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Charting your Course: Earnings boost after University and College

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Published: 15 Aug 2024

This report aims to help young people, parents and teachers to make informed decisions about education after secondary school. It outlines the potential earnings associated with studying for qualifications at university and college.

Download a PDF of the full report

 

About the Commission

The Social Mobility Commission is an independent advisory non-departmental public body established under the Life Chances Act 2010 as modified by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. It has a duty to assess progress in improving social mobility in the UK and to promote social mobility in England. The Commission board comprises:

Chair

Alun Francis OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Blackpool and The Fylde College.

Deputy Chairs 

Resham Kotecha, Head of Policy at the Open Data Institute.

Rob Wilson, Chairman at WheelPower – British Wheelchair Sport.

Commissioners

Dr Raghib Ali OBE, Senior Clinical Research Associate at the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge.

Ryan Henson, Chief Executive Officer at the Coalition for Global Prosperity.

Parminder Kohli, Chair Shell UK Ltd and Shell Group Executive Vice President Sustainability and Carbon

Tina Stowell MBE, The Rt Hon Baroness Stowell of Beeston.

Introduction

The decision on what and where to study after school has a big impact on your future job opportunities and earnings. 

This report aims to help young people, parents and teachers to make informed decisions about education after secondary school. It outlines the potential earnings associated with studying for qualifications at university and college. We break these down by both subject and institution.

Why is this important?

A survey of over 1200 young people in sixth form gave a snapshot of pupils’ information about potential earnings after graduating. Over 60% of respondents said that the potential salary after graduation is important when choosing where and what to study.  

But is this information easily accessible?

Our survey finds that many students don’t know that salary information is available. 

  • One in four sixth formers did not know that salary information is available when considering a degree. 
  • One in three sixth formers considering vocational training qualifications (VTQ) did not know this information was available to help guide their decisions. 

The survey found that students use different sources for salary information. Most students check their school’s website, career service sites like UCAS and Prospects, and government sources like the National Career Service.

What we mean by University and College 

In this accessible report, we use the term ‘university’ to describe higher education and ‘college’ to describe further education.

What do these mean? 

  • Higher education is the learning that occurs after secondary and further education. It often leads to a qualification awarded by a degree-awarding body. This learning process usually involves working towards a degree. However, it can also result in diplomas, certificates, or other qualifications on the national framework. Higher education usually includes qualifications from level 6 to 8.

Many students don’t know where to find information. They need easy-to-find and easy-to-use information. The Social Mobility Commission (SMC) made this report to help young people, parents, teachers, and advisors access important information about the potential earnings from different educational choices.

This report aims to provide information on:

  • How different qualifications influence your earnings 
  • How your earnings vary by subject and institution
  • Where to access additional resources 

We use information from our longer report: “Labour market value of higher and further education qualifications: a summary report”.

A couple of things to be aware of… 

The earnings ‘boost’ might change later on in your career

In this report we talk about the ‘boost’ in earnings people tend to experience after a number of years following the completion of a qualification. For example, in some cases we measure the earnings ‘boost’ for people with 6 years of work experience after graduating from university. However, it is worth noting that this ‘boost’ in earnings might change later on in your career. 

The earnings ‘boost’ might depend on where in the UK you work

How much you earn after studying for a qualification might depend on where in the UK you live and work. For example, salaries might be higher in London than in regions with a lower cost of living such as in the North East. For simplicity, we show the average ‘boost’ in earnings for the UK.

Key findings

  1. Qualifications from university and college pay off. On average, people who study these qualifications in the UK tend to earn more money than those who don’t go to university or college.
  2. Getting qualifications at higher levels tends to lead to higher earnings. Even if we look at a person’s background or where they’re from, going to university or college typically leads to higher future earnings.
  3. Earnings vary by subject. At university, not all subjects are the same when it comes to boosting your potential earnings. Studying subjects like science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) often leads to a big boost in earnings. The same is true for law and economics. 
  4. Climbing the qualification ladder at college can mean bigger paychecks. If you study for a qualification that’s at a higher level than what you have now, you tend to earn more in the future. For example, men with a level 4 qualification (such as a higher apprenticeship) earn on average 42% more than men with a level 3 or lower.
  5. In colleges, outcomes for earnings are not as simple. This is because there is not a lot of data to check different courses of study. But, subjects like business administration and engineering can help women and men earn more after a few years.

