Hardest Degrees: What Is The Hardest Degree At Uni?

If you’ve ever fallen down a TikTok rabbit hole of students comparing timetables, you’ve probably heard bold claims about the hardest degrees. Some swear it’s medicine because of placements and exams. Others insist it’s pure maths because symbols suddenly have feelings. Then there’s architecture, where studios seem to run on coffee and vibes. So, what is the hardest degree to get? Spoiler: there isn’t a single winner, but there are definitely some of the most difficult university degrees that push you in different ways.

This guide breaks down what actually makes a course tough, the hardest uni courses by subject, and practical tips to manage stress at uni, cope with exam stress, and ways to study smarter, not harder. And because we’re all about helping you enhance your uni experience, we’ll also show you how living with aparto can help you stay productive, avoid academic burnout, and still make the most of nights out.

What Makes a Degree Hard?

Before we jump into a list of the hardest degrees to study, it helps to know why a course feels hard in the first place. Degrees vary, but the challenge usually comes from a mix of these factors:

• Volume and pace: Heavy reading lists, weekly labs or problem sets, and content that moves quickly. If you miss a week, it can feel like you’ve missed a month.
• Depth of understanding: Some courses ask you to memorise facts. Others demand you prove ideas from scratch or design something brand new.
• Assessment style: Open book sounds easy until the questions are designed to test how you think, not what you recall. Coursework, practicals and presentations can add a different kind of pressure.
• Time intensity: Clinical placements, studio hours, group projects, and programming sprints often extend beyond scheduled teaching.
• Prerequisite ladders: Many of the hardest undergraduate degree pathways build block by block. If you miss a core concept early, later modules feel like a different language.
• Accreditation and standards: Medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, architecture and engineering often follow professional standards.
• Teamwork overhead: Group projects develop real skills, yet scheduling, communication and shared responsibility can be harder than the technical content.
• Your strengths: The hardest uni course for you is the one that clashes most with how your brain likes to think.

There’s also the human factor. Managing sleep, part-time work, societies, and your social life affects how hard a degree feels. Things that standard exams don’t measure, like kindness and commitment, often make the biggest difference.

Hardest Degrees

Below are some of the most difficult degrees according to reputation, workload and skillsets. We’ve kept it light, but honest. The hardest uni course for you will depend on your strengths and interests, so treat this as just a guide.

Engineering 

Engineering carries a reputation for being one of the hardest uni courses because it blends advanced maths, physics and real-world problem solving. Expect long labs, design projects, and group work where the robot behaves perfectly until the demo, of course. If you enjoy applying theory to tangible outcomes, the challenge can be energising. The payoff is brilliant employability across many sectors.

Chemical Engineering  

Chemical engineering features thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and reaction engineering. Translation: you’ll model how matter moves, mixes and transforms, then build safe processes around it. It’s one of the most difficult degrees for time management because courses often combine equations, lab safety, and industry-style projects in one week.

Computer Science  

Computer science isn’t just coding. You’ll study algorithms, data structures, software engineering and, in many programmes, discrete maths and machine learning. It’s hard because problems can be open-ended. Your code either runs or it doesn’t, and the fix can be three characters hidden in 600 lines. The best part is seeing your ideas turn into real tools, apps and research projects.

Medicine  

Medicine is long and intensive, yet deeply rewarding. The first years involve huge volumes of content, then come clinical placements where you apply it all. The academic challenge is matched by emotional pressure, so coping with exam stress and learning how to manage pressure are essential. If you enjoy teamwork and care about people, medicine can be your calling.

Law  

Law is one of the best degrees to study if you love nuance and can argue both sides before lunch. You’ll develop case analysis, statutory interpretation and legal writing skills. It’s heavy on reading and understanding how principles apply to messy real life. Exams often test your ability to reason, not memorise.

Architecture 

Architecture students master design, history, structures and environmental systems, then turn it all into studio projects. The studio culture means long hours, iterative feedback and models made from anything that can be cut with a scalpel. It’s one of the most demanding degrees for creativity and endurance, but one of the most satisfying when your ideas come to life.

Mathematics  

Pure mathematics strips problems to their logical bones. There is a beauty to proving theorems, but also a high bar for precision. If you want the hardest maths degree, modules in real analysis, abstract algebra and topology are serious tests. It’s concept-heavy and can feel abstract, yet the skills travel well to finance, tech and research.

Philosophy  

Surprised to see philosophy here? Don’t be. It’s tough because you have to build airtight arguments, read dense texts, and write clearly about complex ideas. You’ll meet questions that have kept people thinking for centuries, but it’s perfect if you enjoy structured debates and careful reasoning.

Economics 

Economics mixes theory, statistics and policy. There’s a lot of modelling human behaviour with equations and data, then testing those models against reality. The challenge comes from both the maths and the interpretation. You’ll learn to handle data, spot trends and argue for policy choices, which makes it one of the most demanding social science degrees.

Physics  

Physics asks you to understand the rules of the universe. Quantum mechanics, electromagnetism and statistical physics can be some of the hardest uni courses you’ll take. The goal is to translate real-world phenomena into clean, testable models.

