The Best Universities for Geography in the UK (2024)

There are many reasons why someone might want to study Geography at a university in the UK. Here are just a few:

• UK universities hold a high international standing for academic excellence. A Masters Degree in Geography from the UK is respected around the world, which can be a significant asset in an student’s career.
• The UK is known for pioneering research-led teaching, meaning students are often taught by leading academics in Geography whose work is shaping contemporary understanding and practice within the field.
• From arrival and pre-sessional language courses to ongoing pastoral care, UK universities are recognised for providing excellent support services to overseas students in order to help them acclimate and adapt to the new educational cultural environments found in The UK.
• Students have a variety of networking opportunities to get involved with during their studies, these include from professional organisations such as the Royal Geographic Society, networking events, conferences, and sector-specific meetups that are valuable to building connections with industry experts and alumni.

The following tables gives the 10 top universities in the UK for Geography, according to global and local university rankings. It can show you which British universities are amongst the best in the world - and help you compare institutions on an international level.

This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education, QS and Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU).

Each ranking system uses its own methodology, with different factors having more or less influence on a university's result.

For more information on using international rankings as a postgraduate, see our guide.

The Times Higher Education rankings are strong in academic focus and diverse teaching metrics, but do not include employer-specific metrics. Additionally, the rankings may not include all specialist institutions.

The QS World University Rankings are designed to meet the needs of prospective students, with more weight given to student-centric metrics such as staff/student ratio, international recruitment and employer opinion. The rankings are balanced between qualitative and quantitative data, but give less weight to research than some other rankings.

The ARWU rankings reflect the presence of elite academics and the future academic success of graduates. However, they do not directly assess the quality of education at a university or take into account other aspects of university performance.