Different types of qualifications

It’s important to understand what qualifications exist before considering what earnings they might lead to. The figure below illustrates the types of qualifications across different levels.

There are 9 qualification levels in England. For university, the information in this report relates to university degrees at level 6. For college, most of the information relates to qualifications at levels 2 to 5. 

Higher education (university)

Research on the earnings boost from going to university shows that:

  • After 6 years of work experience, incomes are on average 19% higher for men and 24% higher for women who went to university.

  • The boost in earnings after attending university differs for men and women. On average, male graduates increased their earnings by £15,000 between the age of 30 and 40, compared to £5,000 for non-graduates. Female graduates increased their earnings by £5,000 between the ages of 30 and 40 compared to no change for female non-graduates. 

Good grades also matter

In the UK, university grades are usually grouped into three categories: 

  1. First-Class Honours (1st): This is the highest grade and indicates excellent performance.
  2. Upper Second-Class Honours (2:1): This is a good grade and shows a strong level of achievement.
  3. Lower Second-Class Honours (2:2)
  4. Third-Class Honours (3rd)

If we look at boosts in earnings for the different grades we find that:

  • Getting a 1st can increase earnings by about 4% for women and 7% for men compared to getting a 2:1.
  • Getting a 2:2 can lead to about 7% lower earnings for women and 11% lower earnings for men compared to having a 2:1 degree.

Subjects and earnings boost

  • Studying economics and medicine tends to boost your future earnings by the highest amount.
  • Men who study economics tend to earn 33% more by age 29 than men who didn’t go to university.
  • Women in medicine can earn 75% more than those who didn’t attend university.
  • In contrast, some subjects don’t tend to increase earnings. For example, men who study creative arts earn 14% less than men who didn’t go to university. Women who study creative arts only earn 9% more than those who didn’t go to university.
  • Men who study creative arts, communications, English, agriculture, sociology, philosophy, or languages tend to earn less than men who didn’t go to university.

Top 5 earnings boosters 
Men Women
Economics 33% Medicine 75%
Medicine 24% Economics 61%
Architecture 19% Maths 42%
Business 17% Business 41%
Law 17% Law 40%

Bottom 5 earnings boosters 
Men Women
Comms -2% Veterinary science 16%
Agriculture -4% Psychology 15%
Philosophy -4% Social care 14%
English -7% Agriculture 11%
Creative arts -14% Creative arts 9%
See in Table 1 of the Annex B information on boost in earnings for all the subjects

However, it is not all about what you earn. Studying these subjects can have other advantages and open up opportunities in certain careers. For example, someone may study a qualification (such as art) that often leads to relatively low earnings but is more fulfilled in their career and life, or enter an occupation that better utilises their full talent and potential, and contributes to their social and emotional development. 

Future earnings by university

Your future earnings can vary depending on the university you go to. We examined how earnings vary by university. Here’s what we discovered:

  • For men at age 29, the earnings boost compared to those who didn’t go to university has a wide range, with Falmouth university being joint-bottom at 16% lower earnings and LSE at the top with 58% higher earnings. 
  • The same is true for women. Earnings can vary from a decrease of 11% for those studying at Bolton University to an increase of 94% for those attending LSE.
  • Generally, Russell Group universities often lead to higher earnings, but exceptions exist. Many of them have fewer students from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Top 5 earnings boosters 
Men Women
LSE 58% LSE 94%
Imperial 47% Imperial 68%
Oxford 44% Harper Adams 50%
Cambridge 34% UCL 45%
Bristol 32% Oxford 45%

Bottom 5 earnings boosters 
Men Women
Ravensbourne -11% Bangor 5%
Bath Spa -14% Wales Trinity St David 1%
Glamorgan -16% Writtle C -6%
Leeds City -16% UC Falmouth -8%
UC Falmouth -16% Bolton -11%
See in Table 2.1 and 2.2  in the Annex B information boost in earnings for all the universities

Going to a Russell Group university can help you earn more. But getting into selective universities is hard. If students from some backgrounds find it harder to get into these universities, it can affect their future earnings and social mobility.

