28.7k	105
23	University of Hertfordshire5 courses	~ABB–BBCestimate	52	96%	90%	60%	£30k	114
24	University of Edinburgh^*4 courses	AAA–ABB+ others	50	86%	95%	75%	–	177
25	University of Liverpool6 courses	ABB	50	87%	96%	66%	£27.3k	126
26	University of Gloucestershire8 courses	BBB–CCC	50	94%	88%	63%	£28k	107
27	University of Chester5 courses	BBC–BCC	48	91%	96%	75%	£25k	115
28	University of Reading11 courses	BBB	47	91%	90%	60%	£28.5k	113
29	University of Lincoln4 courses	BBC+ others	46	87%	92%	69%	£27.7k	111
30	Royal Holloway, University of London7 courses	BBB	45	88%	90%	62%	£29.3k	118
31	Queen Mary University of London10 courses	ABB	45	96%	84%	35%	£30k	126
32	University of Northampton^*2 courses	BBC	45	95%	77%	75%	–	101
33	University of Manchester7 courses	AAB+ others	43	84%	95%	60%	£28k	148
34	University of Worcester^*6 courses	BBC	43	94%	90%	35%	–	109
35	UWE, Bristol3 courses	112 UCAS points	42	98%	86%	54%	£25.8k	115
36	Liverpool John Moores University4 courses	BCC	42	95%	86%	65%	£25.5k	93
37	Leeds Beckett University^*3 courses	112 UCAS points	42	89%	90%	–	–	98
38	Edge Hill University6 courses	BBC+ others	41	88%	89%	55%	£30k	101
39	Bangor University8 courses	104–136 UCAS points	40	89%	88%	62%	£27k	116
40	Aberystwyth University19 courses	BBB–CCC+ others	40	92%	90%	53%	£27.7k	105
41	University of Plymouth11 courses	104 UCAS points	37	89%	94%	57%	£28k	95
42	University of Cumbria^*4 courses	BBB–BBD	37	89%	79%	–	–	108
43	Cardiff University15 courses	ABB–BBC	36	86%	96%	54%	£27.8k	127
44	Bournemouth University^*1 course	~BBB–BBCestimate	35	82%	90%	–	–	100
45	University of Sussex10 courses	ABB–BBB	35	84%	96%	63%	£26.8k	111
46	Ulster University2 courses	AAA	35	89%	95%	55%	£25k	120
46	Kingston University6 courses	104–128 UCAS points	35	86%	90%	55%	£29k	92
48	Birkbeck, University of London^*6 courses	BBC	34	76%	80%	85%	–	97
49	University of East Anglia19 courses	ABB+ others	34	82%	86%	66%	£29.6k	115
50	Queen's University Belfast6 courses	BBB	34	88%	95%	53%	£25.7k	132
51	Sheffield Hallam University1 course	BBC	33	84%	85%	55%	£30k	102
52	University of Leicester3 courses	ABB+ others	33	94%	80%	60%	£28k	87
53	University of Dundee13 courses	–	32	86%	97%	50%	£27k	162
54	University of Hull15 courses	BBC+ others	32	81%	97%	69%	£26k	103
55	Swansea University16 courses	ABB–BBC	32	89%	90%	54%	£27.3k	107
56	University of Winchester1 course	BBB	31	83%	100%	55%	£27k	100
57	University of Brighton2 courses	ABB–BCC	30	93%	79%	57%	£27k	102
58	Keele University16 courses	BBB+ others	29	86%	88%	65%	£25.5k	110
59	University of Glasgow31 courses	ABB–BBB+ others	29	77%	86%	64%	£28k	194
60	Oxford Brookes University7 courses	BBB+ others	28	91%	81%	58%	£26k	108
61	University of Aberdeen15 courses	BBC	28	80%	100%	45%	£27.5k	160
62	Manchester Metropolitan University3 courses	BCC	26	90%	85%	49%	£27.4k	103
62	Brunel University of London^*9 courses	BBB–BCC	26	71%	100%	–	–	92
64	Heriot-Watt University^*2 courses	BBC	25	77%	80%	–	–	170
65	Canterbury Christ Church University^*2 courses	BBC	25	76%	75%	–	–	96
66	University of Stirling2 courses	BBB	23	87%	84%	55%	£26k	158
67	Bath Spa University4 courses	BBB–BCC	22	77%	87%	60%	£28k	109
68	University of Northumbria at Newcastle6 courses	96–112 UCAS points	19	90%	91%	42%	£26k	104
69	University of the Highlands and Islands^*10 courses	–	14	90%	60%	45%	–	160
70	York St John University6 courses	104 UCAS points	12	77%	90%	65%	£25k	90
71	University of Salford5 courses	104 UCAS points	0	81%	77%	55%	£24.5k	96

What geography graduates earn

Typical (median) earnings for geography graduates, across the universities we rank.

£28kAfter 15 months
£25.5kAfter 3 years
£32kAfter 5 years

Highest earnings five years after graduating

London School of Economics and Political Science£49.5k
University of Cambridge£48k
University of Bristol£44.5k
Oxford University£43.5k
Durham University£43.4k

The 15-month figure comes from the Graduate Outcomes survey and covers graduates in full-time work. The 3 and 5-year figures come from tax records and include everyone in work, including part-time, so they can be lower than the 15-month figure. Pay also depends on where people live. Compare earnings across all subjects or see what you’d repay on your student loan.

What the measures mean

Student satisfaction: Average share of final-year students answering positively across the seven themes of the National Student Survey: teaching, learning opportunities, assessment, support, organisation, resources and student voice.
Stay on course: Share of students still studying or having qualified a year after starting. Lower numbers mean more people drop out.
Graduate-level jobs: Of graduates in work 15 months after finishing, the share in professional or managerial roles.
Salary after 15 months: Median salary of graduates in full-time work in the UK, 15 months after finishing.
Entry points (median): The middle UCAS tariff score of students who started: half had more, half had less. It counts all their qualifications (a fourth A-level, EPQ, AS levels, music grades and so on), so it usually sits above the published offer, especially at selective universities. It shows how competitive entry is. Always check the real offer on the university’s course page.

See exactly how the overall score is calculated

Not ranked yet

These offer geography but don’t yet have enough published data to rank fairly, often because the course is new or small.

University Centre Somerset College Group, Cornwall College, Royal Agricultural University, Abertay University, South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Black Mountains College