Best universities for biology

University of Cambridge comes top for biology, with a median salary of £35k 15 months after graduating and 90% of graduates in professional jobs. Durham University, Imperial College London and University of Exeter complete the top four.

87 unis ranked£26k typical early salary60% in graduate jobs

#1 for biology100

University of Cambridge

Satisfaction89%better than 70% of biology unis
Stay on course99%better than 95% of biology unis
Graduate jobs90%better than 97% of biology unis
Early salary£35kbetter than 97% of biology unis

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

Ranked 2 to 5

2Durham University7992% satisfied, £30k salary
3Imperial College London6786% satisfied, £35k salary
4University of Exeter6491% satisfied, £28k salary
5University of Surrey6294% satisfied, £28k salary

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

Will my grades get me in?

Enter your predicted grades to see which biology 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 Lincoln95%positive about their course
Highest early salaryUniversity of Cambridge£35kmedian, 15 months after graduating
Best for graduate jobsUniversity of Cambridge90%of working graduates in professional jobs
Best if you’re aiming below ABBUniversity of Surrey62/100half of starters had under 122 UCAS points

Full biology ranking

Tap a column to sort. Bars show where each uni sits between the lowest and highest for biology. ^* 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	79	92%	98%	82%	£30k	168
3	Imperial College London5 courses	AAA	67	86%	88%	78%	£35k	198
4	University of Exeter2 courses	ABB+ others	64	91%	98%	76%	£28k	154
5	University of Surrey4 courses	ABB–BBB	62	94%	92%	81%	£28k	122
6	University of Birmingham12 courses	AAA+ others	62	86%	98%	82%	£30k	138
7	University of St Andrews16 courses	AAB	59	87%	100%	80%	£30k	210
8	Liverpool John Moores University2 courses	BCC	56	94%	91%	69%	£31.5k	110
9	University of Bristol2 courses	AAA	55	88%	96%	71%	£28.5k	153
10	University of Sheffield3 courses	AAB+ others	53	90%	87%	68%	£28.3k	155
11	Lancaster University5 courses	AAB+ others	50	88%	95%	65%	£30.5k	142
12	Loughborough University3 courses	AAB	50	93%	94%	69%	£28k	137
13	Oxford University2 courses	A*AA+ others	50	76%	100%	75%	£33k	189
14	University of Edinburgh19 courses	AAA–ABB	48	87%	95%	80%	£28k	196
15	University of York4 courses	AAB+ others	43	85%	98%	65%	£27.7k	145
16	University of Warwick9 courses	AAB+ others	42	83%	93%	65%	£30k	150
17	Swansea University7 courses	ABB–BBB	42	89%	91%	58%	£30k	108
18	University of Liverpool3 courses	ABB	42	82%	95%	70%	£29k	137
19	University of Southampton4 courses	ABB+ others	41	89%	95%	65%	£26k	144
20	UCL3 courses	AAA	41	81%	91%	75%	£31k	170
21	Teesside University^*1 course	96–112 UCAS points	39	95%	90%	–	–	90
22	University of East Anglia6 courses	BBB+ others	38	94%	89%	58%	£26k	108
23	Queen's University Belfast4 courses	ABB–BBB	38	88%	92%	55%	£28k	145
23	University of Leeds7 courses	AAB+ others	38	85%	96%	64%	£27k	140
25	University of Dundee5 courses	–	38	93%	86%	60%	£25.5k	203
26	University of Essex31 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	35	88%	83%	68%	£27k	102
26	University of Bath4 courses	AAB	35	82%	98%	65%	£26k	166
28	UWE, Bristol2 courses	112 UCAS points	34	88%	85%	80%	£25k	95
29	University of Lincoln3 courses	BBC–BCC+ others	34	95%	98%	58%	£23.5k	96
30	Queen Mary University of London5 courses	ABB	32	86%	89%	55%	£29.6k	128
31	University of Greater Manchester^*2 courses	96 UCAS points	32	97%	55%	–	–	90
32	Cardiff University10 courses	AAB–BBB+ others	32	80%	97%	65%	£26.5k	151
32	University of Gloucestershire2 courses	BCC	32	94%	80%	60%	£27k	105
34	University of Lancashire^*2 courses	112–120 UCAS points	31	92%	80%	–	–	106
35	University of Greenwich (Part of London and South East University Group)3 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	30	83%	95%	70%	£28k	98
36	University of Leicester21 courses	BBB	30	87%	88%	60%	£26.5k	107