University types

Examples of how universities are grouped:

  • Most selective: University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, The London School of Economics and Political Science, and Imperial College London.
  • The ‘Russell Group’ includes: those universities listed above as well as University of Glasgow, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, Durham University, and University of Edinburgh
  • The ‘pre-1992 universities’ group includes: University of St Andrews, Brunel University London, University of Bath, Loughborough University, University of Sussex, University of Hull, Keele University
  • The ‘post-1992 universities’ group includes: Anglia Ruskin University, Bath Spa University, De Montfort University, Teesside University, Oxford Brookes University
  • The ‘other universities’ group includes: Leeds Trinity University, Newman University, Liverpool Hope University

Courses at universities: Which of these have the highest earnings boost? 

Looking at subjects (such as economics) or universities (such as Nottingham University) on their own, doesn’t give you the full picture. It’s better to consider them together (such as by looking at economics at Nottingham University). 

However, it’s harder to do this. It’s hard to accurately determine  how much a certain subject at a certain university boosts your earnings. This is because we have data for only a small group of students.

Earnings boost by subject and university
Law
1 Cambridge 108%
2 Oxford 92%
3 UCL 88%
Economics
1 Cambridge 127%
2 UCL 108%
3 St Andrews 97%
Medicine
1 Aberdeen 88%
2 Hull 78%
3 Edinburgh 77%
Creative arts
1 Durham 13%
2 Warwick 12%
3 Bournemouth 9%

We find:

  • Subjects such as law, economics, maths and business have the highest earnings boost at Russell group universities. This is followed by pre-1992 universities and then post-1992 universities. 
  • Across all university groups, people who study creative arts experience the smallest earnings boost.

Check Tables 3 in the Annex B for complete information of boost in earnings by subjects and universities

College education (vocational and technical courses, apprenticeships among other options)

Main challenges in understanding earnings boosts from college 

Some college qualifications, like levels 4 and 5, have very few students, so it’s hard to be sure about how qualifications affect earnings.

Also, the college system has gone through a lot of changes, especially in the last ten years. New qualifications were made, and existing ones were changed. This makes it even more challenging to study.

Understanding how qualifications from college can increase earnings is more complicated than for university courses. This is because there are many more college qualifications and these may be taken by a smaller number of students.

Becoming more qualified tends to pay off

If you get a qualification at a higher level than what you already have, it usually means that you will earn more. However, the amount by which your earnings might increase is harder for us to determine. This is because there are various pathways and qualifications at different levels, and a lot of variation in returns by where you choose to study. 

Some research finds that men with a level 4 qualification earn 42% more than similar men with a level 3 qualification. 

Whereas, women with a level 5 qualification earn 57% more than similar women with a level 3 qualification. 

Intermediate and advanced apprenticeships

Apprenticeships at different levels can help you earn more than other vocational qualifications, but the effect depends on your work field. Women often pick lower-paying sectors such as  social care, so apprenticeships tend to have a bigger impact on men’s pay who often choose higher-paying sectors such as construction and engineering.

Subjects and earnings boost

Fewer people study at colleges than universities, and there are many courses and qualifications. As a result, understanding the earnings boost from colleges is more challenging. 

However, some research shows that young men who study engineering and manufacturing technology, business administration and law at college tend to earn more compared to those who study different subjects such as history, arts and agriculture. This may suggest that subjects in engineering and manufacturing, business and law may lead to higher paying careers or help develop a skillset which employers are willing to pay more for. 

Women who study subjects such as arts and media, business administration or law also tend to have higher earnings compared to women who study other subjects such as languages and social care. 

Future earnings by college

There are significant differences in how colleges affect your future earnings. Research shows that moving from a low-performing college to a high-performing one could increase your earnings by about 3%. More research is needed to understand the link between college choice, teaching style, and your earnings potential.

What about the type of teaching?

College courses are taught in a variety of ways such as in the workplace, in the classroom or as distance courses.

Classroom courses boost earnings more than workplace or distance courses. Colleges that focus on competency-based assessments over exams may not boost earnings as much. 

Annex A: Understanding value-add

What is Value-Add in earnings?

