Best universities in the UK for arts and humanities degrees 2024

Explore the best universities in the UK for arts and humanities degrees, using data from the Times Higher Education World University Rankings

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November 29 2023

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Top 10 universities in the UK for arts and humanities degrees

Scroll down for the full list of best universities for arts and humanities in the UK

UK arts and humanities rank 2024	Arts and humanities rank 2024	University	City/town
1	3	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
2	4	University of Oxford	Oxford
3	6	UCL	London
4	12	University of Edinburgh	Edinburgh
5	20	King’s College London	London
6	=35	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
7	39	Durham University	Durham
8	=43	Lancaster University	Lancaster
9	45	University of St Andrews	St Andrews
10	49	University of Manchester	Manchester

Arts and humanities subjects include history, English literature, philosophy, languages and architecture (scroll down for a full list of subjects and what you can do with them).

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The UK is home to some of the world’s best universities for studying the arts and humanities, including the University of Oxford, which is ranked the top university in the world, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2024.

Students who study the arts and humanities develop transferable skills such as the ability to think critically, analyse new information and communicate findings effectively. These can be applied to a range of careers, whether that’s in politics or education, law or the creative industry.

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5. King's College London

The faculty of arts and humanities is the second largest at King's College London and is located in the middle of London city.

The department has ties with many cultural locations in the city, including the British Museum, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the National Portrait Gallery, allowing students to experience culture around them as they study.

Programmes for undergraduates and postgraduates are offered in many aspects of arts and humanities such as ancient languages, contemporary film studies, music and philosophy. Postgraduate students can also consider a PhD or PG research course in culture, media, creative industries and humanities at King's College London.

Notable alumni in arts and humanities at King's College London includes broadcaster and author Anita Anand and novelist Thomas Hardy.

4. University of Edinburgh

The college of arts, humanities and social sciences is the University of Edinburgh’s largest college.

The college is divided into 12 schools including divinity, Edinburgh College of art, history, classics and archaeology, law, literatures, languages and cultures, philosophy, psychology and language sciences among others.

There are both undergraduate and postgraduate courses available across the arts and humanities, as well as part-time programmes for students looking for flexibility.

Those studying arts and humanities are given the opportunity to study abroad as part of the university’s international exchange programme. The university has developed partnerships with more than 200 partner institutions around the world.

3. UCL

UCL’s faculty of arts and humanities offers courses in English, philosophy, Greek and Latin, and is also home to the school of European languages, culture and society.

The Slade School of fine art offers two undergraduate degree programmes, the BA and the BFA in fine art, and two master’s programmes, the MA and the MFA in fine art.

UCL’s faculty of arts and humanities’ past research projects have addressed histories of the Italian mafias, and self-directed support in social care, among many other ongoing research projects.

2. University of Oxford

The humanities division is one of the University of Oxford’s four academic divisions and is organised into nine faculties: classics, English language and literature, history, linguistics, philology and phonetics, medieval and modern languages, music, oriental studies, philosophy, and theology and religion.

The humanities division is home to the Ruskin School of Art, which dates back to 1871, when John Ruskin first opened his school of drawing. Since 1981, the school has been offering students degrees in fine art.

The division also has a number of libraries and museums including the Ashmolean Museum of art and archaeology and the Bodleian Library, which houses more than 11 million volumes and manuscript collections.

Oxford’s faculty and students carry out research in a range of subject areas from ancient and classical civilisations, to the intersection between humanities and neuroscience. Past research projects have included “What does ancient Greek music sound like?” and “How does the brain process language?”

1. University of Cambridge

The school of arts and humanities at the University of Cambridge offers a range of courses at the undergraduate level and beyond. It’s divided into eight faculties: architecture and history of art, Asian and Middle Eastern studies, classics, divinity, English, modern and medieval languages, music, and history.

The university is home to several research groups, including Cambridge Digital Humanities, a collaborative interaction between scholars across the humanities. Its mission is to rethink the nature of the humanities in our digital age and to investigate traditional and new forms of data and media.

