The Best Universities for Physics in the UK (2024)

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

• The UK is home to some of the world’s most prestigious universities that offer cutting-edge Physics programmes recognised globally.
• UK universities are at the forefront of research in Physics, providing students access to state-of-the-art facilities and opportunities to work on groundbreaking projects.
• Studying in a culturally diverse educational environment offers valuable opportunities for international networking with peers, faculties, and industry professionals.
• A Masters Degree in Physics from a UK university is highly regarded worldwide, opening doors to career opportunities both within academia and in industries such as aerospace, telecommunications, IT, consulting, and more.

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