Value-add can be thought of as the average boost in earnings you get from your education beyond the age of 16 – whether it is university or college. It’s the extra money you can earn because you went to university or college. This extra money shows how studying helps you earn more compared to someone who didn’t do that qualification.

To determine how much money you make after getting a degree or completing a course, we consider various factors. These factors include your location, if you received free school meals, and the type of school you attended. These factors can influence your earnings.

Why does value-add matter?

What you earn after finishing a qualification is one of many important factors to consider when choosing what to study. In this report we present the ‘earnings boost’ people on average achieve after gaining a qualification after their school-years.  

Why do we need to be careful?

When we calculate the boost in earnings, we need to make some assumptions. This is because there could be some hidden things which drive your earnings and as we don’t observe these things, it is hard to factor them in. For example your motivation, personal aspirations and personality may also influence how much you go on to earn after studying for a qualification. We should also note that the ‘earnings boost’ we estimate is just an average – this means not everyone gets the same salary. So, one person might earn more, and another might earn less after studying for the same qualification. It’s not a guarantee of how much you will make but it can be a good indicator of what your earnings potential is a few years after completing your qualification. 

Annex B: Data tables of boost in earnings

At this stage, we only have the data tables of boost in earnings for universities. This is because there are many more courses and qualifications at college than at university and these tend to be taken by fewer people. There is also more variation in the type of people who study college courses. This means understanding the earnings boost from colleges is more challenging. 

Table 1: Value-add in earnings by subject for men and women

Men Women
1 Economics 33% 1 Medicine 75%
2 Medicine 24% 2 Economics 61%
3 Architecture 19% 3 Maths 42%
4 Business 17% 4 Business 41%
5 Law 17% 5 Law 40%
6 Computing 14% 6 Engineering 39%
7 Engineering 13% 7 Pharmacology 39%
8 Education 12% 8 Computing 38%
9 Maths 8% 9 Physics 35%
10 Physics 7% 10 Nursing 34%
11 Politics 6% 11 Politics 33%
12 Geography 6% 12 Architecture 29%
13 Technology 6% 13 Geography 28%
14 Pharmacology 4% 14 Comms 27%
15 Allied to med 4% 15 Technology 27%
16 Sportsci 3% 16 Sport Science 26%
17 Sociology 2% 17 Allied to med 25%
18 Biosciences 1% 18 Education 24%
19 Physsci 1% 19 Sociology 23%
20 History 1% 20 Languages 23%
21 Languages -1% 21 Biosciences 22%
22 Psychology -1% 22 Physical science 22%
23 Comms -2% 23 English 21%
24 Agriculture -4% 24 History 21%
25 Philosophy -4% 25 Philosophy 20%
26 English -7% 26 Veterinary science 16%
27 Creative arts -14% 27 Psychology 15%
28 Social care 14%
29 Agriculture 11%
30 Creative arts 9%

 

