i wish to do a phd in biology, I heard US universitites are the best in that field, then France. But I want to study in the UK, is it as good, concerning reputation for future job but also for level of education. I was advised Bristol, Newcastle, Sussex Brighton, University college and Imperial College, Oxford and Cambridge. The programs are roughly the same. However in the UK the centre of research in my field is the best in Bristol. But I am intending to move abroad for a job and wonders which institution is worldwide best known and respected?

Your experience during your PhD will have far more to do with your individual supervisor, than with the institution you choose. If you are concerned about reputations, it is the project that matters and the supervisor you work for. All the institutions you have listed have strong reputations in biology, as do many that you have left out. Research in UK universities is rated every 5 years in the Research Assessment Exercise. The last of these was in 2001 and the results can be seen here. 5* is the highest rating in this system.


It is quite common for PhD graduates to begin their postdoctoral careers in a different country from the one in which they studied for their PhD. Academic science is a truly international career.

Dear FindAPhDTeam,

I have searched the site you mentioned for more than 30 minutes and could not find where they say which university is better at what field....

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Once you have clicked on the link in the message below, select RESULTS. You then can view the RAE ratings by institution or by subject. Alternatively you can download a summary of the RAE in an MS Excel spreadsheet.


Departments are submitted to the RAE in subject groupings. Sometimes universities will group departments together to get one overall rating for a particular subject area. It may be tricky to work out which departments are included in these groupings in the summarised results, but if you're bright enough to do a PhD you should be able to work it out.


Most departments, particularly those who are rated 5 or 5*, will show their RAE rating on their web site.