30 May 2026
UK universities with the best employment rates in 2026
The gap between the best and worst UK universities for graduate employment is 47 percentage points. We ranked 159 institutions using official government data on sustained employment. Here is what education advisors need to know before recommending a university.
Why employment rates matter for international students
Future career impact is the number one factor international students consider when choosing a university. This has been consistent for five consecutive years in the Etio International Student Barometer. It is not surprising: an international student paying upwards of £70,000 in tuition and living costs expects a return on that investment in the form of a job.
For students coming to the UK specifically, this matters even more. The Graduate Route visa gives two years of post-study work rights. Students who want to stay in the UK after graduation need to find sustained employment within that window to transition to a Skilled Worker visa. A university with a 95% employment rate and one with a 60% employment rate may charge similar fees, but they deliver very different outcomes.
The data in this article measures sustained employment: whether graduates are employed for at least one day in every quarter of the year, three years after graduation. This is a higher bar than simply being employed at a single point in time. It filters out short-term or casual work and shows which universities produce graduates who stay in work.
The wider picture: employment is strong but uneven
The good news is that the UK higher education sector performs well on employment overall. The median sustained employment rate across 159 institutions is 87.2%. Career readiness perception among international students has risen from 66% to 88% between 2019 and 2025, and UK careers support satisfaction stands at 77%, higher than the 71% global average.
But the sector-level headline hides enormous variation. The top-performing universities achieve employment rates above 95%. The worst performers sit below 50%. That 47-percentage-point gap represents a fundamentally different experience for graduates. A Treasury Committee survey found that 54% of graduates said their course helped them get their current job. For the other 46%, the connection between degree and career is weaker.
For education advisors, the implication is clear: recommending a university without checking its employment outcomes is advising blind. The tables below show exactly where each institution stands.
How we measure employment
UniLens uses the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset published by the UK government. LEO links university records to HMRC tax data to track what graduates earn and whether they are in work. The employment figure used here is the sustained employment rate three years after graduation.
What sustained employment means
A graduate counts as being in sustained employment if they were employed for at least one day in every quarter of the year, three years after completing their degree. This is more demanding than a single snapshot. It means the graduate found and kept work consistently.
The data covers UK-domiciled graduates. International graduates who leave the UK after study are not captured, which means the figures primarily reflect the employability of each university's domestic graduates. For international students, these rates are a proxy for the quality of career preparation and employer connections at each institution.
Top 20 universities by employment rate
These institutions have the highest sustained employment rates among their graduates three years after completing their degree.
| # | University | City | Employment | 5yr earnings | Offer rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HSU | Bournemouth | 95.7% | — | — |
| 2 | LAMDA | London | 95.7% | — | — |
| 3 | Northeastern University London | London | 94.7% | — | 81.3% |
| 4 | Royal College of Music | London | 93.8% | £27,500 | — |
| 5 | The Royal Academy of Music | London | 91.8% | £28,800 | — |
| 6 | Rose Bruford College | London | 91.4% | £23,200 | 25.1% |
| 7 | Plymouth Marjon University | Plymouth | 91.1% | £26,600 | 88.5% |
| 8 | Harper Adams University | Newport | 91.1% | £33,600 | 115.8% |
| 9 | Leeds Conservatoire | Leeds | 90.8% | — | 34.7% |
| 10 | Bournemouth University | Bournemouth | 90.5% | £33,600 | 93.7% |
| 11 | University of Gloucestershire | Cheltenham | 90.5% | £27,400 | 94.1% |
| 12 | Sheffield Hallam University | Sheffield | 90.5% | £30,300 | 85.7% |
| 13 | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama | London | 90.4% | £28,200 | — |
| 14 | The Royal Veterinary College | London | 90.3% | £40,700 | — |
| 15 | The Arts University Bournemouth | Bournemouth | 90.2% | £26,900 | 93.3% |
| 16 | Trinity Laban Conservatoire | London | 90.1% | £24,700 | — |
| 17 | York St John University | York | 90.0% | £27,000 | 87.4% |
| 18 | Leeds Arts University | Leeds | 89.9% | £25,600 | 61.9% |
| 19 | Loughborough University | Loughborough | 89.9% | £41,200 | 75.0% |
| 20 | University of Lincoln | Lincoln | 89.9% | £29,200 | 91.6% |
Specialist institutions dominate the top of the table. Music conservatoires, performing arts schools and vocational universities consistently outperform large generalist institutions. Their graduates enter clearly defined professions with strong demand. Among broader universities, Bournemouth, Sheffield Hallam and Loughborough stand out for combining high employment with strong earnings.
See the full employment picture
Every university on UniLens has detailed employment, earnings and career outcomes data on a single page.