Table 2.1: Value-add in earnings by university for men

1 LSE 58% 30 Sheffield 14% 59 Central Lancashire 3% 88 UC Birmingham -2%
2 Imperial 47% 31 Portsmouth 14% 60 Leeds Met 3% 89 Lincoln -2%
3 Oxford 44% 32 Hertfordshire 13% 61 Edge Hill 2% 90 Manchester Met -2%
4 Cambridge 34% 33 Leeds 13% 62 Hull 2% 91 Buckingham New -3%
5 Bristol 32% 34 Bournemouth 12% 63 Sunderland 2% 92 Roehampton -3%
6 UCL 30% 35 Swansea 12% 64 L’pool John Moores 2% 93 London South Bank -3%
7 Bath 28% 36 Aston 11% 65 Chester 2% 94 U Creative Arts -3%
8 Warwick 27% 37 Manchester 11% 66 London Met 2% 95 Cumbria -4%
9 Harper Adams 27% 38 Royal Holloway 10% 67 Greenwich 1% 96 Bedfordshire -4%
10 Loughborough 26% 39 UEA 10% 68 Glasgow 1% 97 Wales Trinity St David -4%
11 City 26% 40 Lancaster 9% 69 Coventry 1% 98 Gloucestershire -4%
12 Durham 24% 41 U West England 9% 70 Kingston 1% 99 Derby -4%
13 Nottingham 22% 42 Keele 9% 71 East London 0% 100 L’pool Hope -4%
14 Exeter 22% 43 Chichester 9% 72 Teesside 0% 101 Wolverhampton -5%
15 Oxford Brookes 21% 44 Liverpool 9% 73 Bradford 0% 102 Bangor -5%
16 Reading 21% 45 Kent 9% 74 Anglia Ruskin 0% 103 Arts Inst Bournemouth -6%
17 York 21% 46 Essex 8% 75 Salford 0% 104 Goldsmiths -7%
18 Surrey 20% 47 Royal Agricultural C 8% 76 York St John UC 0% 105 West London -8%
19 Brunel 19% 48 Prifysgol Aberystwyth 8% 77 Winchester 0% 106 U Arts London -9%
20 Newcastle 19% 49 Northampton 8% 78 Birmingham City 0% 107 Middlesex -10%
21 Cardiff 19% 50 De Montfort 7% 79 Plymouth 0% 108 Bolton -11%
22 Birmingham 17% 51 S’ton Solent 7% 80 Westminster -1% 109 Ravensbourne -11%
23 Edinburgh 16% 52 Brighton 7% 81 Cardiff Met -1% 110 Bath Spa -14%
24 KCL 16% 53 Aberdeen 6% 82 Canterbury Christchuch -1% 111 Glamorgan -16%
25 Southampton 16% 54 Northumbria 6% 83 SOAS -1% 112 Leeds City -16%
26 Nottingham Trent 15% 55 Sussex 6% 84 St Mark & St John -1% 113 UC Falmouth -16%
27 St Mary’s UC Twickeham 15% 56 Sheffield Hallam 6% 85 Staffordshire -1%
28 St Andrews 14% 57 Leicester 4% 86 Worcester -1%
29 QMU 14% 58 Leeds Trinity 4% 87 Huddersfield -1%

 

Table 2.2: Value-add in earnings by university for women

1 LSE 94% 31 Westminster 29% 61 Bishop Grosseteste 21% 91 Roehampton 14%
2 Imperial 68% 32 Newman 29% 62 De Montfort 20% 92 Northampton 14%
3 Harper Adams 50% 33 Cambridge 29% 63 Swansea 20% 93 Bradford 14%
4 UCL 45% 34 Keele 28% 64 Huddersfield 20% 94 Worcester 14%
5 Oxford 45% 35 Greenwich 28% 65 St George’s Hospital 20% 95 Royal Veterinary C 13%
6 Bath 43% 36 Nottingham Trent 28% 66 York 20% 96 Anglia Ruskin 13%
7 KCL 43% 37 Edinburgh 28% 67 Birmingham City 20% 97 York St John UC 13%
8 Durham 43% 38 Brighton 27% 68 Essex 19% 98 Glamorgan 12%
9 Bristol 40% 39 Portsmouth 26% 69 Chester 19% 99 Plymouth 12%
10 Nottingham 40% 40 Oxford Brookes 25% 70 Goldsmiths 19% 100 Sunderland 12%
11 Loughborough 39% 41 U Arts London 25% 71 Royal Holloway 19% 101 Derby 12%
12 Liverpool 38% 42 Sussex 25% 72 UEA 18% 102 Royal Agricultural C 11%
13 SOAS 38% 43 Aston 25% 73 Edge Hill 18% 103 Gloucestershire 11%
14 Surrey 37% 44 Reading 25% 74 Bedfordshire 18% 104 Staffordshire 11%
15 Bournemouth 36% 45 Kent 25% 75 Lincoln 18% 105 London Met 11%
16 Southampton 36% 46 S’ton Solent 24% 76 Coventry 18% 106 Cumbria 10%
17 QMU 36% 47 St Andrews 24% 77 Canterbury Christchuch 18% 107 Prifysgol Aberystwyth 10%
18 Warwick 36% 48 St Mary’s UC Twickeham 24% 78 Salford 17% 108 Chichester 10%
19 Birmingham 35% 49 East London 24% 79 L’pool John Moores 17% 109 St Mark & St John 9%
20 Leeds 35% 50 UC Birmingham 24% 80 Leeds Met 17% 110 Cental Lancashire 8%
21 Cardiff 34% 51 Leicester 24% 81 Glasgow 17% 111 Teesside 8%
22 City 33% 52 Hertfordshire 24% 82 U Creative Arts 17% 112 Ravensbourne 8%
23 Manchester 33% 53 Lancaster 23% 83 U West England 17% 113 Norwich UC Arts 7%
24 Newcastle 33% 54 Exeter 23% 84 Arts Inst Bournemouth 17% 114 Bangor 5%
25 Sheffield 32% 55 Central Sch Speech/Drama 23% 85 Wolverhampton 16% 115 Wales Trinity St David 1%
26 Brunel 31% 56 L’pool Hope 23% 86 Manchester Met 16% 116 Writtle C -6%
27 Kingston 31% 57 Middlesex 22% 87 Winchester 16% 117 UC Falmouth -8%
28 Leeds Trinity 31% 58 Cardiff Met 22% 88 Buckingham New 16% 118 Bolton -11%
29 Hull 30% 59 Sheffield Hallam 22% 89 London South Bank 16%
30 West London 30% 60 Northumbria 22% 90 Bath Spa 16%