Astrophysics 

Think about everything that’s hard in physics. Now add giant scales of space and time. Astrophysics includes celestial mechanics, cosmology and data analysis from telescopes or simulations. The maths is demanding and the datasets are huge. If you’ve ever wanted your nickname to be stargazer, this is your moment. Take it.

Pharmacy  

Pharmacy students dive into pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and patient care. The content load is significant because you must understand both the science of drugs and the responsibility of dispensing them. Placements and professional standards increase the pressure, though the course is highly structured to support you.

Dentistry  

Dentistry combines rigorous science with hands-on clinical skills. You’ll move from anatomy and biomaterials to treating real patients under supervision. It’s one of the hardest degrees due to the precision required and the responsibility you carry, yet it’s incredibly rewarding to see immediate improvements in someone’s health.

Veterinary Medicine  

Vets learn across multiple species, which means more anatomy, more pharmacology and more scenario-based problem solving. You’ll balance clinical placements with academic content. And that’s before we dive into the emotional support you’ll need to learn (for animals and owners alike).

Actuarial Science  

Actuarial science blends maths, stats and financial theory to assess risk. It’s challenging both at uni and after, since professional exams await. If your happy place is a spreadsheet, it can be a brilliant route into high-impact roles.

Nursing

Nursing is academically and emotionally demanding. You’ll study physiology, pharmacology and care planning, then put it all into practice on placement. Shift patterns can be tough, but teamwork and patient impact make it meaningful.

How to Succeed on a Hard Degree

Whether you’re facing the hardest engineering degree, wondering which science is the hardest, or juggling multiple deadlines, these tips will help you stay energised and productive:

Build a Simple Routine

If you’re wondering how to study and stay productive, you’ll first need to create a timetable or routine. Whether you’re using a calendar or setting reminders for those all-important breaks, a simple routine can do wonders. 

Study Smarter, Not Harder

Active recall and spaced repetition beat mindless reading any day. After lectures, write three questions you could be asked and answer them from memory. You could even try teaching a concept out loud to test your understanding. It’s all about making studying easier for you. 

Manage Pressure

Pressure grows in silence. Share your plan with a friend, book office hours early and practise past paper questions out loud. Use simple breathing techniques to settle nerves. On the day, arrive early, scan the paper, and start with questions you can answer to build momentum.

Cope with Exam Stress

Mock exams are your best friend. Practise under timed conditions and mark your work against the criteria. Learn to park a hard question and come back with fresh eyes. Build a pre-exam ritual that calms you: water, slow breathing, one page of formulae and a pep talk from Future You.

Stay Energised

To avoid academic burnout, it’s important to stay energised by eating regular meals, hydrating, and moving your body. Try the 20 20 20 rule for screens. Schedule joy on purpose, not by accident. Your brain is a muscle. It performs better with rest days. If you live with aparto, you can use on-site study spaces for quiet focus, then head to social events to decompress.

Tools and People

At aparto, we offer both private and shared study spaces, so when it’s time to hit the books, you can go straight into focus mode. You could even try campus support services or a study buddy who’s on your course.

Interviews and Confidence

Feeling confident walking into your university interview comes from rehearsal. Prepare six stories that show teamwork, leadership, problem solving, initiative, resilience and curiosity. Match them to the course values. Do a mock panel with friends and film it. Watch it back and fix one thing at a time.

Ask for Help

If stress is impacting your health, talk to someone. Universities have wellbeing teams, and talking to your GP is always a good move. If you want someone a little closer to home, our aparto has a whole range of safety and wellbeing support available to our residents, including Kooth, mental health support available 365 days a year.

FAQs

If you’re umming and aahing over what course is right for you, here are a few popular questions, answered.

What is the Hardest Engineering Degree?  

People often point to aerospace and electrical as contenders for this because they combine advanced maths with demanding lab work and complex design projects. Mechanical and civil are also rigorous, just in different ways. The hardest depends on your strengths and interests, so sample modules and talk to students before you decide.

What is the Hardest Science Degree?

Physics, chemistry and biomedical sciences all have a claim. Physics wins for deep theory, chemistry for lab intensity, and biomed for sheer volume and the link to clinical practice. If you’re asking which science is the hardest, the honest answer is that it depends on how your brain likes to think.

What’s the Hardest Maths Degree?  

Degrees with a stronger focus on proof-heavy modules like real analysis, group theory and logic tend to feel toughest. Joint programmes that combine maths with statistics or computer science can also be intense because you’re learning two languages at once.

Final Thoughts on the Hardest Degrees

There’s no single winner when it comes to the hardest degrees. Engineering, physics and maths test problem-solving, medicine and nursing combine academic work with responsibility, and creative courses like architecture demand stamina as well as talent. The most difficult university degrees all have their own challenges, so the key is choosing the one that excites you enough to make the tough days worth it.

Where you live can make a big difference, too. At aparto, you’ll find study spaces to help you stay productive, events to keep you energised, and a community that makes managing stress at uni much easier. 

Looking for a student accommodation where you can thrive? Discover aparto’s student accommodation in your university city today, so you can work hard on your degree and still enjoy everything uni life has to offer.