Notable Cambridge alumni in arts and humanities fields include the philosopher Bertrand Russell, artist Quentin Blake and dramatist Christopher Marlowe.

Top universities in the UK for arts and humanities degrees 2024

Click each institution to view its World University Rankings 2024 profile

UK arts and humanities rank 2024	Arts and humanities rank 2024	University	City/town
1	3	University of Cambridge	Cambridge
2	4	University of Oxford	Oxford
3	6	UCL	London
4	12	University of Edinburgh	Edinburgh
5	20	King’s College London	London
6	=35	London School of Economics and Political Science	London
7	39	Durham University	Durham
8	=43	Lancaster University	Lancaster
9	45	University of St Andrews	St Andrews
10	49	University of Manchester	Manchester
11	51	University of York	York
12	=54	University of Glasgow	Glasgow
13	61	University of Warwick	Warwick
14	67	University of Birmingham	Birmingham
15	69	University of Leeds	Leeds
16	70	Birkbeck, University of London	London
17	74	University of Sheffield	Sheffield
18	75	University of Bristol	Bristol
19	=77	SOAS University of London	London
20	82	University of Exeter	Exeter
=21	101–125	Cardiff University	Cardiff
=21	101–125	Newcastle University	Newcastle
=21	101–125	Queen Mary University of London	London
=21	101–125	University of Reading	Reading
=21	101–125	University of Southampton	Southampton
=26	126–150	Goldsmiths, University of London	London
=26	126–150	University of Nottingham	Nottingham
=26	126–150	Queen’s University Belfast	Belfast
=29	151–175	Heriot-Watt University	Edinburgh
=29	151–175	University of Leicester	Leicester
=29	151–175	University of Liverpool	Liverpool
=29	151–175	Loughborough University	Loughborough
33	176–200	University of East Anglia	Norwich
=34	201–250	University of Aberdeen	Aberdeen
=34	201–250	Aston University	Birmingham
=34	201–250	University of Bath	Bath
=34	201–250	University of Kent	Kent
=34	201–250	Royal Holloway, University of London	Surrey
=34	201–250	University of Sussex	Brighton
=40	251–300	Bournemouth University	Bournemouth
=40	251–300	University of Essex	Essex
=40	251–300	Oxford Brookes University	Oxford
=40	251–300	University of Stirling	Stirling
=40	251–300	University of Surrey	Guildford
=45	301–400	Bangor University	Bangor
=45	301–400	Brunel University London	London
=45	301–400	Coventry University	Coventry
=45	301–400	University of Dundee	Dundee
=45	301–400	University of Huddersfield	Huddersfield
=45	301–400	Northumbria University	Northumbria
=45	301–400	The Open University	Nationwide
=45	301–400	University of Roehampton	London
=45	301–400	University of Strathclyde	Strathclyde
=45	301–400	Swansea University	Swansea
=45	301–400	University of Westminster	London
=56	401–500	Aberystwyth University	Aberystwyth
=56	401–500	Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)	East Anglia
=56	401–500	University of Central Lancashire	Preston
=56	401–500	University of Hull	Hull
=56	401–500	Keele University	Keele
=56	401–500	Manchester Metropolitan University	Manchester
=56	401–500	Nottingham Trent University	Nottingham
=56	401–500	University of Plymouth	Plymouth
=56	401–500	University of Portsmouth	Portsmouth
=56	401–500	Sheffield Hallam University	Sheffield
=56	401–500	Ulster University	Ulster
=56	401–500	University of the West of England	Bristol
=56	401–500	University of Wolverhampton	Wolverhampton
=69	501–600	Birmingham City University	Birmingham
=69	501–600	University of Brighton	Brighton
=69	501–600	De Montfort University	Leicester
=69	501–600	University of Hertfordshire	Hatfield
=69	501–600	Kingston University	London
=69	501–600	Leeds Beckett University	Leeds
=69	501–600	University of Lincoln	Lincoln
=69	501–600	Liverpool John Moores University	Liverpool
=69	501–600	Middlesex University	London
=69	501–600	University of Winchester	Winchester