 

Value-add in earnings by university and subject

Please note, these figures are only estimates. They represent a ‘best guess’ of how much more you might earn on average when compared to someone similar to you who didn’t attend university. Caution should be taken when interpreting these figures as there is a lot of uncertainty over what the actual impact on your earnings might be. This is because your earnings depend on a wide range of factors. We do not advise you to make any decisions on which university to study at based on these figures alone. Instead, we encourage you to consider these estimates alongside a wide range of resources.

These estimates come from the appendix in ‘How much does degree choice matter?’ published by the Institute of Fiscal Studies in 2021.

Table 3.1: Value-add in earnings at age 30 by university for people who studied law

Note: All value-add figures are relative to someone of a similar background who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University. For example, a value-add of 100% means that the average person who studied a given subject at a given university earns twice as much as someone of a similar background (in terms of school grades, gender, region they went to school in and socio-economic background) who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University.

Rank University Value-add (in%)
1 University of Cambridge 108%
2 Oxford University 92%
3 University College London 88%
4 University of Durham 87%
5 University of Nottingham 80%
6 London School of Economics and Political Science 75%
7 University of Exeter 65%
8 King’s College London 65%
9 University of Bristol 59%
10 University of Birmingham 54%
11 University of Newcastle Upon Tyne 52%
12 School of Oriental and African Studies 51%
13 Queen Mary, University of London 49%
14 University of Reading 48%
15 University of East Anglia 46%
16 University of Manchester 44%
17 University of Southampton 42%
18 University of Warwick 41%
19 University of Sheffield 38%
20 University of Leeds 37%
21 Liverpool Hope University 33%
22 Cardiff University 30%
23 University of Northumbria at Newcastle 29%
24 University of Buckingham 29%
25 University of Essex 28%
26 University of Surrey 28%
27 City University 27%
28 University of Liverpool 26%
29 Swansea University 26%
30 Keele University 26%
31 Lancaster University 26%
32 University of Sussex 25%
33 University of Hull 24%
34 Prifysgol Aberystwyth 23%
35 University of Leicester 23%
36 University of Westminster 23%
37 University of Portsmouth 21%
38 University of the West of England, Bristol 21%
39 University of Glamorgan 21%
40 Brunel University 21%
41 University of Kent 20%
42 Nottingham Trent University 20%
43 Bournemouth University 18%
44 University of Brighton 16%
45 Oxford Brookes University 15%
46 Kingston University 15%
47 Southampton Solent University 14%
48 University of Bradford 14%
49 Liverpool John Moores University 13%
50 University of Greenwich 12%
51 Manchester Metropolitan University 11%
52 Sheffield Hallam University 11%
53 Leeds Metropolitan University 7%
54 Canterbury Christ Church University 7%
55 Bangor University 6%
56 Middlesex University 6%
57 University of Sunderland 4%
58 University of Plymouth 4%
59 London South Bank University 4%
60 University of Huddersfield 3%
61 Staffordshire University 3%
62 University of Gloucestershire 2%
63 University of Hertfordshire 1%
64 University Of Teesside 0%
65 Birmingham City University 0%
66 University of Central Lancashire -1%
67 University of Lincoln -3%
68 University of East London -3%
69 Coventry University -4%
70 Edge Hill University -5%
71 University of Derby -6%
72 Anglia Ruskin University -6%
73 De Montfort University -6%
74 University of Wolverhampton -9%
75 University of Northampton -9%
76 Buckinghamshire New University -9%
77 University of Bedfordshire -12%
78 London Metropolitan University -20%

