Higher Education Graduate Outcomes Statistics: UK, 2018/19 - Outcomes by subject studied

Experimental statistics

How do the activities of first degree graduates vary by their class of degree?

Figure 9 shows:

• The percentage of first degree graduates in full-time employment dropped from 56% in the survey of 2017/18 graduates to 52% among 2018/19 graduates, while the percentage in unemployment (including those due to start work and study) increased from 6% to 8%. These changes coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during which most 2018/19 graduates were surveyed.
• Among 2018/19 first degree graduates the proportion in full-time employment was highest among those who acheived a first class honours degree, at 55%. In contrast, just under half of those who achieved a third class honours/pass were in full-time employment.
• The opposite correlation applies to those who went in to part time employment. For first class honours, the proportion is 10%, increasing to 16% for third class honours/pass.

How do the activities of graduates vary by the subjects they studied?

Figure 10 shows:

• A higher proportion of graduates who had studied science based subjects were in full-time employment or full-time study than those who had studied non-science subjects.
• Graduates who studied creative arts & design were more likely to go in to part-time employment than those from any other subjects.
• Among postgraduates in 2018/19, those who studied architecture, building & planning were most likely to be in full-time employment at 73%. In contrast, less than half of postgraduates who had studied historicial & philosophical studies or creative arts & design were in full-time employment.
• Comparing year-on-year differences, 2018/19 graduates in the majority of subject areas saw a 1-2 percentage point increase in the proportion unemployed (including those due to start work or study) compared with their peers who graduated in 2017/18.
• Graduates who had studied creative arts & design saw both the largest decrease in the proportion in full-time employment and the largest increase in the proportion unemployed in the survey of 2018/19 graduates compared with 2017/18.

Figure 11 shows:

• In the survey of 2018/19 graduates, 21% of those in UK work were employed in the industry of human health and social work activities (up from 19% in the 2017/18 survey). The majority of these were working in the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. In comparison to this, figures estimating workforce jobs by industry in the UK labour market as a whole suggest 12-13% were in human health and social work activities during the same time period (source: ONS).
• Of those who studied science subjects and were working in the UK, 35% of undergraduates and 37% of postgraduates were employed in the human health and social work industry. A high proportion of these graduates studied medicine & dentistry and subjects allied to medicine (e.g. nursing).
• Among computer science graduates in UK work, 40% were in the information and communication industry.
• For non-science subjects, the highest proportion of undergraduates went on to work in the education sector.

Figure 12 shows:

• Of 2018/19 graduates who were in UK work that had studied science subjects, 81% were in high skilled occupations. For graduates of non-science subjects, 71% were in high skilled occupations. Both groups were down 1 percentage point compared with the 2017/18 cohort of graduates.
• Graduates from physical sciences and creative arts & design subjects saw the largest decrease in the proportion in high skilled occupations between the 2017/18 and 2018/19 cohorts.
• Among those who graduated from postgraduate courses in 2018/19 and entered UK work, 9 in 10 were in high skilled occupations. Of those entering UK work from undergraduate courses, just under 7 in 10 were in high skilled occupations.
• Almost a quarter of working graduates from creative arts & design subjects were in low skilled jobs.

• Summary
• Graduate activities and characteristics
• Activities by previous study characteristics
• Graduate salaries and work locations
• Graduate reflections on activities
• Notes