Best universities for physics

University of Cambridge comes top for physics, with 90% of graduates in professional jobs and 99% of students staying on the course. Durham University, University of St Andrews and University of Birmingham complete the top four.

52 unis ranked£31k typical early salary76% in graduate jobs

#1 for physics100

University of Cambridge

Satisfaction89%better than 62% of physics unis
Stay on course99%better than 98% of physics unis
Graduate jobs90%better than 94% of physics unis
Early salary£35kbetter than 88% of physics unis

Half of students who started had more than 231 UCAS points, counting all their qualifications

Ranked 2 to 5

2Durham University8991% satisfied, £35k salary
3University of St Andrews8493% satisfied, £33.5k salary
4University of Birmingham8392% satisfied, £34k salary
5Oxford University8182% satisfied, £37.5k salary

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

Will my grades get me in?

Enter your predicted grades to see which physics 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 studentsUniversity of West London95%positive about their course
Highest early salaryImperial College London£39kmedian, 15 months after graduating
Best for graduate jobsImperial College London90%of working graduates in professional jobs
Best if you’re aiming below ABBUniversity of Leicester62/100half of starters had under 116 UCAS points

Full physics ranking

Tap a column to sort. Bars show where each uni sits between the lowest and highest for physics. ^* 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	University of Cambridge1 course	AAA	100	89%	99%	90%	£35k	231
2	Durham University5 courses	AAA	89	91%	94%	87%	£35k	212
3	University of St Andrews9 courses	AAA+ others	84	93%	96%	84%	£33.5k	232
4	University of Birmingham17 courses	A*AA+ others	83	92%	92%	86%	£34k	178
5	Oxford University2 courses	A*AA	81	82%	98%	90%	£37.5k	231
6	Imperial College London11 courses	AAA+ others	78	79%	91%	90%	£39k	218
7	University of Warwick6 courses	A*AA	69	89%	90%	84%	£34k	172
8	University of Nottingham9 courses	AAA+ others	68	88%	90%	87%	£34k	141
9	University of Leicester11 courses	ABB	62	92%	89%	83%	£33k	116
10	Loughborough University21 courses	AAB+ others	60	93%	89%	75%	£35k	133
11	University of Leeds24 courses	AAA	57	88%	92%	82%	£32k	145
12	Lancaster University25 courses	AAA	56	92%	96%	73%	£30.7k	160
13	Royal Holloway, University of London13 courses	AAA–ABB+ others	56	89%	91%	87%	£32k	116
14	UCL12 courses	A*AA+ others	56	82%	94%	76%	£36k	188
15	University of Exeter11 courses	AAA–ABB	55	86%	89%	89%	£31k	148
16	University of Bath19 courses	A*AA	54	82%	85%	86%	£34k	182
17	University of Liverpool22 courses	ABB	52	88%	96%	74%	£33k	135
18	University of Southampton20 courses	AAA–AAB+ others	48	84%	88%	83%	£32k	153
19	University of Surrey20 courses	ABB	48	90%	89%	82%	£30k	130
20	Cardiff University10 courses	AAB–BBB+ others	47	89%	95%	75%	£30.2k	142
21	University of Aberdeen9 courses	BBC	44	87%	95%	85%	£30k	176
22	University of York25 courses	AAB+ others	44	82%	90%	80%	£34k	144
23	Queen's University Belfast14 courses	ABB	43	89%	92%	69%	£31.5k	162
24	University of Plymouth1 course	112 UCAS points	43	94%	85%	85%	£31k	104
25	University of Bristol19 courses	A*AA+ others	42	82%	95%	74%	£32k	176
26	University of Manchester10 courses	AAA	40	78%	90%	79%	£34k	193
27	Newcastle University7 courses	AAB	37	84%	93%	80%	£28k	137
28	University of Hertfordshire^*7 courses	128 UCAS points	36	92%	78%	–	–	130
29	University of Strathclyde4 courses	BBB+ others	34	90%	78%	80%	£30k	170
30	University of Hull9 courses	BBC+ others	33	90%	94%	70%	£29k	109
31	University of Sheffield8 courses	AAB+ others	30	87%	93%	64%	£29k	157
32	University of the West of Scotland2 courses	–	30	87%	91%	70%	£30k	148
33	King's College London8 courses	AAA	29	79%	86%	82%	£32k	148
34	University of Portsmouth4 courses	BBB–BBC	28	89%	90%	74%	£27k	105
35	Nottingham Trent University14 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	27	92%	82%	62%	£32.4k	99
36	Heriot-Watt University4 courses	BBC+ others	26	88%	70%	85%	£33.5k	128
37	University of Edinburgh16 courses	AAA–ABB+ others	26	73%	91%	84%	£32.8k	197
38	University of Sussex14 courses	ABB+ others	25	82%	85%	71%	£33.5k	117
39	Swansea University19 courses	AAB–BBC+ others	21	94%	79%	65%	£27.5k	111
40	University of Northumbria at Newcastle6 courses	96–112 UCAS points	21	94%	75%	55%	£27.5k	108
41	University of Dundee8 courses	–	21	81%	95%	77%	£26k	168
42	Sheffield Hallam University2 courses	BBC	20	81%	80%	75%	£30k	88
43	University of Lincoln12 courses	BBC–BCC+ others	19	87%	91%	60%	£28.5k	97
44	University of Glasgow17 courses	AAB–BBB+ others	18	78%	86%	73%	£30k	213
45	University of Lancashire8 courses	128 UCAS points	16	94%	87%	55%	£25k	106
46	Aberystwyth University17 courses	BBB–BBC+ others	15	88%	87%	55%	£30k	102
47	University of Salford4 courses	112 UCAS points	14	84%	84%	69%	£28.5k	99
48	University of East Anglia5 courses	ABB+ others	11	79%	86%	60%	£28k	100
49	Queen Mary University of London7 courses	ABB	10	85%	84%	56%	£30k	126
50	University of West London5 courses	112 UCAS points	10	95%	70%	60%	£25.5k	115
51	University of Kent (Part of London and South East University Group)15 courses	ABB	1	77%	86%	65%	£30k	102
52	Keele University11 courses	ABB	0	94%	77%	60%	£26k	87

What physics graduates earn

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

£31kAfter 15 months
£29kAfter 3 years
£36.3kAfter 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

Not ranked yet

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

Birkbeck, University of London