Follow this topicThe university that leads to the highest salaries
And it's not one you'd expect!
There are a lot of ways to assess the best university for you, such as reading about the university, talking to students, and visiting on open days. I'm going to give you another possibility in narrowing your search. I've sorted through pages of figures from Unistats showing which institutions are leading to the highest-paying jobs after completing your first full-time degree.
In the table below, look down the list of subjects in the first column for courses you're interested in. The second column will tell you which universities appear to lead to higher-paying jobs for students taking those courses. The third and fourth columns give you the average salaries students have got afterwards, and the fifth column tells you how this compares to other universities, and what range of salaries you might expect in general:
Salary after completing first full-time degree
|
Subject |
Institution |
Starting salary (after 6 months) |
Salary after 40 months |
Comparison with other universities |
|
Medicine |
Oxford University/ Southampton University |
£31,000 £31,000 |
£40,000 |
Salaries start from £23,000 but after 40 months every university's students average £40,000. |
|
Dentistry |
All |
£30,000 |
No data |
|
|
Anatomy, physiology & pathology |
University of East London/ Kings College London |
£25,000 £21,000 |
£27,000 |
Starting salaries start from £14,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £23,000. |
|
Pharmacology, toxicology & pharmacy |
University of Bath/ University of Nottingham |
£21,000 £20,000 |
£37,000 |
Starting salaries range from £18,000 to £22,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £30,000. |
|
Nursing |
City University |
£29,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries start from £21,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £23,000. |
|
Nutrition |
King's College London/ University of Surrey |
£22,000 £21,000 |
£26,000 |
Starting salaries start from £17,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Ophthalmics |
University of Sheffield |
£21,000 |
£35,000 |
Starting salaries start from £12,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £33,000. |
|
Aural & oral sciences |
All |
£20,000-£23,000 |
£24,000 |
Virtually all universities listed in Unistat data fit in this range. |
|
Medical technology |
City University/ University of Portsmouth |
£24,000 £22,000 |
£27,000 |
Canterbury Christ Church University and University Campus Suffolk also averaged £27,000. |
|
Cinematics & photography |
University of the Arts, London |
£18,000 |
£23,000 |
Starting salaries start from £13,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £18,000. |
|
Academic studies in education |
University of Greenwich/ University of Bedfordshire/ University of East London |
£18,000 £16,000 £14,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £14,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £18,000. |
|
Initial teacher training |
Roehampton University/ University of Greenwich/ St. Mary's University College, Twickenham |
£25,000 £24,000 £24,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries start from £21,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £25,000. |
|
Other subjects allied to medicine |
St. George's University of London |
£19,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries start from £15,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £24,000. |
|
Biology |
University of Nottingham/ University of Warwick/ University of Birmingham |
£18,000 £17,000 £17,000 |
£23,000 |
Starting salaries start from £15,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £21,000. |
|
Molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry & other biological sciences |
University of Southampton |
£16,000 |
£27,000 |
Starting salaries start from £16,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Sports science |
St Mary's University College, Twickenham/ University of Bedfordshire/ Brunel University |
£18,000
£17,000 £14,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £13,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £19,000. |
|
Psychology |
University of East London/ University College London/ Goldsmiths' College/ University of Westminster |
£20,000 £19,000
£18,000 £16,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £13,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £19,000. |
|
Veterinary sciences |
University of Cambridge |
£25,000 |
£35,000 |
Starting salaries range from £25,000 to £27,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £30,000. |
|
Chemistry |
Imperial College London/ Oxford University/ Durham University |
£27,000 £24,000 £24,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £16,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Physics & astronomy |
Imperial College, London |
£28,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries start from £20,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £25,000. |
|
Forensic & archaeological science |
University Of The West Of England, Bristol |
£15,000 |
£21,000 |
Starting salaries start from £14,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £18,000. |
|
Physical geography & environmental science |
University of Nottingham/ University Of Bristol/ Loughborough University/ University of Birmingham |
£20,000 £20,000 £18,000 £17,000 |
£24,000 |
Starting salaries start from £14,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £21,000. |
|
Mathematics & statistics |
Queen Mary, University Of London |
£20,000 |
£32,000 |
Starting salaries range from £17,000 to £29,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £26,000. |
|
Computer science |
Queen Mary, University Of London |
£23,000 |
£32,000 |
Starting salaries range from £17,000 to £35,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £23,000. |
|
Mechanical, production & manufacturing engineering |
Imperial College, London/ University Of Bath/ University Of Bristol |
£27,000 £25,000 £24,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries start from £17,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £25,000. |
|
Aerospace engineering |
University Of Sheffield/ University Of Manchester |
£24,000 £23,000 |
£30,000 |
Starting salaries range from £23,000 to £25,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £29,000. |
|
Electronic & electrical engineering |
Most |
£21,000-£25,000 |
£27,000 |
Students from most universities average £27,000 after 40 months |
|
Civil engineering |
Kingston University |
£23,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries range from £21,000 to £25,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £26,000. |
|
Chemical, process & energy engineering |
All |
£25,000-£30,000 |
£33,000 |
Students from all universities average £33,000 after 40 months |
