Mathematics has long been a popular subject for university students to study, as its skills can be adapted across a wide range of industries and sectors, meaning it offers a good starting point for various careers. As such, there are a lot of universities that offer courses in mathematics, which can make it difficult to see which ones are the best. To help give students a place to start with their research, we have created this guide to the best universities for maths in the UK.
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According to the Complete University Guide’s 2025 league table, which looks at a number of different factors to organise its ranking, these are the top three universities for mathematics. Any of these institutions would be able to provide a rewarding educational experience, and would make a great place to start when looking for maths universities.
The university with the highest ranking for student satisfaction in mathematics subjects was University of Plymouth. This measure is important to take note of as it looks at how pleased students are with the teaching provided at a university. As you can imagine, this could easily impact a student's experience at an institution, so it’s a key thing to keep in mind.
Go to: Search mathematics courses at University of Plymouth
Graduate prospects are also worth researching while trying to find somewhere to study mathematics, as it can give an indication of how successful graduates of certain universities are in finding work or further education after their degree. The highest ranked mathematics university for graduate prospects was Heriot-Watt University.
Go to: Search mathematics courses at Heriot-Watt University
For students looking to study for a research qualification in mathematics, research quality is a critical factor to consider. Choosing a university with a high research quality ranking could open opportunities to make a big impact on a student’s field. For mathematics, the highest ranked university for research quality was the University of Oxford, one of the top overall ranking universities in the subject.
Go to: Search mathematics courses at the University of Oxford
The Complete University Guide’s league tables have been used to source the ranking information for this article. The league tables use data from the National Student Survey, the Higher Education Statistics Agency and the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, and the rankings are calculated using the Complete University Guide’s own methodology. The CUG league tables are based on undergraduate data.
Go to: See the 2025 Complete University Guide mathematics subject league table
Mathematics students have been very positive about the University of Manchester in reviews on Whatuni, including a few five-star ratings. Quotes from these reviews include: "Great student network."
Go to: Search mathematics courses at University of Manchester
There are a large number of universities offering postgraduate courses in mathematics. To look at them all, please use our course search tool, which can be filtered by region, subject, qualification and more.
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