 

Table 3.2: Value-add in earnings at age 30 by university for people who studied Economics

Note: All value-add figures are relative to someone of a similar background who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University. For example, a value-add of 100% means that the average person who studied a given subject at a given university earns twice as much as someone of a similar background (in terms of school grades, gender, region they went to school in and socio-economic background) who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University.

Rank University Value-add in earnings (%)
1 University of Cambridge 127%
2 University College London 108%
3 University of St Andrews 97%
4 University of Warwick 96%
5 Oxford University 94%
6 University of Edinburgh 86%
7 University of Durham 83%
8 University of Bristol 77%
9 University of Sussex 77%
10 London School of Economics and Political Science 75%
11 University of Birmingham 74%
12 University of Bath 72%
13 University of York 71%
14 University of Nottingham 69%
15 University of Exeter 65%
16 London Metropolitan University 65%
17 University of Southampton 65%
18 University of Newcastle Upon Tyne 64%
19 Loughborough University 62%
20 University of Northumbria at Newcastle 59%
21 City University 58%
22 Royal Holloway, 57%
23 University of Liverpool 54%
24 University of Reading 54%
25 Queen Mary, University of London 54%
26 University of Portsmouth 53%
27 University of Sheffield 52%
28 University of East Anglia 51%
29 University of Central Lancashire 49%
30 University of Leeds 47%
31 Brunel University 45%
32 University of Leicester 43%
33 University of the West of England, Bristol 42%
34 University of Manchester 41%
35 Cardiff University 41%
36 Nottingham Trent University 40%
37 University of Bradford 40%
38 Keele University 39%
39 Coventry University 38%
40 University of Essex 35%
41 School of Oriental and African Studies 35%
42 University of Surrey 34%
43 University of Plymouth 32%
44 University of Hertfordshire 31%
45 Kingston University 30%
46 Leeds Metropolitan University 29%
47 Manchester Metropolitan University 28%
48 Swansea University 25%
49 University of Hull 25%
50 Liverpool John Moores University 25%
51 Lancaster University 23%
52 University of Kent 19%
53 University of Salford 17%
54 University of Greenwich 16%
55 Oxford Brookes University 16%
56 Goldsmiths College 16%
57 Prifysgol Aberystwyth 15%
58 Middlesex University 12%

 

Table 3.3: Value-add in earnings at age 30 by university for people who studied medicine

Note: All value-add figures are relative to someone of a similar background who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University. For example, a value-add of 100% means that the average person who studied a given subject at a given university earns 50% more than someone of a similar background (in terms of school grades, gender, region they went to school in and socio-economic background) who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University.

Rank University Value-add in earnings (%)
1 University of Aberdeen 88%
2 University of Hull 78%
3 University of Edinburgh 77%
4 University of Liverpool 70%
5 University of Sussex 66%
6 University of St Andrews 66%
7 University of East Anglia 66%
8 University of Newcastle Upon Tyne 66%
9 University of Sheffield 64%
10 University of Exeter 62%
11 University of Brighton 60%
12 Keele University 59%
13 St George’s Hospital Medical School 58%
14 Cardiff University 57%
15 University of Plymouth 57%
16 Oxford University 57%
17 University of Cambridge 54%
18 University of Bristol 53%
19 University College London 53%
20 University of York 53%
21 University of Glasgow 52%
22 Imperial College London 51%
23 University of Birmingham 51%
24 University of Nottingham 50%
25 University of Southampton 49%
26 University of Leeds 43%
27 University of Manchester 42%
28 King’s College London 41%
29 Queen Mary, University of London 37%
30 University of Leicester 31%
31 University of Dundee 17%

Table 3.4: Value-add in earnings at age 30 by university for people who studied creative arts

Note: All value-add figures are relative to someone of a similar background who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University. For example, a value-add of 100% means that the average person who studied a given subject at a given university earns 50% more than someone of a similar background (in terms of school grades, gender, region they went to school in and socio-economic background) who studied History at Sheffield Hallam University.

