Best universities for chemistry

University of Cambridge comes top for chemistry, with a median salary of £35k 15 months after graduating and 99% of students staying on the course. Oxford University, Durham University and University of Birmingham complete the top four.

59 unis ranked£29k typical early salary75% in graduate jobs

#1 for chemistry100

University of Cambridge

Satisfaction89%better than 61% of chemistry unis
Stay on course99%better than 95% of chemistry unis
Graduate jobs90%better than 85% of chemistry unis
Early salary£35kbetter than 94% of chemistry unis

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

Ranked 2 to 5

2Oxford University8685% satisfied, £36k salary
3Durham University7386% satisfied, £33k salary
4University of Birmingham7094% satisfied, £30.5k salary
5King's College London7088% satisfied, £35k salary

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

Will my grades get me in?

Enter your predicted grades to see which chemistry 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 studentsLondon South Bank University98%positive about their course
Highest early salaryOxford University£36kmedian, 15 months after graduating
Best for graduate jobsOxford University95%of working graduates in professional jobs
Best if you’re aiming below ABBNottingham Trent University54/100half of starters had under 98 UCAS points

Full chemistry ranking

Tap a column to sort. Bars show where each uni sits between the lowest and highest for chemistry. ^* Ranked on fewer than five measures because some data isn’t published.

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	Oxford University1 course	AAA	86	85%	98%	95%	£36k	212
3	Durham University8 courses	A*AA	73	86%	90%	91%	£33k	184
4	University of Birmingham14 courses	AAA–AAB+ others	70	94%	95%	79%	£30.5k	151
5	King's College London8 courses	AAB	70	88%	91%	88%	£35k	145
6	University of Warwick6 courses	AAB+ others	64	88%	90%	85%	£33.5k	146
7	Imperial College London10 courses	AAA	61	85%	94%	80%	£33.5k	194
8	University of York16 courses	AAB+ others	61	89%	95%	84%	£29k	148
9	University of Strathclyde6 courses	BBB+ others	57	96%	95%	75%	£30k	180
10	University of Bath12 courses	AAA–AAB	55	88%	95%	79%	£30k	167
11	UCL3 courses	AAA	54	87%	85%	80%	£34.5k	158
12	Nottingham Trent University10 courses	104–112 UCAS points	54	97%	93%	75%	£30k	98
13	Newcastle University4 courses	ABB+ others	53	90%	92%	86%	£28k	138
14	University of Bristol7 courses	AAA+ others	53	84%	97%	76%	£33k	166
15	Lancaster University6 courses	ABB	52	93%	81%	90%	£27.5k	136
16	University of Plymouth3 courses	104 UCAS points	48	97%	84%	90%	£31k	104
17	University of Southampton6 courses	AAB	47	88%	95%	90%	£28k	145
18	University of Leicester12 courses	BBB	47	93%	84%	85%	£28.5k	109
19	University of Leeds16 courses	AAB+ others	45	83%	95%	82%	£30.5k	147
20	University of the Arts, London^*1 course	120 UCAS points	43	92%	100%	–	–	124
21	University of St Andrews19 courses	AAA+ others	43	87%	95%	65%	£30k	206
22	University of Surrey20 courses	BBB	41	92%	89%	65%	£30k	116
23	University of Aberdeen2 courses	BBC+ others	40	89%	88%	90%	£30k	143
24	University of Manchester7 courses	A*AA+ others	40	84%	88%	82%	£29.5k	159
25	University of Sheffield6 courses	AAB	40	87%	96%	78%	£26.5k	155
26	London South Bank University1 course	112 UCAS points	38	98%	90%	75%	£27k	88
27	University of Edinburgh4 courses	AAA–ABB	38	79%	93%	78%	£32k	184
28	Swansea University6 courses	ABB–BCC	35	91%	82%	80%	£30k	94
29	Cardiff University9 courses	ABB–BBC+ others	34	87%	90%	74%	£28.5k	134
30	Keele University14 courses	BBC+ others	32	95%	83%	70%	£27k	99
31	University of Nottingham7 courses	AAB–ABB+ others	32	85%	91%	71%	£30k	132
32	University of Reading6 courses	BBB	32	92%	80%	75%	£29k	105
33	Loughborough University13 courses	ABB+ others	32	87%	87%	69%	£30k	134
34	Queen's University Belfast9 courses	BBB	31	86%	86%	55%	£31k	155
35	Liverpool John Moores University2 courses	BCC	29	88%	90%	70%	£28k	108
36	University of East London^*2 courses	112 UCAS points	29	93%	75%	–	–	92
37	University of the West of Scotland1 course	–	27	87%	100%	70%	£30k	109
38	Sheffield Hallam University1 course	BCC	27	87%	80%	85%	£28k	103
39	Heriot-Watt University6 courses	BBC+ others	26	95%	90%	50%	£26k	184
40	University of Northumbria at Newcastle3 courses	96–112 UCAS points	26	89%	83%	70%	£27.5k	109
41	Manchester Metropolitan University7 courses	BCC+ others	26	91%	80%	70%	£27.5k	112
42	University of Bedfordshire^*2 courses	96 UCAS points	22	83%	82%	–	–	88
43	University of Kent (Part of London and South East University Group)5 courses	BBC	21	90%	87%	60%	£27k	86
44	University of Liverpool13 courses	ABB	20	83%	90%	72%	£27k	140
45	University of Sussex4 courses	ABB–BBB+ others	19	82%	93%	65%	£28k	117
46	University of Lincoln8 courses	BBC+ others	19	81%	94%	71%	£28.5k	107
47	University of East Anglia9 courses	ABB+ others	18	83%	91%	70%	£27.5k	109
48	De Montfort University1 course	BCC	18	80%	85%	90%	£27k	97
49	London Metropolitan University^*1 course	104 UCAS points	16	97%	75%	35%	–	69
50	University of Huddersfield14 courses	BBC–BCC+ others	13	81%	93%	65%	£27k	102
51	Coventry University3 courses	BBB	11	84%	81%	55%	£29k	105
52	Queen Mary University of London12 courses	ABB	9	80%	87%	65%	£29k	124
53	University of Glasgow11 courses	ABB–BBB	9	78%	90%	54%	£30k	191
54	University of South Wales/Prifysgol De Cymru^*3 courses	BCC	8	91%	–	35%	£26.5k	99
55	Kingston University3 courses	112–128 UCAS points	4	86%	84%	40%	£27.5k	86
56	University of Sunderland^*3 courses	96–112 UCAS points	2	79%	64%	–	–	90
57	University of Chester2 courses	BBC–BCC	2	76%	88%	65%	£25k	104
58	Teesside University2 courses	96–112 UCAS points	0	88%	80%	55%	£25k	96
59	University of Salford3 courses	104 UCAS points	0	83%	86%	58%	£25k	110

What chemistry graduates earn

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

£29kAfter 15 months
£27kAfter 3 years
£33kAfter 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 chemistry but don’t yet have enough published data to rank fairly, often because the course is new or small.

Ulster University