Browse all 415 universities →Bottom 20: where graduate employment is weakest
These 20 institutions have the lowest sustained employment rates. A low rate does not always mean poor teaching. Some serve mature or part-time students, some are specialist institutions where graduates pursue portfolio careers, and some are London-based institutions where the cost of living creates different employment patterns. But the numbers are what students and advisors should see before making a decision.
| # | University | City | Employment | 5yr earnings | Offer rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Westminster | London | 80.9% | £31,400 | 85.3% |
| 2 | Middlesex University | London | 80.8% | £30,300 | 70.9% |
| 3 | University of the Arts, London | London | 80.3% | £28,500 | 78.1% |
| 4 | BPP University | London | 79.8% | £31,400 | 8.7% |
| 5 | The Open University | Milton Keynes | 79.7% | £29,900 | — |
| 6 | University of East London | London | 78.8% | £27,000 | 93.5% |
| 7 | Escape Studios | London | 78.6% | £42,000 | 90.0% |
| 8 | Regent College London | London | 77.0% | — | — |
| 9 | London Metropolitan University | London | 76.7% | £26,900 | 90.3% |
| 10 | University of London | London | 75.9% | — | 94.8% |
| 11 | Birkbeck, University of London | London | 75.9% | £32,500 | 90.3% |
| 12 | SOAS University of London | London | 75.0% | £32,500 | — |
| 13 | Courtauld Institute of Art | London | 74.5% | £31,400 | — |
| 14 | Bloomsbury Institute | London | 73.3% | £23,700 | 87.2% |
| 15 | AA | London | 73.3% | £29,900 | — |
| 16 | University of Buckingham | Buckingham | 70.8% | £36,500 | 54.0% |
| 17 | MetFilm School | London | 68.4% | £31,900 | — |
| 18 | Richmond, The American International University | London | 64.0% | £39,600 | — |
| 19 | Istituto Marangoni | London | 56.5% | £28,500 | 103.7% |
| 20 | Regent's University London | London | 48.5% | — | 102.0% |
Three institutions that tell the story
Harper Adams: vocational focus, real-world results
Harper Adams University in Shropshire specialises in agriculture, food, engineering and veterinary sciences. It has a 91.1% sustained employment rate with five-year earnings of £33,600, well above the sector median. The offer rate of 115.8% shows it actively recruits and accepts more students than apply through UCAS alone, using direct entry routes. This is a university with a clear employment pipeline: its graduates go into industries with persistent labour shortages, and the data reflects that. For students interested in agri-food, land management or rural engineering, Harper Adams delivers outcomes that many larger universities do not match.
Istituto Marangoni: financially strong, employment-weak
Istituto Marangoni is the most financially stable institution on UniLens, with a 43.5% surplus and low staff costs. But its sustained employment rate is just 56.5%. This is a striking disconnect. The institution is a private fashion and design school with an international student body, many of whom return to their home countries after graduation. Because LEO tracks UK employment through tax records, graduates who leave the UK are not counted as employed. This does not mean Marangoni graduates are unemployed globally, but it does mean the UK employment data should be interpreted with caution for institutions with very high international populations who are less likely to stay and work in the UK.
Escape Studios: low employment, high earnings
Escape Studios sits in the bottom 20 with a 78.6% employment rate, but its five-year earnings figure of £42,000 is among the highest in the entire dataset. This is a specialist visual effects and games school. The pattern suggests that its graduates who do find sustained work enter well-paid industries, but a significant minority work freelance or on short-term contracts that do not meet the sustained employment threshold. For students targeting careers in VFX or gaming, the earnings data may matter more than the employment rate. But advisors should explain the distinction clearly.
The Graduate Route and why this data matters now
The Graduate Route visa gives international students two years of post-study work rights in the UK (three years for PhD graduates). During that window, students need to find employment and, if they want to stay longer, transition to a Skilled Worker visa. This makes the employment performance of their university a practical, not theoretical, concern.
A student at a university with a 95% employment rate is studying alongside domestic students who overwhelmingly find sustained work. That signals strong employer connections, effective careers services and industry-relevant courses. A student at a university with a 65% employment rate is at an institution where a third of domestic graduates do not achieve sustained employment. The international student, who faces additional barriers including visa restrictions and limited UK networks, will find it harder still.
Education advisors recommending universities to students on a two-year employment timeline should treat this data as essential, not supplementary.
What education advisors should do with this data
Employment rate is one factor, not the only factor. A high employment rate at a vocational institution may reflect the specific profession rather than transferable careers support. A low employment rate at an arts school may reflect freelance careers that the data does not capture. But when a student is investing years and tens of thousands of pounds with a career goal in mind, the employment rate of the institution is worth understanding.
Three practical steps:
- Check the employment rate for any university you are recommending. If it is below 80%, look at why and consider whether the student has alternatives with stronger outcomes.
- Look at employment and earnings together. High employment with low earnings may indicate vocational roles. Low employment with high earnings may indicate freelance or contract-heavy sectors. Both patterns tell a useful story.
- Combine with other data. Employment alongside financial stability, student satisfaction and continuation rates gives you a complete picture. UniLens shows all of this on a single profile page.
Check any university now
Search all 415 universities on UniLens and see employment, earnings, financial stability and satisfaction data in one place.
Browse universities →Data sources
Employment rates use the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset published by the UK Department for Education. LEO links higher education records to HMRC tax data to measure employment and earnings outcomes for graduates. The sustained employment rate measures whether graduates were employed for at least one day in every quarter of the year, three years after graduation.
Five-year earnings figures also come from LEO. Offer rates come from UCAS. International student survey data comes from the Etio International Student Barometer 2026 and the Treasury Committee survey on graduate outcomes.
UniLens does not apply subjective judgement to these rankings. The employment rates are published government data, presented in descending order.