Top 10 UK Universities for Life Science Degrees 2024
Scroll down to see the full list of the best universities in the UK for life science degrees.
| UK Life Sciences Rank 2024 | Global Life Sciences Rank 2024 | University | City/Town |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | University of Cambridge | Cambridge |
| 2 | 3 | University of Oxford | Oxford |
| 3 | 10 | Imperial College London | London |
| 4 | 20 | UCL | London |
| 5 | 28 | University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh |
| 6 | 35 | King’s College London | London |
| 7 | =54 | University of Manchester | Manchester |
| 8 | 81 | University of Glasgow | Glasgow |
| 9 | =86 | University of Bristol | Bristol |
| 10 | 97 | University of Sheffield | Sheffield |
You can check out the Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings for Life Sciences 2025 here.
About Life Sciences
Life sciences cover areas like agriculture and forestry, biological sciences, veterinary science, and sport science.
Studying these degrees sets you up well to become a specialist scientist—whether that’s as a vet, a biotech researcher, or a conservation expert.
But the skills you gain—like problem solving, data analysis, and research—also work in careers outside the lab. You could use them in consultancy, teaching, politics, or law.
UK universities have played a big role in major scientific breakthroughs. For example, Charles Darwin, an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge, developed the theory of evolution and natural selection. More recently, Professor Sarah Gilbert and her Oxford colleagues worked with AstraZeneca on the Covid-19 vaccine.
Course Details in UK Life Sciences
What you can study in life sciences depends on the university. Typically, undergraduate degrees last three years and focus on one subject like biology or sports science. There are some exceptions. At the postgraduate level, courses get more specialized, and you can pick either a taught program or a research dissertation.
Other Top Global Life Sciences University Rankings
- Best universities in the world for life sciences
- Best universities for life sciences degrees in the US
- Best universities for life sciences degrees in Australia
- Best universities for life sciences degrees in Canada
5. University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh has three main colleges: arts, humanities and social sciences; science and engineering; and medicine and veterinary medicine. It’s regularly ranked as one of Scotland’s top universities.
Scotland’s university system is a bit different from England’s—it’s more like the American major/minor system.
Undergrad courses here are usually four years long. In your first two years, you can take two extra subjects alongside your main one, then fully specialize in the last two years.
For sport science, you can choose between applied sport science and sport and recreation management.
In biology, you can focus on fields like biotechnology, biochemistry, cell biology, ecology, and genetics. Students are also encouraged to study or work abroad as part of their degree.
4. UCL
Located in central London, UCL is part of the University of London and a member of the Russell Group.
About a third of UCL’s students each year come from overseas.
They offer courses including biology and biochemistry. The university partners with places like the Natural History Museum, the Crick Institute, and ZSL London Zoo. Students even get to attend lectures by experts from these institutions.
UCL’s medical school has a three-year sport and exercise medical sciences course, which uses sport science to help patients and populations with diseases.
They also offer both undergrad and postgrad courses in human sciences—an interdisciplinary course combining genetics, anatomy, psychology, ecology, sociology, and more. You can even study a foreign language alongside it.
UCL has been home to many key scientific discoveries, with 29 Nobel Prizes won by students or staff, including John O’Keefe, who currently teaches in the cell and developmental biology research department.
3. Imperial College London
Imperial is the only UK university focusing solely on science, engineering, business, and medicine.
It’s known for its international outlook, with around 58% of its students coming from abroad.
Life sciences courses here include biology, bioengineering, biochemistry, biotechnology, microbiology, ecology, and environmental biology.
You can study these in three or four years—the longer includes a year abroad or a year working in industry, plus options to study management or languages like Spanish, French, or German alongside your science degree. A three-year course earns a Bachelor of Science, while four-year ones often count as a master’s.
Famous alumni include Sir Alexander Fleming and Sir Ernst Boris Chain, who discovered penicillin. Imperial has also earned 14 Nobel Prizes for its groundbreaking work.
2. University of Oxford
Oxford offers undergrad degrees in biochemistry (molecular and cellular), biology, and biomedical sciences.
There’s also a human sciences course combining arts and science subjects like genetics, demography, and sociology to study humans from an interdisciplinary angle.
At the master’s level and beyond, Oxford offers even more life sciences options. However, they don’t provide courses in veterinary medicine, sports science, or agriculture and forestry.
Besides lectures and labs, Oxford has tutorials—small group classes where students meet weekly with a leading researcher for in-depth discussion and personalised guidance.
1. University of Cambridge
Founded in 1209, Cambridge boasts famous alumni like Isaac Newton, Francis Crick, James Watson, and Rosalind Franklin. Its long history of scientific excellence is well-known.
