In response to growing demand for information about the employment prospects and career preparation provided by universities, QS has today launched the pilot edition of a new graduate employability ranking. This global ranking is topped by three US institutions: Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University.
The UK is represented within the top 10 by the University of Cambridge (4th) and University of Oxford (6th), while the highest-placed entrant from outside of the US or UK is China’s Tsinghua University (9th).
France also features close to the top of the table, with Ecole Polytechnique in 10th place, while Australia’s University of Sydney appears in 14th.
Top 10 Universities for Graduate EmployabilityBased on the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2016 | |
| 1. Stanford University | United States |
| 2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | United States |
| 3. Harvard University | United States |
| 4. University of Cambridge | United Kingdom |
| 5. Yale University | United States |
| 6. University of Oxford | United Kingdom |
| 7. Princeton University | United States |
| 8. University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | United States |
| 9. Tsinghua University | China |
| 10. Ecole Polytechnique | France |
This pilot edition of the ranking features a total of 200 universities, and has been created by assessing institutions’ performance in five indicators: reputation among employers (30%), alumni outcomes (20%), partnerships with employers (25%), employers’ presence on campus (15%) and graduate employment rate (10%).
Designed following extensive research and consultation over a 12-month period, this methodology aims to provide a picture of graduate employability that goes beyond employment rates. The idea is to give a more in-depth indication of how universities are perceived in the global graduate jobs market, how well-connected to the professional world they are, and the quality of employment outcomes achieved by graduates.
For this inaugural publication, universities were given the opportunity to opt in or out, which means some well-known institutions are missing from the published results. Over the coming months, QS will continue to incorporate feedback from universities, students and other stakeholders, with the aim of publishing a more extensive version of the ranking next year. There are also plans to add additional sub-sections to the ranking, providing insights into universities’ strengths in specific sectors of graduate employability.
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