33 Best Painting and Drawing schools in England

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in England ranked based on their research performance in Painting and Drawing. A graph of 31.1K citations received by 3.5K academic papers made by 33 universities in England 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. Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London

For Painting and Drawing

#1 in the United Kingdom

#1 in Europe

Founded: 1932

2. University College London

For Painting and Drawing

#2 in the United Kingdom

#2 in Europe

Enrollment: 42,000
Founded: 1826

3. University of Oxford

For Painting and Drawing

#3 in the United Kingdom

#3 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1096

4. University of Cambridge

For Painting and Drawing

#4 in the United Kingdom

#6 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Founded: 1209

5. University of Manchester

For Painting and Drawing

#6 in the United Kingdom

#23 in Europe

Founded: 1824

6. University of Sussex

For Painting and Drawing

#7 in the United Kingdom

#26 in Europe

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

7. Durham University

For Painting and Drawing

#8 in the United Kingdom

#30 in Europe

Enrollment: 19,520
Founded: 1832

8. University of Bradford

For Painting and Drawing

#9 in the United Kingdom

#32 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 1966

9. Birkbeck, University of London

For Painting and Drawing

#10 in the United Kingdom

#35 in Europe

Founded: 1823

10. University of Nottingham

For Painting and Drawing

#11 in the United Kingdom

#37 in Europe

Founded: 1948

11. University of Bristol

For Painting and Drawing

#12 in the United Kingdom

#39 in Europe

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

12. University of Warwick

For Painting and Drawing

#13 in the United Kingdom

#40 in Europe

Enrollment: 27,278
Founded: 1965

13. University of Birmingham

For Painting and Drawing

#15 in the United Kingdom

#42 in Europe

Founded: 1900

14. University of York

For Painting and Drawing

#16 in the United Kingdom

#44 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Founded: 1963

15. Imperial College London

For Painting and Drawing

#17 in the United Kingdom

#52 in Europe

Enrollment: 17,565
Founded: 1907

16. University of Southampton

For Painting and Drawing

#19 in the United Kingdom

#56 in Europe

Enrollment: 21,335
Founded: 1952

17. Northumbria University

Newcastle upon Tyne

For Painting and Drawing

#20 in the United Kingdom

#58 in Europe

Founded: 1992

18. King's College London

For Painting and Drawing

#22 in the United Kingdom

#68 in Europe

Founded: 1829

19. University of Leeds

For Painting and Drawing

#23 in the United Kingdom

#72 in Europe

Founded: 1904

20. Goldsmiths, University of London

For Painting and Drawing

#24 in the United Kingdom

#78 in Europe

Founded: 1904

21. University of Liverpool

For Painting and Drawing

#25 in the United Kingdom

#83 in Europe

Enrollment: 28,693
Founded: 1881

22. University of Bath

For Painting and Drawing

#26 in the United Kingdom

#88 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Enrollment: 18,857
Male:Female: 53:47
Founded: 1966

23. University of Exeter

For Painting and Drawing

#27 in the United Kingdom

#92 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1955

24. University of the Arts London

For Painting and Drawing

#28 in the United Kingdom

#93 in Europe

Founded: 1986

25. University of Kent

For Painting and Drawing

#29 in the United Kingdom

#97 in Europe

Founded: 1965

26. Royal Holloway, University of London

For Painting and Drawing

#30 in the United Kingdom

#99 in Europe

Founded: 1849

27. University of Reading

For Painting and Drawing

#31 in the United Kingdom

#100 in Europe

Founded: 1892

28. University of Westminster

For Painting and Drawing

#32 in the United Kingdom

#113 in Europe

Enrollment: 19,000
Founded: 1838

29. University of Leicester

For Painting and Drawing

#33 in the United Kingdom

#115 in Europe

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

30. University of East Anglia

For Painting and Drawing

#34 in the United Kingdom

#119 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1963

31. University of Sheffield

For Painting and Drawing

#35 in the United Kingdom

#123 in Europe

Founded: 1905

32. Nottingham Trent University

For Painting and Drawing

#36 in the United Kingdom

#124 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1992

33. University of London

For Painting and Drawing

#38 in the United Kingdom

#129 in Europe

Enrollment: 50,000
Founded: 1836

Closest to England states to learn Painting and Drawing

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Wales	7	46
Scotland	8	5