Best universities for pharmacy

Queen's University Belfast comes top for pharmacy, with 96% student satisfaction and 94% of students staying on the course. Ulster University, University of Sunderland and University of Strathclyde complete the top four.

37 unis ranked£38k typical early salary90% in graduate jobs

#1 for pharmacy100

Queen's University Belfast

Satisfaction96%better than 97% of pharmacy unis
Stay on course94%better than 70% of pharmacy unis
Graduate jobs90%better than 35% of pharmacy unis
Early salary£37.5kbetter than 45% of pharmacy unis

Half of students who started had more than 162 UCAS points, counting all their qualifications

Ranked 2 to 5

2Ulster University9383% satisfied, £38k salary
3University of Sunderland8592% satisfied, £38k salary
4University of Strathclyde8486% satisfied, £41.5k salary
5Newcastle University8086% satisfied, £37k salary

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

Will my grades get me in?

Enter your predicted grades to see which pharmacy 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 studentsQueen's University Belfast96%positive about their course
Highest early salaryUniversity of Strathclyde£41.5kmedian, 15 months after graduating
Best for graduate jobsUlster University100%of working graduates in professional jobs
Best if you’re aiming below ABBUniversity of Sunderland85/100half of starters had under 125 UCAS points

Full pharmacy ranking

Tap a column to sort. Bars show where each uni sits between the lowest and highest for pharmacy. ^* 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	Queen's University Belfast1 course	AAB	100	96%	94%	90%	£37.5k	162
2	Ulster University1 course	AAA	93	83%	93%	100%	£38k	178
3	University of Sunderland1 course	120 UCAS points	85	92%	92%	100%	£38k	125
4	University of Strathclyde1 course	AAB	84	86%	95%	92%	£41.5k	237
5	Newcastle University1 course	AAB	80	86%	85%	100%	£37k	142
6	University of Manchester1 course	AAB	79	82%	97%	90%	£38.5k	158
7	Liverpool John Moores University1 course	BBB	76	87%	94%	90%	£38k	139
8	University of Bath3 courses	AAB	76	83%	95%	90%	£38.5k	151
9	Cardiff University1 course	AAB–ABB	75	82%	86%	95%	£39k	155
10	University of Nottingham3 courses	AAA+ others	72	82%	94%	91%	£38k	144
11	Robert Gordon University1 course	BBC	70	75%	96%	95%	£41k	182
12	University of Birmingham1 course	AAB	67	86%	86%	90%	£38.5k	140
13	Aston University1 course	ABB	57	84%	96%	80%	£38k	140
14	University of Brighton3 courses	AAB–BBB+ others	55	86%	86%	96%	£30k	129
15	King's College London1 course	AAA	54	83%	75%	90%	£38.5k	150
16	University of Reading2 courses	ABB	53	87%	72%	94%	£39k	127
17	University of Portsmouth1 course	ABB–BBB	52	84%	95%	95%	£30k	121
18	Swansea University2 courses	ABB–BBB	52	92%	90%	87%	£30k	127
19	University of East Anglia2 courses	AAB	48	79%	90%	85%	£39k	125
20	University of Lancashire^*1 course	120–128 UCAS points	46	75%	94%	–	–	136
21	University of Bradford^*3 courses	AAB+ others	46	70%	93%	–	–	154
22	University of Suffolk1 course	ABB	46	88%	85%	93%	£29k	110
23	Xaverian College^*1 course	~AAA–AABestimate	45	89%	65%	–	–	149
24	De Montfort University1 course	BBB	43	84%	89%	80%	£38k	118
25	Keele University4 courses	ABB+ others	40	85%	85%	92%	£30k	113
26	Medway School of Pharmacy^*1 course	ABB	39	71%	89%	–	–	126
27	Teesside University^*1 course	120 UCAS points	39	83%	80%	–	–	124
28	University of Leicester1 course	ABB	38	93%	86%	85%	£30k	127
29	UCL^*2 courses	AAB	36	72%	83%	–	–	158
30	Bangor University2 courses	ABB+ others	34	84%	90%	90%	£30k	101
31	Kingston University9 courses	120–136 UCAS points	32	83%	83%	89%	£31.5k	115
32	University of Sheffield2 courses	AAB	26	89%	88%	73%	£29k	154
33	University of Hertfordshire2 courses	AAB–ABB+ others	25	81%	87%	78%	£35k	119
34	University of Huddersfield3 courses	136 UCAS points+ others	24	84%	88%	84%	£26k	125
35	University of Liverpool2 courses	AAB–ABB	24	89%	100%	50%	£30k	135
36	University of Wolverhampton1 course	~ABB–BBCestimate	12	64%	78%	90%	£38k	115
37	University of Lincoln6 courses	ABB+ others	0	60%	90%	87%	£30k	128

What pharmacy graduates earn

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

£38kAfter 15 months
£35kAfter 3 years
£38.5kAfter 5 years

Highest earnings five years after graduating

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