53 Best universities for Applied/Engineering Physics in England

Updated: March 15, 2026

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in England ranked based on their research performance in Applied/Engineering Physics. A graph of 850K citations received by 22.7K academic papers made by 53 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.

1. University of Cambridge

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#1 in the United Kingdom

#1 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Founded: 1209

2. University of Oxford

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#2 in the United Kingdom

#3 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1096

3. University of Manchester

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#3 in the United Kingdom

#4 in Europe

Founded: 1824

4. Imperial College London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#4 in the United Kingdom

#5 in Europe

Enrollment: 17,565
Founded: 1907

5. University College London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#5 in the United Kingdom

#11 in Europe

Enrollment: 42,000
Founded: 1826

6. University of Nottingham

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#6 in the United Kingdom

#13 in Europe

Founded: 1948

7. University of Southampton

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#7 in the United Kingdom

#18 in Europe

Enrollment: 21,335
Founded: 1952

8. University of Birmingham

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#8 in the United Kingdom

#20 in Europe

Founded: 1900

9. Durham University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#10 in the United Kingdom

#25 in Europe

Enrollment: 19,520
Founded: 1832

10. University of Warwick

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#11 in the United Kingdom

#31 in Europe

Enrollment: 27,278
Founded: 1965

11. University of Sheffield

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#12 in the United Kingdom

#33 in Europe

Founded: 1905

12. University of Leeds

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#14 in the United Kingdom

#45 in Europe

Founded: 1904

13. University of Bristol

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#15 in the United Kingdom

#46 in Europe

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

14. Loughborough University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#17 in the United Kingdom

#50 in Europe

Enrollment: 19,449
Founded: 1966

15. University of Bath

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#18 in the United Kingdom

#54 in Europe

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

16. University of Liverpool

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#20 in the United Kingdom

#67 in Europe

Enrollment: 28,693
Founded: 1881

17. University of Surrey

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#21 in the United Kingdom

#68 in Europe

Enrollment: 16,900
Founded: 1966

18. University of Exeter

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#23 in the United Kingdom

#87 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1955

19. University of Sussex

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#24 in the United Kingdom

#90 in Europe

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

20. Queen Mary University of London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#25 in the United Kingdom

#104 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 18%
Founded: 1989

21. University of Reading

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#26 in the United Kingdom

#106 in Europe

Founded: 1892

22. Newcastle University

Newcastle upon Tyne

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#28 in the United Kingdom

#123 in Europe

Founded: 1963

23. Brunel University London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#31 in the United Kingdom

#150 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Founded: 1966

24. University of York

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#33 in the United Kingdom

#153 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Founded: 1963

25. Lancaster University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#34 in the United Kingdom

#167 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1964

26. University of East Anglia

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#35 in the United Kingdom

#170 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1963

27. King's College London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#36 in the United Kingdom

#171 in Europe

Founded: 1829

28. University of Hull

Kingston upon Hull

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#37 in the United Kingdom

#180 in Europe

Founded: 1954

29. Coventry University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#38 in the United Kingdom

#186 in Europe

Enrollment: 22,980
Founded: 1992

30. University of London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#39 in the United Kingdom

#189 in Europe

Enrollment: 50,000
Founded: 1836

31. University of Salford

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#40 in the United Kingdom

#198 in Europe

Founded: 1967

32. University of Kent

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#42 in the United Kingdom

#214 in Europe

Founded: 1965

33. University of Leicester

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#44 in the United Kingdom

#232 in Europe

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

34. Cranfield University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#46 in the United Kingdom

#250 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 59%
Enrollment: 4,825
Founded: 1993

35. Sheffield Hallam University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#47 in the United Kingdom

#258 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

36. Northumbria University

Newcastle upon Tyne

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#48 in the United Kingdom

#269 in Europe

Founded: 1992

37. Keele University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#50 in the United Kingdom

#279 in Europe

Founded: 1962

38. Aston University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#51 in the United Kingdom

#281 in Europe

Founded: 1895

39. Nottingham Trent University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#52 in the United Kingdom

#294 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1992

40. University of Bradford

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#53 in the United Kingdom

#297 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 1966

41. University of Hertfordshire

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#54 in the United Kingdom

#313 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1992

42. University of Portsmouth

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#55 in the United Kingdom

#319 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

43. De Montfort University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#56 in the United Kingdom

#347 in Europe

Enrollment: 29,000
Founded: 1992

44. University of Essex

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#57 in the United Kingdom

#364 in Europe

Founded: 1964

45. Liverpool John Moores University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#58 in the United Kingdom

#371 in Europe

Founded: 1992

46. London South Bank University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#59 in the United Kingdom

#374 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 1892

47. Birkbeck, University of London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#60 in the United Kingdom

#375 in Europe

Founded: 1823

48. University of Huddersfield

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#62 in the United Kingdom

#410 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

49. Manchester Metropolitan University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#63 in the United Kingdom

#422 in Europe

Founded: 1992

50. Staffordshire University

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#64 in the United Kingdom

#432 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1992

51. Royal Holloway, University of London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#65 in the United Kingdom

#436 in Europe

Founded: 1849

52. University of Greenwich

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#66 in the United Kingdom

#437 in Europe

Founded: 1890

53. City, University of London

For Applied/Engineering Physics

#67 in the United Kingdom

#445 in Europe

Founded: 1966

Closest to England states to learn Applied/Engineering Physics

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Wales	5	22
Scotland	7	9

Physics subfields in England

Acoustical Engineering112

Astrophysics and Astronomy103

Atomic and Molecular physics57

Condensed Matter Physics67

Materials Science106

Medical Physics48

Nanotechnology83

Nuclear Physics82

Optical Engineering103

Quantum and Particle physics112

Theoretical Physics60