69 Best universities for Social Work 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 Social Work. A graph of 110K citations received by 7.16K academic papers made by 69 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.

1. University of York

England | York

For Social Work

#1 in Europe

#17 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Founded: 1963

2. King's College London

England | London

For Social Work

#2 in Europe

#23 in the World

Founded: 1829

3. University of Nottingham

England | Nottingham

For Social Work

#3 in Europe

#26 in the World

Founded: 1948

4. Queen's University Belfast

Northern Ireland | Belfast

For Social Work

#4 in Europe

#27 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 31%
Founded: 1849

5. University of Birmingham

England | Birmingham

For Social Work

#5 in Europe

#28 in the World

Founded: 1900

6. University of Bristol

England | Bristol

For Social Work

#6 in Europe

#30 in the World

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

7. University of Manchester

England | Manchester

For Social Work

#7 in Europe

#33 in the World

Founded: 1824

8. University of Edinburgh

Scotland | Edinburgh

For Social Work

#8 in Europe

#37 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Founded: 1583

9. University of East Anglia

England | Norwich

For Social Work

#9 in Europe

#44 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1963

10. University of Sheffield

England | Sheffield

For Social Work

#10 in Europe

#46 in the World

Founded: 1905

11. Brunel University London

England | Uxbridge

For Social Work

#11 in Europe

#53 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 54%
Founded: 1966

12. University College London

England | London

For Social Work

#12 in Europe

#55 in the World

Enrollment: 42,000
Founded: 1826

13. University of Huddersfield

England | Huddersfield

For Social Work

#13 in Europe

#59 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

14. Ulster University

Northern Ireland | Coleraine

For Social Work

#14 in Europe

#64 in the World

Founded: 1968

15. Cardiff University

Wales | Cardiff

For Social Work

#16 in Europe

#69 in the World

Founded: 1997

16. University of Bedfordshire

England | Luton

For Social Work

#17 in Europe

#70 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 82%
Founded: 2006

17. University of Southampton

England | Southampton

For Social Work

#18 in Europe

#72 in the World

Enrollment: 21,335
Founded: 1952

18. Lancaster University

England | Lancaster

For Social Work

#19 in Europe

#74 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1964

19. University of Sussex

England | Brighton

For Social Work

#20 in Europe

#84 in the World

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

20. University of Bradford

England | Bradford

For Social Work

#21 in Europe

#87 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Founded: 1966

21. University of Dundee

Scotland | Dundee

For Social Work

#22 in Europe

#92 in the World

Founded: 1967

22. Durham University

England | Durham

For Social Work

#23 in Europe

#98 in the World

Enrollment: 19,520
Founded: 1832

23. University of Salford

England | Salford

For Social Work

#25 in Europe

#101 in the World

Founded: 1967

24. University of Plymouth

England | Plymouth

For Social Work

#26 in Europe

#102 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Founded: 1992

25. University of Stirling

Scotland | Stirling

For Social Work

#27 in Europe

#103 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Enrollment: 14,000
Founded: 1967

