The Top Universities For Getting a Job this Year

Which institutions offer graduates the best chance in the employment market? 

The 2018 QS Graduate Employability Ranking analyzes the world’s top institutions for graduate employability, and ranks them accordingly. This year’s ranking is the most comprehensive yet, with the world’s top 500 institutions ranked. 

Of the top 500 institutions ranked, 98 are located in the US or Canada (81 of those are in the US), 215 are in Europe, Latin America boasts 33, Asia-Pacific claims 126, and the Middle East and Africa has 26 in total. 

The top 10 institutions are dominated by the US, with the UK and Australia taking two places apiece, and China claiming the final spot. 

The top 10 institutions are*

1. Stanford University (USA)
2. University of California (USA)
3. Harvard University (USA)
4. University of Sydney (Australia)
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
6. University of Cambridge (UK)
7. University of Melbourne (Australia)
8. University of Oxford (UK)
9. University of California, Berkeley (USA)
10. Tsinghua University (China)

See the full results

*The institutions above are linked to their respective business schools, however, the ranking refers to the institution as a whole.

An updated methodology for fairer results

This year, the methodology for the university ranking has been updated to ensure that results are as reflective of reality as possible. Employment markets are taken into account in each country and region so that institutions aren’t given unfair advantages or disadvantages based on domestic trends. 

The ranking itself is based on the following five criteria:

• Employer reputation – The impression employers have about each institution and its graduates.
• Alumni outcomes – An analysis of the world’s most successful people and which institutions they attended.
• Partnerships with employers – The number of partnerships institutions have with employers.
• Employer/ student connections – The number of employers present on campus for recruitment.
• Graduate employment rate – How many graduates are in employment after graduation.