58 Best universities for Social Work 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 Social Work. A graph of 118K citations received by 6.27K academic papers made by 58 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. King's College London

For Social Work

#1 in the United Kingdom

#1 in Europe

Founded: 1829

2. University of York

For Social Work

#2 in the United Kingdom

#2 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Founded: 1963

3. University of Nottingham

For Social Work

#4 in the United Kingdom

#4 in Europe

Founded: 1948

4. University of Bristol

For Social Work

#5 in the United Kingdom

#5 in Europe

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

5. University of Birmingham

For Social Work

#6 in the United Kingdom

#6 in Europe

Founded: 1900

6. University of Manchester

For Social Work

#8 in the United Kingdom

#8 in Europe

Founded: 1824

7. University of East Anglia

For Social Work

#9 in the United Kingdom

#9 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1963

8. University College London

For Social Work

#10 in the United Kingdom

#11 in Europe

Enrollment: 42,000
Founded: 1826

9. University of Sheffield

For Social Work

#11 in the United Kingdom

#12 in Europe

Founded: 1905

10. Lancaster University

For Social Work

#14 in the United Kingdom

#15 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1964

11. Brunel University London

For Social Work

#15 in the United Kingdom

#16 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Founded: 1966

12. University of Bedfordshire

For Social Work

#16 in the United Kingdom

#17 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 2006

13. University of Sussex

For Social Work

#18 in the United Kingdom

#19 in Europe

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

14. University of Huddersfield

For Social Work

#19 in the United Kingdom

#20 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

15. Durham University

For Social Work

#20 in the United Kingdom

#21 in Europe

Enrollment: 19,520
Founded: 1832

16. University of Kent

For Social Work

#21 in the United Kingdom

#22 in Europe

Founded: 1965

17. University of Southampton

For Social Work

#22 in the United Kingdom

#24 in Europe

Enrollment: 21,335
Founded: 1952

18. University of Warwick

For Social Work

#23 in the United Kingdom

#25 in Europe

Enrollment: 27,278
Founded: 1965

19. University of Bradford

For Social Work

#24 in the United Kingdom

#28 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 1966

20. University of Plymouth

For Social Work

#25 in the United Kingdom

#29 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1992

21. Manchester Metropolitan University

For Social Work

#26 in the United Kingdom

#30 in Europe

Founded: 1992

22. London School of Economics and Political Science

For Social Work

#28 in the United Kingdom

#33 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 9,218
Founded: 1895

23. University of Hull

Kingston upon Hull

For Social Work

#29 in the United Kingdom

#34 in Europe

Founded: 1954

24. University of Salford

For Social Work

#31 in the United Kingdom

#37 in Europe

Founded: 1967

25. University of Leicester

For Social Work

#32 in the United Kingdom

#38 in Europe

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

26. University of Central Lancashire

For Social Work

#33 in the United Kingdom

#40 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1992

27. Anglia Ruskin University

For Social Work

#34 in the United Kingdom

#41 in Europe

Founded: 1858

28. Royal Holloway, University of London

For Social Work

#35 in the United Kingdom

#42 in Europe

Founded: 1849

29. Bournemouth University

For Social Work

#36 in the United Kingdom

#45 in Europe

Enrollment: 14,293
Founded: 1992

30. Northumbria University

Newcastle upon Tyne

For Social Work

#37 in the United Kingdom

#48 in Europe

Founded: 1992

31. University of Oxford

For Social Work

#38 in the United Kingdom

#49 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1096

32. University of Exeter

For Social Work

#39 in the United Kingdom

#52 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1955

33. University of Bath

For Social Work

#40 in the United Kingdom

#54 in Europe

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

34. Keele University

For Social Work

#41 in the United Kingdom

#55 in Europe

Founded: 1962

35. Nottingham Trent University

For Social Work

#42 in the United Kingdom

#56 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1992

36. University of Liverpool

For Social Work

#43 in the United Kingdom

#57 in Europe

Enrollment: 28,693
Founded: 1881

37. London Metropolitan University

For Social Work

#45 in the United Kingdom

#61 in Europe

Founded: 1848

38. University of Leeds

For Social Work

#47 in the United Kingdom

#63 in Europe

Founded: 1904

39. Kingston University

Kingston upon Thames

For Social Work

#48 in the United Kingdom

#65 in Europe

Founded: 1992

40. London South Bank University

For Social Work

#49 in the United Kingdom

#66 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 1892

41. University of London

For Social Work

#50 in the United Kingdom

#67 in Europe

Enrollment: 50,000
Founded: 1836

42. Goldsmiths, University of London

For Social Work

#51 in the United Kingdom

#69 in Europe

Founded: 1904

43. Newcastle University

Newcastle upon Tyne

For Social Work

#52 in the United Kingdom

#70 in Europe

Founded: 1963

44. University of Wolverhampton

For Social Work

#53 in the United Kingdom

#72 in Europe

Founded: 1992

45. University of the West of England

For Social Work

#54 in the United Kingdom

#73 in Europe

Enrollment: 30,732
Founded: 1992

46. Coventry University

For Social Work

#55 in the United Kingdom

#76 in Europe

Enrollment: 22,980
Founded: 1992

47. University of Brighton

For Social Work

#57 in the United Kingdom

#80 in Europe

Founded: 1992

48. University of Lincoln

For Social Work

#59 in the United Kingdom

#83 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 78%
Enrollment: 19,710
Founded: 1992

49. University of East London

For Social Work

#60 in the United Kingdom

#84 in Europe

Founded: 1992

50. University of Hertfordshire

For Social Work

#61 in the United Kingdom

#88 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1992

51. Leeds Beckett University

For Social Work

#62 in the United Kingdom

#89 in Europe

Founded: 1992

52. Loughborough University

For Social Work

#63 in the United Kingdom

#90 in Europe

Enrollment: 19,449
Founded: 1966

53. St George's, University of London

For Social Work

#64 in the United Kingdom

#92 in Europe

Founded: 1733

54. University of Reading

For Social Work

#66 in the United Kingdom

#94 in Europe

Founded: 1892

55. University of Essex

For Social Work

#67 in the United Kingdom

#95 in Europe

Founded: 1964

56. Middlesex University

For Social Work

#68 in the United Kingdom

#96 in Europe

Founded: 1973

57. Staffordshire University

For Social Work

#69 in the United Kingdom

#97 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1992

58. Sheffield Hallam University

For Social Work

#71 in the United Kingdom

#99 in Europe

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

Closest to England states to learn Social Work

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Wales	6	12
Scotland	13	3

Psychology subfields in England

Child Psychology104

Clinical Psychology99

Cognitive Science103

Education Majors108

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution81

Neuroscience109

Occupational Therapy69

Organizational / Business / IO Psychology59

Social Psychology112

Special Education81