How important is the Graduate prospects measure?

Our league tables are here to help you find the best university for you. They don’t just allow you to look at the overall top universities by region or by subject; you can also search by other elements that are important to you. If your future career is a part of your uni choice, then you may want to sort the tables by Graduate prospects – outcomes.

Why do we include Graduate prospects in our league tables? 

Graduate prospects – outcomes measure how successful students are when they leave a university; that is, whether they go on to a graduate-level job or further study. 

How are Graduate prospects calculated? 

Graduate prospects – outcomes measure the success in employability or further study of graduates completing their first degree.

The data is from the Graduate Outcomes survey, which took place fifteen months after the graduation of students in 2021–22.

To calculate the score, our league table compilers take the number of graduates who took up highly skilled employment or further study. They divide this by the total number of graduates with a known destination. The figures are adjusted to take account of the subject mix at the university and shown as a percentage.

Find out more about how we calculate the rankings

Why are Graduate prospects important to students when deciding on a university?  

A good ‘outcomes’ score shows that former students succeed in entering high-skilled work or postgraduate study after graduation. In turn, this shows that their university has helped to prepare them successfully for their career.

However, a low score on this measure doesn't mean that many graduates were unemployed.

Some graduates start their careers by taking a job in administration or as an office manager, as a sales supervisor or customer service manager, or in a skilled trade. These roles aren't classed as graduate-level professional roles, but they can still help graduates on the way to their chosen career.

Some universities may also be geared towards helping local students get good jobs in their local economy. If they are in an area with few graduate-level roles, this could be reflected in their Graduate prospects – outcomes score.

This is where our Graduate prospects – on track score comes in. It measures the number of graduates who agreed or strongly agreed with the statement ‘My current activity fits with my future plans’ in the Graduate Outcomes survey. It means they are confident they are on the path towards their future career.

So, it’s always worth checking both our Graduate prospects scores to see how unis measure up. 

Try sorting by Graduate prospects on one of our tables for yourself