The best subjects to study at each Russell Group uni, as per the Complete University Guide

The new Complete University Guide for 2026 is out. These rankings give us plenty of new info on different unis, so we can endlessly compare our uni to our friends’ unis and despair over our life choices. The Complete University Guide includes league tables for every university subject. So, here are the best three subjects to study at each Russell Group uni, which you probably should’ve signed up for instead.

Unsurprisingly, Oxbridge did well in the uni rankings. It’s hard to pick a top three subjects to study at the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge. So, I’ve just listed all the subjects Cambridge and Oxford ranked first for. Hope you don’t mind.

If you’re nosy about which unis are the best to study every uni at, there’s a handy guide to that right here.

So, here are the best three subjects to study at each Russell Group uni, according to the Complete University Guide for 2026‘s new subject league tables:

University of Birmingham

1st for communication and media studies, 2nd for social policy, 4th for history of art, architecture and design

University of Bristol

1st for general engineering, 3rd for education, 3rd for aeronautical and aerospace engineering

Cardiff University

1st for Celtic studies, 2nd for counselling, psychotherapy and occupational therapy, 2nd for optometry, ophthalmics and orthoptics

University of Cambridge

Oh look, Cambridge is good at everything *yawns*

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Cambridge is apparently the best of all the Russell Group unis, so it’s not a shock it actually came first in the Complete University Guide’s league tables for way more than three subjects. It topped the rankings for economics, Classics, mathematics, chemical engineering, Russian and east European languages, chemistry, Italian, electric and electronic engineering, pharmacology and pharmacy, geology, physics and astronomy, education, sociology, town and country planning and landscape design, French, veterinary medicine, civil engineering, medicine, archaeology, linguistics, law, history of art, architecture and design, manufacturing and product engineering, Iberian languages, history and biological sciences.

Honestly, it probably would have been quicker for me to list all the uni subjects that the University of Cambridge didn’t top the league table for.

Durham University

1st for theology and religious studies, 1st for music, 2nd for geography and environmental science

University of Edinburgh

2nd for nursing and midwifery, 2nd for African and Middle Eastern studies, 4th for Asian studies

University of Exeter

4th for marketing, 4th for African and Middle Eastern studies, 4th for drama, dance and cinematics

University of Glasgow

1st for nursing and midwifery, 3rd for art and design, 3rd for manufacturing and product engineering

Imperial College London

1st for aeronautical and aerospace engineering, 1st for mechanical engineering, 1st for medical technology and bioengineering

King’s College London (KCL)

1st for health studies, 4th for social policy, 5th for Classics

University of Leeds

1st for childhood and youth studies, 2nd for creative writing, 2nd for marketing

University of Liverpool

2nd for veterinary medicine, 2nd for dentistry, 3rd for marketing

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

The London School of Economics and Political science isn’t top for economics or economics, which is a bit awks
(Credit: Shadowssettle)

1st for social policy, 1st for philosophy, 1st for accounting and finance

University of Manchester

1st for drama, dance and cinematics, 2nd for American studies, 4th for physica and astronomy

Newcastle University

1st for speech and language therapy, 2nd for agriculture and forestry, 5th for art and design

University of Nottingham

3rd for sports science, 3rd for Asian studies, 3rd for veterinary medicine

University of Oxford

Again, Oxford topped the league tables for like a gazillion subjects. So it’s had to list a “top three” subjects to study there.

Oxford came 1st for African and Middle Eastern studies, biomedical sciences, geography and environmental studies, computer science, materials technology, Asian studies, politics, Russian and east European studies, business and management studies, anthropology and psychology.

Queen Mary University of London

5th for medicine, 6th for materials technology, 7th for dentistry

Queen’s University Belfast

A very underrated campus
(Credit: NTF30)

1st for agriculture and forestry, 1st for social work, 2nd for information technology and systems

University of Sheffield

2nd for childhood and youth studies, 3rd for general engineering, 3rd for architecture

University of Southampton

1st for physiotherapy, 2nd for aeronautical and aerospace engineering, 2nd for manufacturing and product engineering

University College London (UCL)

1st for art and design, 1st for American studies, 2nd for law

University of Warwick

1st for creative writing, 3rd for accounting and finance, 4th for business and management studies

University of York

4th for French, 6th for archaeology, 5th for linguistics

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