26. University of Warwick

England | Coventry

For Social Work

#29 in Europe

#106 in the World

Enrollment: 27,278
Founded: 1965

27. University of Kent

England | Canterbury

For Social Work

#30 in Europe

#110 in the World

Founded: 1965

28. University of Hull

England | Kingston upon Hull

For Social Work

#31 in Europe

#114 in the World

Founded: 1954

29. University of Leicester

England | Leicester

For Social Work

#32 in Europe

#121 in the World

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

30. Manchester Metropolitan University

England | Manchester

For Social Work

#33 in Europe

#126 in the World

Founded: 1992

31. Anglia Ruskin University

England | Cambridge

For Social Work

#34 in Europe

#129 in the World

Founded: 1858

32. Royal Holloway, University of London

England | Egham

For Social Work

#38 in Europe

#135 in the World

Founded: 1849

33. University of Central Lancashire

England | Preston

For Social Work

#39 in Europe

#139 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Founded: 1992

34. London School of Economics and Political Science

England | London

For Social Work

#40 in Europe

#141 in the World

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

35. University of Glasgow

Scotland | Glasgow

For Social Work

#41 in Europe

#142 in the World

Founded: 1451

36. University of Exeter

England | Exeter

For Social Work

#42 in Europe

#147 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1955

37. University of Bath

England | Bath

For Social Work

#44 in Europe

#149 in the World

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

38. Bangor University

Wales | Bangor

For Social Work

#45 in Europe

#156 in the World

Enrollment: 11,270
Founded: 1884

39. Bournemouth University

England | Poole

For Social Work

#47 in Europe

#162 in the World

Enrollment: 14,293
Founded: 1992

40. Swansea University

Wales | Swansea

For Social Work

#48 in Europe

#165 in the World

Founded: 1920

41. Goldsmiths, University of London

England | London

For Social Work

#49 in Europe

#166 in the World

Founded: 1904

42. London Metropolitan University

England | London

For Social Work

#53 in Europe

#179 in the World

Founded: 1848

43. University of Leeds

England | Leeds

For Social Work

#55 in Europe

#182 in the World

Founded: 1904

44. Northumbria University

England | Newcastle upon Tyne

For Social Work

#56 in Europe

#183 in the World

Founded: 1992

45. University of Oxford

England | Oxford

For Social Work

#57 in Europe

#185 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1096

46. University of Wales

Wales | Cardiff

For Social Work

#59 in Europe

#189 in the World

Founded: 1893

47. University of Hertfordshire

England | Hatfield

For Social Work

#60 in Europe

#192 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1992

48. University of the West of England

England | Bristol

For Social Work

#63 in Europe

#195 in the World

Enrollment: 30,732
Founded: 1992

49. University of London

England | London

For Social Work

#64 in Europe

#199 in the World

Enrollment: 50,000
Founded: 1836

50. Keele University

England | Keele

For Social Work

#65 in Europe

#200 in the World

Founded: 1962

51. University of Strathclyde

Scotland | Glasgow

For Social Work

#66 in Europe

#201 in the World

Founded: 1964

52. London South Bank University

England | London

For Social Work

#67 in Europe

#202 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Founded: 1892

53. University of Liverpool

England | Liverpool

For Social Work

#68 in Europe

#205 in the World

Enrollment: 28,693
Founded: 1881

54. Coventry University

England | Coventry

For Social Work

#69 in Europe

#216 in the World

Enrollment: 22,980
Founded: 1992

55. University of Lincoln

England | Lincoln

For Social Work

#70 in Europe

#218 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 78%
Founded: 1992

56. University of Wolverhampton

England | Wolverhampton

For Social Work

#71 in Europe

#224 in the World

Founded: 1992

57. Loughborough University

England | Loughborough

For Social Work

#73 in Europe

#235 in the World

Enrollment: 19,449
Founded: 1966

58. Nottingham Trent University

England | Nottingham

For Social Work

#77 in Europe

#243 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 22%
Founded: 1992

59. Leeds Beckett University

England | Leeds

For Social Work

#78 in Europe

#244 in the World

Founded: 1992

60. University of East London

England | London

For Social Work

#79 in Europe

#245 in the World

Founded: 1992

61. Liverpool John Moores University

England | Liverpool

For Social Work

#82 in Europe

#252 in the World

Founded: 1992

62. Staffordshire University

England | Stoke-on-Trent

For Social Work

#83 in Europe

#254 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Founded: 1992

63. University of Brighton

England | Brighton

For Social Work

#84 in Europe

#261 in the World

Founded: 1992

64. Newcastle University

England | Newcastle upon Tyne

For Social Work

#85 in Europe

#272 in the World

Founded: 1963

65. Teesside University

England | Middlesbrough

For Social Work

#86 in Europe

#275 in the World

Enrollment: 19,290
Founded: 1992

66. Kingston University

England | Kingston upon Thames

For Social Work

#92 in Europe

#293 in the World

Founded: 1992

67. Glasgow Caledonian University

Scotland | Glasgow

For Social Work

#97 in Europe

#305 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Founded: 1993

68. Liverpool Hope University

England | Liverpool

For Social Work

#99 in Europe

#312 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Founded: 2005

69. Sheffield Hallam University

England | Sheffield

For Social Work

#100 in Europe

#313 in the World

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Founded: 1992

The best cities to study Social Work in the United Kingdom based on the number of universities and their ranks are York, London, Nottingham, and Belfast.

Psychology subfields in the United Kingdom

Child Psychology130

Clinical Psychology124

Cognitive Science128

Education Majors135

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution103

Neuroscience137

Occupational Therapy82

Organizational / Business / IO Psychology80