Looking for your next academic job can be a challenging task. There are a number of factors to take into account, from salary to progression routes, location to organisational fit.
If you’re looking for academic jobs in the UK, there are more than 100 universities to consider, each with a unique profile and mission. There are also several types of positions, from lecturer and senior lecturer jobs to senior academic and research jobs.
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But where is the best place to work for an academic in the UK?
Salary is one of the first things academics take into consideration when they’re looking for university jobs. For teaching and research positions, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics have the highest percentage of staff earning above £45,892. According to the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea) full-time academic staff in the UK were paid a median annual salary of £51,043 in 2018.
|
Employer |
Teaching and research salary score |
World University Rank 2020 |
|
Imperial College London |
100% |
10 |
|
London School of Economics and Political Science |
100% |
=27 |
|
University of Cambridge |
94% |
3 |
|
UCL |
93% |
15 |
|
SOAS University of London |
92% |
401-500 |
|
City, University of London |
92% |
401-500 |
|
King’s College London |
91% |
=36 |
|
Brunel University London |
90% |
351-400 |
|
Royal Veterinary College |
90% |
401-500 |
|
Glasgow Caledonian University |
88% |
601-800 |
For teaching-only positions, St George’s, University of London and Ulster University in Northern Ireland have the most staff earning above £45,892.
|
Employer |
Teaching-only salary Score |
World University Rank 2020 |
|
St George’s, University of London |
88% |
201-250 |
|
Ulster University |
78% |
601-800 |
|
London Metropolitan University |
71% |
n/a |
|
University of Plymouth |
70% |
501-600 |
|
Cardiff University |
70% |
=198 |
|
University of Winchester |
70% |
n/a |
|
University of East Anglia |
69% |
192 |
|
Queen Mary University of London |
67% |
=110 |
|
Imperial College London |
66% |
10 |
|
University of Surrey |
63% |
251-300 |
Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency, UK
Note: Scores show the percentages of staff in Hesa salary bands (1) ≥ £45,892 and < £61,618 and (2) ≥ £61,618. The employee data are rounded to a multiple of five, so the percentage of earners in each band is approximate, since the N in each band might not be the exact count of employees. As a result, we have given salary data only for institutions that have 100 employees or more on either teaching-only contracts or teaching and research contracts.
Equality in higher education is essential for everyone to flourish. Universities outside of London including Bath Spa University and Glasgow Caledonian University have the best equality practices, according to metrics from THE’s Impact Rankings.
These metrics assess a university’s proportion of research output with female authors; its proportion of senior academics who are women; its non-discrimination practices for women and transgender employees; whether it tracks gender pay gaps; and its policies on maternity and paternity leave.
|
Employer |
Gender equality score |
World University Rank 2020 |
|
Bath Spa University |
91.9 |
n/a |
|
Glasgow Caledonian University |
90.7 |
601-800 |
|
London South Bank University |
88.8 |
1001+ |
|
University of Worcester |
88.5 |
n/a |
|
King’s College London |
85.2 |
=36 |
|
University of Aberdeen |
82.2 |
=168 |
|
University of Leeds |
80.4 |
=155 |
|
University of Dundee |
78.7 |
201-250 |
|
University of Leicester |
78.6 |
=166 |
|
University of Greenwich |
77.8 |
601-800 |
Source: Impact Rankings 2020
Another important element to consider when you’re looking for academic jobs is how a university supports non-able-bodied employees. The University of Worcester, south-west of Birmingham, is the UK university with the most employees with a disability, according to the THE Impact Rankings.
|
Employer |
Accessibility score |
World University Rank 2020 |
|
University of Worcester |
100.0 |
n/a |
|
University of Winchester |
98.4 |
n/a |
|
Bangor University |
97.6 |
401-500 |
|
Arts University Bournemouth |
97.3 |
n/a |
|
Bath Spa University |
96.8 |
n/a |
|
Queen’s University Belfast |
95.6 |
201-250 |
|
De Montfort University |
94.1 |
601-800 |
|
University of Manchester |
92.7 |
=55 |
|
Solent University |
91.6 |
n/a |
|
University of Leicester |
91.3 |
=166 |
Source: Impact Rankings 2020
If small class size is important to you, you might want to consider university jobs in London. According to THE’s World University Rankings, six of the top 10 universities with the highest scores for student-staff ratio are in the capital.
|
Employer |
Class size score |
World University Rank 2020 |
|
|
UCL |
60.5 |
15 |
|
|
University of Cambridge |
59.1 |
3 |
|
|
Royal Veterinary College |
59.0 |
401-500 |
|
|
University of Oxford |
58.0 |
1 |
|
|
Brighton and Sussex Medical School |
57.3 |
251-300 |
|
|
Imperial College London |
56.0 |
10 |
|
|
SOAS University of London |
54.5 |
401-500 |
|
|
London School of Economics and Political Science |
54.3 |
=27 |
|
|
King’s College London |
53.0 |
=36 |
|
|
Lancaster University |
53.0 |
=139 |
|
Source: World University Rankings 2020
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Research income is another important factor to consider when you’re looking for university jobs in the UK. The University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London are the top three institutions for research income per staff, according to THE’s World University Rankings.
|
Employer |
Research income score |
World University Rank 2020 |
|
University of Oxford |
97.8 |
1 |
|
University of Cambridge |
93.8 |
3 |
|
Imperial College London |
87.8 |
10 |
|
UCL |
74.2 |
15 |
|
University of Edinburgh |
60.4 |
30 |
|
University of Glasgow |
59.9 |
=99 |
|
King’s College London |
55.2 |
=36 |
|
University of Bristol |
54.4 |
87 |
|
University of Dundee |
53.7 |
201-250 |
|
University of Manchester |
53.7 |
=55 |
Source: THE World University Rankings 2020