The Best Universities for Politics & Government in the UK (2024)

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

• The UK hosts some of the world's most prestigious universities with Political Science departments that are recognised globally for their academic rigor, quality of research, and teaching excellence.
• The UK, with its unique historical significance and role on the global stage, provides a rich contextual backdrop for studying politics.
• Whether your interest lies in international relations, public policy, human rights, or environmental politics, UK universities offer a wide range of specialisations. This variety ensures that students can tailor their education to match their career aspirations closely.
• Studying at a UK university exposes students to a diverse population of peers from around the world.

The following tables gives the 10 top universities in the UK for Politics & Government, 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.