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The Best Universities for Medicine in the UK (2025)

Written by Vincent Hedman

Why Study Medicine in the UK

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

  • The UK is home to some of the best medical schools in the world, including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London. So if you're looking for a top-quality education, you'll find it here.
  • A Medical degree from a UK university will open up doors to an exciting and rewarding career. Doctors are needed all over the world, so your skills will be in great demand no matter where you choose to work.
  • A Medical degree is excellent preparation for any number of other careers, including research, teaching and healthcare administration.
  • Studying Medicine will challenge you intellectually and help you develop critical thinking and analytical skills that will be useful in any area of life.

The Best UK Universities for Medicine

The following tables gives the 10 top universities in the UK for Medicine, 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.

Wondering how you can use international rankings to make the best decision? Read our guide for more information.


Top 10 UK Universities for Medicine (Times Higher Education)
University UK Rank Global Rank
University of Oxford 1 1
University of Cambridge 2 3
Imperial College London 3 4
University College London 4 8
King's College London 5 12
University of Edinburgh 6 =21
The University of Manchester 7 48
University of Glasgow 8 =50
University of Bristol 9 =54
University of Birmingham 10 66
This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Times Higher Education. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the Times Higher Education rankings?

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.


Top 10 UK Universities for Medicine (QS)
University UK Rank Global Rank
University of Oxford 1 2
University of Cambridge 2 5
Imperial College London 3 7
University College London 4 8
King's College London 5 15
University of Edinburgh 6 20
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Science 7 21
The University of Manchester 8 33
University of Glasgow 9 44
Queen Mary University of London 10 =59
This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by QS World University Rankings. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the QS rankings?

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.


Top 10 UK Universities for Medicine (ARWU)
University UK Rank Global Rank
University of Oxford 1 4
Imperial College London 2 8
University of Cambridge 3 11
University College London 4 18
University of Leicester 5 22
King's College London 6 25
University of Nottingham 7 42
University of Glasgow 8 47
Queen Mary University of London 9 51-75
University of Edinburgh 10 51-75
This information is based on the latest rankings tables, researched and published by Academic Ranking of World Universities. Visit their website for more information.

What should I know about the ARWU 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.


Last updated: 02 April 2025