I'm surprised that you think that Tolkien is more popular in the UK than in the US! I would have it the other way around! Certainly, Tolkien studies are very scant in the UK, and a lot of the English faculties would not approve at all of his inclusion in 'the canon' - some at best may include Tolkien's work in conjunction with studies on Fairy tale or Folklore, or maybe in conjunction with Communication Studies and 'modules' on Sci-Fi or popular culture. I understand the title of one of the Chairs at Oxford is the JRR Tolkien Professor of Medieval English Literature.
However, I have found a couple of links, since I would be interested myself to see if my opinion still holds true or not....
This could also prove to be an interesting project, to compile some kind of 'list' of places where Tolkien might be studied. Some 'Downers contemplating study might also find this useful.
Bristol University has a one semester course on
Englishness which includes Tolkien. Bristol is also the home of Ronald Hutton, so potentially some good learning to be had.
The Leeds University
School of English is notable for having a few courses including Tolkien's work and Tolkienist- friendly modules.
Romance Ballad & fairy Tale includes LotR as a required text. Leeds also has a reputation of having fiercely opposing sides on many critical issues, such as Modernism Vs Romanticism.
I found a PhD student at Manchester researching
Tolkien and Empire: The Creation of Middle Earth and though it is not a course, many PhD students also teach.
Royal Holloway (Univ of London) has a course enticingly titled
Tolkien's Roots , though I suspect that this is a fancy title to entice would-be first year undergraduates as no Tolkien is studied.
Hopefully I will come back with more links, so I will excuse the possibility of a double post in advance...