Rank University Value-add in earnings (%)
1 University of Durham 13%
2 University of Warwick 12%
3 Bournemouth University 9%
4 Brunel University 9%
5 Oxford University 8%
6 Nottingham Trent University 6%
7 University of Sheffield 5%
8 King’s College London 3%
9 Cardiff University 2%
10 University of Liverpool 1%
11 Loughborough University -1%
12 Coventry University -2%
13 Central School of Speech and Drama -2%
14 Liverpool John Moores University -2%
15 University of Birmingham -3%
16 Lancaster University -3%
17 University of Huddersfield -3%
18 University of Nottingham -4%
19 Keele University -4%
20 Queen Mary, University of London -4%
21 Leeds Metropolitan University -4%
22 Southampton Solent University -4%
23 Edge Hill University -5%
24 Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh -5%
25 University of Northumbria at Newcastle -5%
26 Royal Holloway, -6%
27 University of Kent -6%
28 University of Bristol -6%
29 St Mary’s University College, Twickenham -6%
30 University of East London -6%
31 Birmingham City University -6%
32 Royal Northern College of Nursing -7%
33 Roehampton University -7%
34 University of Winchester -7%
35 University of Wolverhampton -7%
36 Cardiff Metropolitan University -8%
37 University of Sunderland -8%
38 Kingston University -8%
39 De Montfort University -8%
40 University of Hull -8%
41 University of Wales Trinity Saint David -8%
42 University of Gloucestershire -9%
43 University of Reading -9%
44 University of York -9%
45 Sheffield Hallam University -9%
46 University of Leeds -9%
47 Buckinghamshire New University -9%
48 University of Salford -9%
49 University of Portsmouth -9%
50 University of Newcastle Upon Tyne -9%
51 University Of Teesside -9%
52 University of Exeter -10%
53 University of the West of England, Bristol -10%
54 Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln -11%
55 University for the Creative Arts (Formerly University College for the Creative Arts) -11%
56 University of Lincoln -11%
57 University of Worcester -11%
58 University of West London -11%
59 Oxford Brookes University -12%
60 University of Manchester -12%
61 University of Chester -12%
62 University of Hertfordshire -12%
63 University of Bedfordshire -12%
64 University of Surrey -12%
65 Guildhall School of Music and Dance -12%
66 Norwich University College of the Arts -12%
67 Leeds City College -12%
68 Staffordshire University -13%
69 Prifysgol Aberystwyth -13%
70 Manchester Metropolitan University -13%
71 York St John University College -13%
72 University of Westminster -13%
73 Middlesex University -13%
74 University of East Anglia -14%
75 University of Central Lancashire -14%
76 Edinburgh Napier University -14%
77 Canterbury Christ Church University -14%
78 Royal Conservatoire of Scotland -14%
79 University of Cambridge -15%
80 University of Northampton -15%
81 University of Glamorgan -15%
82 University of the Arts London -15%
83 University of Greenwich -15%
84 University of Derby -16%
85 Arts Institute at Bournemouth -16%
86 Glyndwr University -16%
87 Anglia Ruskin University -16%
88 University of Cumbria -16%
89 University of Plymouth -16%
90 Ravensbourne -17%
91 University of Bolton -17%
92 Bath Spa University -17%
93 University of Brighton -17%
94 University of Chichester -18%
95 Royal College of Music -18%
96 Royal Academy of Music -18%
97 Liverpool Hope University -18%
98 Trinity LABAN Conservatoire of Music and Dance -19%
99 Rose Bruford College -20%
100 University of Southampton -20%
101 University of Essex -20%
102 Goldsmiths College -21%
103 University of Edinburgh -21%
104 Bangor University -22%
105 Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts -23%
106 Newman University College, Birmingham -23%
107 City University -25%
108 Conservatoire for Dance and Drama -25%
109 University College Falmouth -25%
110 London Metropolitan University -25%
111 University of St Mark & St John -27%
112 Glasgow School of Art -27%
113 London South Bank University -29%
114 University of Glasgow -29%
115 University College London -31%
116 University of Sussex -33%