Should’ve gone to Lancaster
Breaking news: Your life doesn’t depend on getting into a Russell Group uni. The 24 UK unis in the Russell Group are renowned for being extra academic and prestigious. But they might not be the best at getting you a top grad job.
The Graduate Outcomes Survey from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) proves there are loads of other UK unis which are just as good as, if not better, than Russell Group unis at getting you grad jobs. The best Russell Group uni for grad jobs is Imperial College London, where 96 per cent of students are in graduate-level jobs or further study within 15 months of graduation. At the other end, the worst Russell Group uni for getting you a good grad job is Queen Mary University of London. Only 83 per cent of the students there had their lives on track within 15 months of leaving. But there are 24 non-Russell Group unis where just as many, if not more, of the grads get jobs.
So, here are the magic 24 UK unis which are better at getting you a grad job than the fancy Russell Group unis in 2024. They’re ranked by the percentage of grads who are in graduate-level employment or further study within 15 months of leaving.
=21. University of Worcester – 83 per cent
=21. Keele University – 83 per cent
=21. Royal Holloway University – 83 per cent
=21. City, University of London – 83 per cent
=20. Ulster University – 83 per cent
=14. Edinburgh Napier University – 84 per cent
=14. University of Plymouth – 84 per cent
=14. Heriot-Watt University – 84 per cent
=14. Glasgow Caledonian University – 84 per cent
=14. University of Reading – 84 per cent
=14. Leicester University – 84 per cent
=9. Robert Gordon University – 85 per cent
=9. St Mary’s University, Twickenham – 85 per cent
=9. University of East Anglia (UEA) – 85 per cent
=9. Swansea University – 85 per cent
=9. University of Aberdeen – 85 per cent
=6. University of Dundee – 86 per cent
=6. University of Strathclyde – 86 per cent
=6. Lancaster University – 86 per cent
5. Aston University – 87 per cent
4. University of Surrey – 88 per cent
3. Loughborough University – 89 per cent
2. University of St Andrews – 91 per cent
1. University of Bath – 92 per cent
Featured image of St Andrews by Holger Uwe Schmitt via Creative Commons. Image has been cropped.