The Complete University Guide has published its 2026 league table for undergraduate Economics programs at UK universities, offering prospective students valuable insights into the best institutions to consider for their economics studies. As last year, the University of Cambridge tops the table.

The Complete University Guide has unveiled its 2026 league tables, highlighting the top universities for Economics in the UK. The rankings provide a comprehensive evaluation of institutions based on several criteria, including teaching quality, student satisfaction, and graduate prospects. Prospective students can utilize the league tables to make informed choices about their education by comparing universities based on important factors such as entry standards, research quality, and continuation rates. 

The ranking is compiled from data collected between 2019 and 2024.

The top five remain unchanged since the 2025 edition, with Cambridge topping the overall table, followed in the top five by LSE, Oxford, St. Andrews and Warwick.

Cambridge again scored highly across all categories, although the economics department at  St. Andrews topped the table for entry standards, pipping Cambridge and Oxford.

St. Andrews also outperformed the overall top ten for student satisfaction, coming third overall for this measurement. Other universities performing well for econ student satisfaction included the University of Hertfordshire (first for student satisfaction, 59th overall) and Herriot Watt University (second for student satisfaction, 28th overall).

LSE and Warwick lead the field in economics research quality, followed by University College London (third for research quality, seventh overall), Cambridge and Nottingham (eighth overall).

Cambridge led the field in terms of "continuation", roughly an inverse measurement of the drop-out rate, with an impressive 100% of first year econ students continuing their studies (if not at Cambridge, then at another institution). St. Andrews, Nottingham and Durham also performed well in this measurement, with 99% of economics freshers continuing their studies after their first year.

In terms of graduate prospects, defined as the percentage of economics graduates who were in "skilled" employment within fifteen months of graduation, Cambridge again led the field, with 96%, closely followed by UCL, LSE and Kings College London (all 95%) and Oxford (94%).

A second measure of graduate prospects measured how many students were "on track", who in a survey agreed that their postgraduate study or employment fit with their future plans. In this measurement Cambridge shared first place with the economics departments at Keele University (47th overall) and the University of York (18th overall).

Notable improvements in the overall ranking include economics departments at the University of Nottingham (8th overall, up from 12th in 2025), University of Exeter (11th, up from 14th), Cardiff (21st, up from 25th), Strathclyde (23rd, up from 28th), Herriot-Watt (28th, up from 34th), the University of Leicester (37th, up from 47th) and the University of Plymouth (40th, up from 57th).

New entries to the table were the economics programmes at Northumbria University (in at 66th), Liverpool Hope University (71st) and the University of Roehampton (74th).

With the latest data available, students looking to pursue an Economics degree can explore and compare various UK universities to find the best fit for their academic and professional aspirations.

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