|
Materials & minerals technology |
Loughborough University/ University of Exeter/ University of Manchester |
£23,000 £20,000 £18,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £16,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £24,000. |
|
Architecture |
Manchester Metropolitan University |
£19,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries range from £17,000 to £20,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £24,000. |
|
Building |
Kingston University/ University of Northumbria at Newcastle |
£22,000 £20,000 |
£29,000 |
Starting salaries range from £17,000 to £25,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £25,000. |
|
Planning (urban, rural & regional) |
Most |
£16,000-£20,000 |
£25,000 |
Students from most universities average £25,000 after 40 months |
|
Economics |
LSE/ University of Cambridge/ Royal Holloway/ University College London |
£35,000 £35,000 £27,000 £27,000 |
£32,000 |
Starting salaries start from £16,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £25,000. |
|
Politics |
Oxford University/ LSE |
£25,000 £24,000 |
£26,000 |
Starting salaries start from £15,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Sociology |
Roehampton University/ University of Bristol/ Kingston University |
£17,000 £17,000 £16,000 |
£23,000 |
Starting salaries range from £14,000 to £22,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £16,000. |
|
Social work |
University of East London/ Brunel University/ Royal Holloway |
£29,000 £28,000 £28,000 |
£29,000 |
Starting salaries start from £15,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Human & social geography |
LSE |
£24,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £15,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Law |
King's College London/ Kingston University/ University of Westminster |
£21,000 £17,000 £17,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £14,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £18,000. |
|
Business studies |
City University/ Kingston University/ University of Westminster/ Queen Mary |
£26,000 £21,000 £20,000 £20,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries start from £16,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Marketing |
University of Northampton |
£16,000 |
£26,000 |
Starting salaries range from £16,000 to £20,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £21,000. |
|
Management studies |
London Metropolitan University/ University of The Arts, London |
£20,000
£19,000 |
£28,000 |
Starting salaries range from £14,000 to £27,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £20,000. |
|
Finance |
City University |
£29,000 |
£36,000 |
Starting salaries start from £16,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £25,000. |
|
Accounting |
London Metropolitan University/ Kingston University/ University of Greenwich |
£20,000
£18,000 £18,000 |
£27,000 |
Starting salaries range from £15,000 to £23,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £22,000. |
|
Tourism, transport & travel |
Southampton Solent University |
£16,000 |
£23,000 |
Starting salaries range from £15,000 to £18,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £19,000. |
|
Media studies |
The University of Westminster |
£18,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £14,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £19,000. |
|
Journalism |
Staffordshire University/ University of The Arts, London |
£16,000 |
£22,000 |
Starting salaries range from £15,000 to £17,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £17,000. |
|
English studies |
Goldsmiths' College |
£16,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries range from £14,000 to £20,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £21,000. |
|
French studies |
Most |
£18,000-£19,000 |
£25,000 |
Students from most universities average £25,000 after 40 months |
|
History |
Queen Mary, University of London/ Goldsmiths' College |
£19,000/
£15,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries range from £13,000 to £22,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £19,000. |
|
Philosophy |
Oxford University |
£23,000 |
£25,000 |
Starting salaries start from £15,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £21,000. |
|
Design studies |
University of The Arts, London/ Kingston University |
£18,000 £17,000 |
£23,000 |
Starting salaries range from £13,000 to £22,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £18,000. |
|
Drama |
St Mary's University College, Twickenham |
£15,000 |
£23,000 |
Starting salaries range from £12,000 to £18,000. Salaries after 40 months start from £19,000. |
These numbers just represent either one or two years of aggregate data. Institutions with smaller classes might skew the results even more, so we cannot yet know how reliable this is for the future. However, it makes a potential starting point and it'll get more accurate as I develop it in the years ahead to build up a bigger and more accurate picture.
The six month figures (third column) from Unistats are based on actual earnings from students attending the institution.
The 40-month figures (fourth column) are not available by institution. Instead, these are regionally-adjusted sector averages based on where graduates from that university normally go to work. This probably explains many of the weird results (and probable errors) such as nursing students at City University apparently getting paid less after 40 months than after six months.
Also, the subjects are loosely classified, which is why you have the University Of The Arts in London competing with London Metropolitan University on management studies. The former university will presumably be focusing on fashion, publishing and so on.
The top universities
Some of the most respected universities are only top in a few subjects. Oxford comes top four times, Cambridge twice, Kings College London once, and Imperial College London three times. This is probably due to the narrow focus that many universities have, as well as competition and the universities' links with employers. Even so, two to four appearances at the top is more than most universities.
Meanwhile, Kingston University is the overall winner, appearing seven times with the highest salaries in civil engineering, building, sociology, law, business studies, accounting and design studies.
On the whole, differences in salaries are smaller than I thought, although that doesn't mean you should be complacent in which university you choose. The universities that appear to lead to better jobs are typically getting you at least £4,000 more than the worst universities after just three years.
More: compare credit cards through lovemoney.com | Why house price forecasts are dangerous | Which savings account should you get?
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