Higher Education Graduate Outcomes Statistics: UK, 2017/18 - Outcomes by subject studied
- Summary
- Graduate activities and characteristics
- Activities by previous study characteristics
- Graduate salaries
- Graduate reflections on activities
- Notes
Experimental statistics
How do the activities of first degree graduates vary by their class of degree?
Figure 9 shows:
- The proportion of first degree graduates in full-time employment was highest among those who acheived first class honours degree, 58%, and lowest for third class honours/pass 53%.
- The opposite correlation applies to those who went in to part time employment. For first class honours, the proportion is 8%, increasing to 14% for third class honours/pass.
- When excluding significant interim study, 2% of first class honours graduates were unemployed. For third class honours/pass, this was 7%.
Figure 9 - Graduate activity by classification of first degree
Academic year 2017/18
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How do the activities of graduates vary by the subjects they studied?
Figure 10 shows:
- The highest proportion of postgraduates who studied part-time going on to full-time employment were those studying architecture, building & planning. Of postgraduates studying part-time historical & philosophical studies, languages or creative arts & design, less than half were in full-time employment.
- Graduates who studied creative arts & design were more likely to go in to part-time employment than those from any other subjects.
- On average, more graduates who studied science based subjects were in full-time employment or full-time study than those studying non-science subjects.
- Undergraduates who studied computer science had the highest unemployed group when excluding interim study, this was 6%.
Figure 10 - Graduate outcomes by subject area of degree and activity
Academic year 2017/18
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Figure 11 shows:
- Of those with known standard industrial classification (SIC) codes, 33% of undergraduates and 36% of postgraduates who studied science subjects and were working in the UK were employed in human health and social work activities. A high proportion of these graduates studied medicine and subjects allied to medicine (e.g. nursing).
- Of computer science graduates working in UK employment, 41% were working in Information and communication.
- For non-science subjects, the highest proportion of undergraduates went on to employment in education.
- Graduates from business & administrative studies, the subject with the highest number of qualifiers from 2017/18, were employed in a wide range of industries. The highest proportion, 16%, were in professional, scientific and technical activities
Combined is only used for students on courses which do not specify a subject specialism. The majority of students in the combined subject area study at The Open University.
The UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (SIC) is used to classify industries by the type of activity they do. Graduates are asked what their employer makes or does. This information is coded using the SIC2007 coding frame. The codes are grouped together for publication. See Standard Industrial Classification: SIC2007 for the full list of codes and how they are grouped together.
Figure 11 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree
Academic year 2017/18
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Figure 11 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree
Academic year 2017/18
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Figure 11 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree
Academic year 2017/18
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Figure 12 shows:
- Of graduates who were in work in the UK and studied science subjects 82% went on to high skilled occupations. For non-science subjects, graduates going on to high skilled occupations was 71%.
- For those who graduated from biological sciences going on to professional occupations, there is a 37 percentage point difference between postgraduate level and undergraduates.
- The largest proportion of graduates going on to low skilled occupations were from creative arts & design graduates courses at 23%.
The UK Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system is used to classify workers by their occupations. Jobs are classified by their skill level and content. Graduates are asked what their job title is. This information is coded using the SOC2010 coding frame. The codes are grouped together for publication. See Standard Occupational Classification: SOC2010 for the full list of codes and how they are grouped together. Major groups 1 to 3 are grouped together as 'Highly skilled'. Major groups 4 to 6 are grouped together as 'Medium skilled' and 7 to 9 are grouped as 'Low skilled'.
Figure 12 - Standard occupational classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree
Academic year 2017/18
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Figure 12 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree
Academic year 2017/18
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Figure 12 - Standard industrial classification of graduates entering work in the UK by subject area of degree
Academic year 2017/18
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Release date
18 June 2020, 9:30
Coverage
UK
Release frequency
Annual
Themes
Education and training
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Statistician
Rebecca Mantle
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