36	Ulster University^*1 course	AAA	30	89%	90%	55%	–	107
38	University of Hull6 courses	BBC+ others	30	84%	80%	90%	£25.5k	112
39	Aston University1 course	BBC	29	87%	90%	55%	£27.5k	108
39	University of Stirling4 courses	BBB	29	94%	78%	60%	£27k	145
41	University of Staffordshire^*1 course	BBC	29	93%	55%	–	–	131
42	Kingston University^*3 courses	112–128 UCAS points	29	87%	89%	60%	–	101
43	Heriot-Watt University^*1 course	BBC	29	84%	95%	–	–	163
44	Newcastle University^*2 courses	ABB	28	81%	97%	65%	–	128
45	University of Aberdeen2 courses	BBC	27	90%	97%	45%	£24k	171
46	Glasgow Caledonian University^*1 course	–	27	84%	90%	–	–	157
47	Aberystwyth University5 courses	BBB–BCC+ others	27	86%	88%	70%	£24.5k	112
48	University of Manchester11 courses	AAB	26	82%	86%	57%	£28k	161
49	Nottingham Trent University3 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	26	87%	89%	50%	£26k	105
49	University of Sussex2 courses	ABB–BBB+ others	26	83%	100%	60%	£26k	119
51	Sheffield Hallam University1 course	BCC	25	90%	75%	70%	£24.5k	108
52	University of Kent (Part of London and South East University Group)4 courses	BBB	24	82%	93%	62%	£26k	93
53	Edinburgh Napier University1 course	BCC	23	85%	95%	50%	£24.5k	176
54	University of the West of Scotland2 courses	CCC	23	94%	95%	40%	£23.5k	146
55	Keele University4 courses	BBB	23	90%	75%	58%	£25k	104
56	Bath Spa University^*4 courses	BBB–BCC	22	87%	63%	–	–	112
57	University of Worcester2 courses	BBC	22	87%	88%	45%	£28k	76
58	University of Nottingham2 courses	AAB–ABB	22	84%	86%	55%	£25k	139
59	Edge Hill University4 courses	BBB–BBC	22	90%	90%	45%	£24k	108
60	London Metropolitan University^*1 course	96 UCAS points	21	87%	70%	–	–	84
61	University of Hertfordshire^*1 course	112–120 UCAS points	21	81%	85%	50%	–	112
62	University of Suffolk^*2 courses	~ABB–BBCestimate	21	80%	85%	55%	–	112
63	University of West London^*8 courses	112 UCAS points	21	83%	75%	–	–	90
64	Oxford Brookes University12 courses	BBC	21	83%	90%	60%	£25k	108
65	University of Portsmouth1 course	BBB–BCC	20	83%	75%	60%	£26.5k	99
66	Royal Veterinary College^*12 courses	~AAB–ABBestimate	18	81%	90%	35%	–	135
67	Manchester Metropolitan University3 courses	BCC	18	85%	92%	52%	£24k	108
68	University of Northampton2 courses	BBC	18	80%	85%	55%	£28k	84
69	University of Wolverhampton2 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	18	90%	75%	45%	£25k	99
70	University of Bedfordshire4 courses	96 UCAS points	17	89%	76%	75%	£23k	56
71	University of Westminster5 courses	CCC+ others	16	82%	87%	58%	£28k	94
72	Royal Holloway, University of London4 courses	ABB–BBB	16	86%	85%	45%	£25k	100
73	Roehampton University^*1 course	–	16	85%	65%	–	–	56
74	University of Northumbria at Newcastle2 courses	96–112 UCAS points	16	85%	65%	40%	£25k	120
75	University of Brighton3 courses	ABB–BCC+ others	16	88%	74%	55%	£25k	95
76	University of Huddersfield4 courses	BBC–BCC+ others	15	83%	74%	70%	£25k	116
77	Anglia Ruskin University3 courses	104–120 UCAS points	14	93%	70%	35%	£26k	104
78	Liverpool Hope University5 courses	BCC+ others	11	85%	86%	45%	£25.5k	94
79	Birkbeck, University of London^*7 courses	BCC+ others	11	80%	65%	–	–	80
79	University of Reading3 courses	ABB	11	84%	86%	36%	£25k	115
81	University of Chester2 courses	BBC–BCC	11	83%	88%	45%	£24k	98
82	Coventry University3 courses	BBC	10	78%	75%	50%	£25.5k	106
83	Bournemouth University2 courses	~ABB–BBCestimate	9	79%	90%	46%	£24.5k	114
84	University of Salford7 courses	104 UCAS points	9	85%	81%	30%	£25k	103
85	University of Derby2 courses	BCC	8	78%	87%	40%	£25k	94
86	University of Plymouth2 courses	104 UCAS points	8	74%	88%	52%	£25k	89
87	Bangor University5 courses	112–136 UCAS points	0	77%	87%	44%	£26k	96

What biology graduates earn

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

£26kAfter 15 months
£24kAfter 3 years
£29.8kAfter 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 biology but don’t yet have enough published data to rank fairly, often because the course is new or small.

Reaseheath College, University of South Wales/Prifysgol De Cymru