Undergrad students can enroll in the natural sciences course, which lasts three or four years and covers most science subjects, including biology.
The first year offers a broad mix of modules—like behavioural sciences, cell biology, and zoology—before focusing more in the second year and specializing completely by the third. Veterinary medicine is a separate six-year course.
Cambridge also offers a land economy course, combining international development, economics, law, and environmental science to address future environmental challenges.
Like Oxford, Cambridge provides lectures and labs, but is best known for its supervisions—weekly, small-group meetings with a leading researcher to help students progress with personalised mentoring.
Full List of UK Life Sciences Universities 2024
| UK Life Sciences Rank 2024 | Global Life Sciences Rank 2024 | University | City/Town |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | University of Cambridge | Cambridge |
| 2 | 3 | University of Oxford | Oxford |
| 3 | 10 | Imperial College London | London |
| 4 | 20 | UCL | London |
| 5 | 28 | University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh |
| 6 | 35 | King’s College London | London |
| 7 | =54 | University of Manchester | Manchester |
| 8 | 81 | University of Glasgow | Glasgow |
| 9 | =86 | University of Bristol | Bristol |
| 10 | 97 | University of Sheffield | Sheffield |
| =11 | 101–125 | University of Aberdeen | Aberdeen |
| =11 | 101–125 | University of Birmingham | Birmingham |
| =11 | 101–125 | University of Dundee | Dundee |
| =11 | 101–125 | University of Exeter | Exeter |
| =11 | 101–125 | University of Leeds | Leeds |
| =11 | 101–125 | Newcastle University | Newcastle |
| =11 | 101–125 | Queen Mary University of London | London |
| =18 | 126–150 | Cardiff University | Cardiff |
| =18 | 126–150 | University of East Anglia | Norwich |
| =18 | 126–150 | University of Nottingham | Nottingham |
| =18 | 126–150 | Queen’s University Belfast | Belfast |
| =18 | 126–150 | University of Southampton | Southampton |
| =18 | 126–150 | University of St Andrews | St Andrews |
| =24 | 151–175 | University of Liverpool | Liverpool |
| =24 | 151–175 | University of Reading | Reading |
| =24 | 151–175 | University of York | York |
| 27 | 176–200 | University of Leicester | Leicester |
| =28 | 201–250 | Durham University | Durham |
| =28 | 201–250 | Lancaster University | Lancaster |
| =28 | 201–250 | University of Warwick | Warwick |
| =31 | 251–300 | Bangor University | Bangor |
| =31 | 251–300 | University of Bath | Bath |
| =31 | 251–300 | University of Kent | Kent |
| =31 | 251–300 | Loughborough University | Loughborough |
| =31 | 251–300 | Royal Veterinary College | London |
| =31 | 251–300 | University of Stirling | Stirling |
| =31 | 251–300 | University of Sussex | Brighton |
| =38 | 301–400 | Aberystwyth University | Aberystwyth |
| =38 | 301–400 | University of Essex | Essex |
| =38 | 301–400 | University of Greenwich | London |
| =38 | 301–400 | Liverpool John Moores University | Liverpool |
| =38 | 301–400 | University of Plymouth | Plymouth |
| =43 | 401–500 | Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) | East Anglia |
| =43 | 401–500 | Aston University | Birmingham |
| =43 | 401–500 | Brunel University London | London |
| =43 | 401–500 | Heriot-Watt University | Edinburgh |
| =43 | 401–500 | University of Hull | Hull |
| =43 | 401–500 | University of Lincoln | Lincoln |
| =43 | 401–500 | Manchester Metropolitan University | Manchester |
| =43 | 401–500 | Oxford Brookes University | Oxford |
| =43 | 401–500 | University of Portsmouth | Portsmouth |
| =43 | 401–500 | SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College) | Edinburgh |
| =43 | 401–500 | University of Surrey | Guildford |
| =43 | 401–500 | Ulster University | Ulster |
| =55 | 501–600 | Bournemouth University | Bournemouth |
| =55 | 501–600 | University of Brighton | Brighton |
| =55 | 501–600 | Coventry University | Coventry |
| =55 | 501–600 | Keele University | Keele |
| =55 | 501–600 | Leeds Beckett University | Leeds |
| =55 | 501–600 | Northumbria University | Northumbria |
| =55 | 501–600 | Nottingham Trent University | Nottingham |
| =55 | 501–600 | University of Salford | Salford |
| =63 | 601–800 | University of Central Lancashire | Preston |
| =63 | 601–800 | Sheffield Hallam University | Sheffield |
| =63 | 601–800 | University of the West of England | Bristol |