Top 10 UK Universities for Graduate Prospects 2025

Are you an international considering studying in the UK from 2025? If so, there is much to think about as UCAS  deadlines approach and the decision about what and where to study comes into focus.

Employment prospects are key to deciding where to study, and UK university graduates have a strong track record of finding employment after leaving university. Dedicated Careers Service teams provide advice and help you research career pathways and employers. They also organise recruitment fairs and workshops on how to write CVs and perform well at interviews.

Graduate prospect rankings are an important parameter to measure the learning outcomes of university graduates and their preparedness for the prospective job market. To establish which universities are best for graduate prospects, the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 looked at the proportion of graduates in high-skilled jobs or graduate-level study 15 months after graduation.

Learn more about the top ten universities in the UK below for graduate prospects, and if you want to study in the UK, arrange a free consultation with SI-UK today.

Top 10 UK Universities for Graduate Prospects

1. Imperial College London

Imperial College London forms part of the 'Golden Triangle' of six elite UK universities. Imperial is the only university in the UK focusing exclusively on studying science, medicine, engineering, and business. 

Imperial provides extensive career support to its students through career workshops, placement opportunities and career events held throughout the year, including employer-led events such as skills workshops and mock interviews. Graduates are given career support up to 3 years after graduation.

• Graduate prospects score: 95.9%
• View Imperial courses

2. London School of Economics and Political Science

The London School of Economics and Political Science is a world-class institution that teaches economics and other social science disciplines, including politics, law, sociology and anthropology. Part of the prestigious Russell Group and with the world’s largest library dedicated to social sciences, graduates from the University benefit from the LSE Careers Service mission to help make the transition from education to employment as smooth as possible.

• Graduate prospects score: 92.5%
• View LSE courses

3. St George’s, University of London

St George’s, University of London is one of the UK’s leading specialist health universities. Based in South London, the University shares a campus with one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK. It is internationally respected, with more than 250 years of excellence in education and research. 

Studying at St George’s means you will become part of a university focused entirely on improving the health of society, surrounded by students studying complementary disciplines in an authentic hospital environment.

• Graduate prospects score: 91.6%
• View St George’s courses

4. University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is an elite UK university considered the oldest and most prestigious university in the English-speaking world. With a global reputation for world-class teaching and top-rated programmes across many subjects, a University of Oxford degree holds weight wherever you pursue your career. The University of Oxford has recently been named the best university in the world for the sixth year by Times Higher Education.

• Graduate prospects score: 90.4%
• View Oxford courses

5. University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge graduates benefit from its influential alumni network, which includes people in resourceful positions worldwide also, as the University scores high on its alumni outcomes. There are more than 400 alumni groups around the world helping graduates to start their graduate careers.

The University of Cambridge has produced 121 affiliated Nobel winners, more than any other university. Cambridge is one of the best universities in the world for teaching, research excellence and international outlook.

• Graduate prospects score: 90.4%
• View Cambridge courses

6. Durham University

Durham University, the third-oldest in England, operates under the collegiate model, with 17 colleges handling domestic affairs. English graduates boast an average earnings of £25,500 after 15 months, with 93% securing employment or further study. The university ranks 3rd for graduate prospects and 7th in the UK, according to the Times Good University Guide 2023. Impressively, over 90% of its subjects rank in the UK top 10, solidifying its position as a world top 100 university in the QS World University Rankings 2024.

• Graduate prospects score: 88.8%
• View Durham courses

7. University of Bath

The University of Bath evolved from Bristol's Merchant Venturers' Technical College (established in 1595). Its main campus on Claverton Down overlooks the UNESCO World Heritage city of Bath, designed in the modernist style.

Named 'University of the Year 2024 for Graduate Jobs' by the Daily Mail University Guide, it also secured top rankings in the Complete University Guide 2024 and the Guardian University Guide 2024. The university is ranked 6th in the UK by the Guardian and 8th by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.

• Graduate prospects score: 88.7%
• View Bath courses

8. University of St Andrews

Founded in 1413, the University of St Andrews, one of the world's oldest, has excelled for over six centuries. It is the only UK university that surpassed Oxford and Cambridge in national rankings, achieving the top spot in the 2024 Times Good University Guide and the 2024 Guardian University Guide. Boasting a 67% placement rate for graduates, St Andrews strengthens global business ties, enhancing prospects for aspiring professionals, given the significant value attached to its degrees by corporates.

• Graduate prospects score: 87.6%
• View St Andrews courses

9. University College London

Founded in 1826, UCL is London's premier multidisciplinary university, hosting over 16,000 staff and 50,000 students from 150+ countries. With a diverse community encouraging independent thinking, UCL earned the University of the Year 2024 title in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. In 2020-21, 67.4% of its graduates secured highly skilled jobs, and 13.7% pursued postgraduate studies. Additionally, it ranks 2nd in the UK for research power in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 and holds the 9th position in the 2024 QS World University Rankings.

• Graduate prospects score: 87.5%
• View UCL courses

10. Queen’s University, Belfast

Queen's University Belfast, with a heritage spanning 175 years, is a member of the Russell Group, emphasising excellence in research and education with a focus on students. Committed to shaping a better world through transformative education and research, Queen's has a rich history of producing Nobel Laureates and influential leaders. Situated in Belfast, a welcoming and affordable modern capital, it combines heritage with cutting-edge facilities as the 9th oldest and one of the UK's largest campus universities.

• Graduate prospects score: 87.1%
• View Queen’s University courses

UK university employment focus

A key consideration for prospective international students considering studying in the UK is the practical, employment-focused approach of UK universities, whose annual rankings depend greatly on alumni career successes, which are being assiduously measured.

Some countries’ universities concentrate on the theoretical and academic side of a subject rather than how it works in the real world of work; students worrying about the job market are expected to fend for themselves with online searches, family contacts, and individual initiative, and they may graduate with an impeccable grasp of intellectually sophisticated subjects that they do not know how to apply in a useful way to a logistical problem to make money in a commercial context, and so have to be trained from scratch by employers reluctant to hire such novices.

UK universities, by contrast, tend to tailor their curricula to the specific demands of the workplace so that what students have learned in class is immediately relevant to their subsequent careers. UK universities cultivate industry links and offer degrees that involve work placements where students can put into practice what they learned theoretically in lectures.

International students who graduate from UK universities can expect to find work in a flexible, local labour market for which this country is famous and contrasts favourably with many countries that are nepotistic or bureaucratic in recruiting inexperienced, unnetworked job-seekers. It is as easy to imagine an Italian or French person – of average ability and influence – graduating and then professionally thriving in a long-term, graduate-level career in the UK as it is difficult to imagine a British person doing the same across the British Channel (though obviously exceptions can be made for exceptionally high performers such as scientists and bankers, who can find work anywhere).

Cheaper and quicker degrees

Another key consideration is cost and time. UK universities provide cheaper degrees than those in the USA and take less time than most other countries’ degrees. A UK undergraduate degree typically takes three years, whereas it typically takes at least four years abroad.

A UK master’s degree normally takes one year; it usually takes two abroad. UK degrees may be more expensive than their equivalents in continental Europe. Still, the former offers the adventure of living, studying, socialising, growing, and working in an exciting new country instead of just staying home under the parental roof.

Study in the UK

If you would like to apply to the above universities or have any questions answered about UK university study, arrange a free consultation with SI-UK today.