What Do Postgraduate Students Do?
Around 500,000 students are currently studying a postgraduate course in the UK. Reasons for postgraduate study vary, but many students do so to enhance their career prospects and increase their potential earning power. The tables below show what postgrad students do, after full-time and part-time postgraduate study.
The tables are ranked by the sum of three 'positive' destinations:
- employed in a professional job,
- employed in a professional job and studying,
- studying and not employed.
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Postgraduate students' destinations after full-time postgraduate study
| Subject area | Professional job* | Professional job and study | Study Only | Non-professional job** | Non-professional job and study | Unemployed | |
| Medicine & dentistry | 87% | 7% | 4% | 1% | 0% | 1% | |
| Education | 94% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 1% | |
| Veterinary science | 76% | 3% | 14% | 5% | 1% | 0% | |
| Subjects allied to medicine | 80% | 3% | 8% | 4% | 0% | 4% | |
| Mathematical sciences | 68% | 2% | 21% | 4% | 0% | 6% | |
| Architecture, building & planning | 80% | 6% | 4% | 4% | 0% | 6% | |
| Combined | 87% | 0% | 0% | 7% | 0% | 7% | |
| Physical sciences | 71% | 2% | 12% | 8% | 0% | 7% | |
| Engineering & technology | 73% | 2% | 9% | 6% | 0% | 9% | |
| Computer science | 72% | 2% | 10% | 6% | 0% | 10% | |
| Law | 68% | 3% | 11% | 11% | 1% | 5% | |
| Social studies | 71% | 4% | 8% | 10% | 0% | 6% | |
| Biological sciences | 64% | 4% | 13% | 13% | 1% | 6% | |
| Mass communications & documentation |
76% | 2% | 2% | 13% | 0% | 6% | |
| Business & administrative studies | 70% | 3% | 4% | 13% | 0% | 10% | |
| Agriculture & related subjects | 68% | 1% | 8% | 15% | 0% | 8% | |
| Creative arts & design | 63% | 5% | 6% | 19% | 1% | 6% | |
| Languages | 53% | 3% | 17% | 19% | 2% | 6% | |
| Historical & philosophical studies | 49% | 3% | 18% | 21% | 1% | 8% | |
| Total | 77% | 3% | 7% | 8% | 0% | 5% |
Postgraduate students' destinations after part-time postgraduate study
| Subject area | Professional job* | Professional job and study | Study Only | Non-professional job* | Non-professional job and study | Unemployed | |
| Veterinary science | 95% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Combined | 88% | 7% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 0% | |
| Subjects allied to medicine | 87% | 7% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 1% | |
| Education | 87% | 7% | 3% | 2% | 0% | 1% | |
| Architecture, building & planning | 89% | 3% | 5% | 2% | 0% | 2% | |
| Medicine & dentistry | 79% | 5% | 10% | 2% | 0% | 3% | |
| Law | 81% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 1% | 2% | |
| Business & administrative studies | 87% | 5% | 2% | 4% | 0% | 2% | |
| Computer science | 85% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 0% | 4% | |
| Engineering & technology | 87% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 4% | |
| Social studies | 82% | 5% | 4% | 6% | 0% | 3% | |
| Biological sciences | 78% | 6% | 5% | 8% | 0% | 3% | |
| Mathematical sciences | 74% | 7% | 7% | 5% | 2% | 4% | |
| Agriculture & related subjects | 74% | 6% | 5% | 11% | 0% | 3% | |
| Physical sciences | 74% | 5% | 3% | 11% | 2% | 5% | |
| Historical & philosophical studies | 65% | 6% | 10% | 16% | 2% | 3% | |
| Creative arts & design | 72% | 5% | 4% | 15% | 1% | 5% | |
| Mass communications & documentation |
76% | 1% | 2% | 15% | 1% | 5% | |
| Languages | 64% | 6% | 8% | 15% | 2% | 5% | |
| Total | 84% | 6% | 3% | 5% | 0% | 2% |
Published October 2016
Notes
- Date source: HESA 2014–15, Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey (DLHE), which asks UK and EU domiciled graduates what they are doing on a particular reference date roughly six months after graduation.
- Combined – courses that cross more than one subject group.
- *Professional employment refers to a job or occupation which normally requires a degree.
- **Non-professional employment refers to a job or occupation which doesn't normally require a degree.
- Combined – courses that cross more than one subject group.
Next page: What do postgraduate students earn?