44 Best universities for Music in the United Kingdom

Updated: February 29, 2024

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in the United Kingdom ranked based on their research performance in Music. A graph of 88.8K citations received by 6.03K academic papers made by 44 universities in the United Kingdom was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

Please note that our approach to subject rankings is based on scientific outputs and heavily biased on art-related topics towards institutions with computer science research profiles.

1. University of Cambridge

England | Cambridge

For Music

#1 in Europe

#8 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Founded: 1209

2. University College London

England | London

For Music

#2 in Europe

#11 in the World

Enrollment: 42,000
Founded: 1826

3. University of Oxford

England | Oxford

For Music

#4 in Europe

#19 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1096

4. Goldsmiths, University of London

England | London

For Music

#5 in Europe

#25 in the World

Founded: 1904

5. University of Edinburgh

Scotland | Edinburgh

For Music

#7 in Europe

#30 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Founded: 1583

6. University of London

England | London

For Music

#10 in Europe

#41 in the World

Enrollment: 50,000
Founded: 1836

7. Queen Mary University of London

England | London

For Music

#11 in Europe

#45 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 18%
Founded: 1989

8. University of Manchester

England | Manchester

For Music

#12 in Europe

#46 in the World

Founded: 1824

9. University of Sheffield

England | Sheffield

For Music

#13 in Europe

#51 in the World

Founded: 1905

10. University of Exeter

England | Exeter

For Music

#14 in Europe

#52 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1955

11. University of Leeds

England | Leeds

For Music

#15 in Europe

#53 in the World

Founded: 1904

12. University of Nottingham

England | Nottingham

For Music

#21 in Europe

#67 in the World

Founded: 1948

13. University of Glasgow

Scotland | Glasgow

For Music

#24 in Europe

#74 in the World

Founded: 1451

14. King's College London

England | London

For Music

#25 in Europe

#75 in the World

Founded: 1829

15. University of Liverpool

England | Liverpool

For Music

#27 in Europe

#81 in the World

Enrollment: 28,693
Founded: 1881

16. University of Reading

England | Reading

For Music

#31 in Europe

#96 in the World

Founded: 1892

17. Durham University

England | Durham

For Music

#32 in Europe

#99 in the World

Enrollment: 19,520
Founded: 1832

18. Keele University

England | Keele

For Music

#33 in Europe

#107 in the World

Founded: 1962

19. Newcastle University

England | Newcastle upon Tyne

For Music

#37 in Europe

#115 in the World

Founded: 1963

20. University of Southampton

England | Southampton

For Music

#38 in Europe

#116 in the World

Enrollment: 21,335
Founded: 1952

21. University of Bristol

England | Bristol

For Music

#42 in Europe

#122 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Enrollment: 27,513
Founded: 1909

22. University of St Andrews

Scotland | St Andrews

For Music

#43 in Europe

#123 in the World

Enrollment: 10,425
Founded: 1413

23. Royal Holloway, University of London

England | Egham

For Music

#45 in Europe

#125 in the World

Founded: 1849

24. University of Roehampton

England | London

For Music

#46 in Europe

#127 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 2004

25. City, University of London

England | London

For Music

#47 in Europe

#132 in the World

Founded: 1966

26. University of Warwick

England | Coventry

For Music

#50 in Europe

#135 in the World

Enrollment: 27,278
Founded: 1965

27. Royal College of Music

England | London

For Music

#51 in Europe

#137 in the World

Founded: 1882

28. University of York

For Music

#52 in Europe

#140 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Founded: 1963

29. University of Sussex

England | Brighton

For Music

#57 in Europe

#149 in the World

Enrollment: 17,319
Male:Female: 44:56
Founded: 1961

30. University of East Anglia

England | Norwich

For Music

#58 in Europe

#151 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1963

31. University of Birmingham

England | Birmingham

For Music

#59 in Europe

#152 in the World

Founded: 1900

32. Imperial College London

England | London

For Music

#76 in Europe

#195 in the World

Enrollment: 17,565
Founded: 1907

33. University of Leicester

England | Leicester

For Music

#79 in Europe

#204 in the World

Enrollment: 24,409
Male:Female: 46:54
Founded: 1957

34. University of Huddersfield

England | Huddersfield

For Music

#82 in Europe

#212 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

35. Queen's University Belfast

Northern Ireland | Belfast

For Music

#84 in Europe

#217 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 31%
Founded: 1849

36. Royal Academy of Music, University of London

England | London

For Music

#88 in Europe

#225 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Founded: 1822

37. Birmingham City University

England | Birmingham

For Music

#92 in Europe

#238 in the World

Founded: 1992

38. Manchester Metropolitan University

England | Manchester

For Music

#99 in Europe

#262 in the World

Founded: 1992

39. University of Plymouth

England | Plymouth

For Music

#103 in Europe

#266 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1992

40. Cardiff University

Wales | Cardiff

For Music

#105 in Europe

#277 in the World

Founded: 1997

41. University of Surrey

England | Guildford

For Music

#113 in Europe

#290 in the World

Enrollment: 16,900
Founded: 1966

42. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Scotland | Glasgow

For Music

#121 in Europe

#320 in the World

Founded: 1993

43. Birkbeck, University of London

England | London

For Music

#122 in Europe

#321 in the World

Founded: 1823

44. University of Hull

England | Kingston upon Hull

For Music

#128 in Europe

#332 in the World

Founded: 1954

The best cities to study Music in the United Kingdom based on the number of universities and their ranks are Cambridge, London, Oxford, and Edinburgh.