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The London university that is officially the best place in the UK to study philosophy

The Complete University Guide has revealed which uni should be your top choice if you want to study life’s biggest questions

Amy Houghton
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Amy Houghton
Contributing writer
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Like to spend your time pondering the meaning of life? Love debating the existence of free will? Can’t stop thinking about whether morality really is objective? Sounds like a philosophy degree would be right up your street. And if you want the best philosophical education that the UK has to offer, Complete University Guide (CUG) has the answer. 

Last month, the guide published its 2026 edition, ranking British universities based on stuff like entry requirements, student satisfaction, graduate prospects and research quality. Cambridge and Oxford earned the top two spots when it came to which universities are the best all-round, but the guide also ranked unis based on specific subjects. 

While London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) came third in the overall ranking, it was awarded first place for philosophy. CUG gave LSE a perfect overall score of 100 for its philosophy department, with an entry standards score of 86, a student satisfaction score of 78 and a graduate prospects score of 100. 

If you were to enrol onto LSE’s undergrad philosophy course, you could be studying things like animal ethics, the philosophy of language, how we can control AI or whether time travel is really possible. You’d need to get at least AAA in your A-Levels for a place. 

For back-up options in the capital, the University College of London and King’s College London also ranked highly for their philosophy courses, sitting in fourth and tenth place respectively. 

The Complete University Guide 2026’s best universities to study philosophy in the UK

  1. London School of Economics
  2. University of Cambridge
  3. University of Oxford 
  4. University College of London (UCL)
  5. University of St Andrews 
  6. University of Warwick
  7. University of Durham 
  8. University of York
  9. University of Exeter
  10. King’s College London

More into science? Check out the best British university to study medicine, according to the 2026 Complete University Guide

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