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Best universities for graduate jobs: Global Employability University Ranking 2023-24

Universities producing the most employable graduates have been ranked by companies around the world in the Global University Employability Ranking 2023-24

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November 23 2023
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Going to college or university is about more than just preparing for a career, but choosing the right institution and course can certainly improve your graduate prospects.

A global employability ranking, designed by the HR consultancy Emerging and published exclusively by Times Higher Education, reveals which universities the recruiters at top companies think are best at preparing students for the workplace.

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These 250 universities span 44 countries, from the US to Japan. Employers voted for institutions both in their own country and around the world, if they recruit internationally. 

The full methodology can be found here

In some countries and regions, graduate jobs are not easy to come by, but in European countries such as France, Switzerland and Germany, professional experience is built into degree programmes.

France, Germany and China are among the best represented countries in the employability ranking, along with the UK and the US.

Singapore, Japan and the UK each have an institution in the top 10, with Chinese and Swiss universities also appearing high in the ranking.


Top universities in the United States for employability
Top universities in the UK for employability
Top universities in Canada for employability
Top universities in Australia for employability
Top universities in the Netherlands for employability
Top universities in France for employability
Top universities in Germany for employability


Top universities for employability 2023-34

1. California Institute of Technology

It’s no surprise that the California Institute of Technology – regarded as one of the world’s best universities – is a favourite among international employers. Students are admitted on the basis of strong interest and skills in maths, science and engineering.

Not only do Caltech students learn the fundamentals across a range of science and engineering subjects, they get to grips with the most innovative tools to address some of society’s most pressing challenges.

The student population is tiny compared with other colleges – it’s one of the smallest in the world, with just over 1,000 undergraduates and 1,200 postgraduates. This close community allows for good relationships between tutors and staff.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In addition to its world-leading courses, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers career-enhancing programmes for undergraduates, industry leaders and the general public.

Many companies have significant involvement in college courses and research, often spanning disciplines and lasting several years.

MIT students, faculty members and alumni play key roles in entrepreneurial innovations, including developing advanced computer networks, securing venture capital transactions and advancing biotechnology.

3. Stanford University

Stanford University is located in Pasadena, California, right next to the world-renowned Silicon Valley.

In total, companies founded by Stanford affiliates and alumni generate more than $2.7 trillion in annual revenues, which would be the 10th-largest economy in the world. These firms include Google, Nike, Netflix, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Instagram and Charles Schwab.

Stanford alumni have also founded non-profit organisations such as Kiva and SIRUM.

4. University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s best universities.

Its history stretches back to the 13th century, when it was founded by Oxford scholars taking refuge after conflicts with townspeople.

Now, its graduates are globally sought after, valued particularly for their specialist knowledge, gained as a result of the personal tuition that is unique to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

5. Harvard University

Harvard University is the oldest and arguably the most prestigious college in the United States, with a reputation for admitting and producing highly accomplished students.

More than 30 heads of state have studied at Harvard, and the university also counts 38 Nobel prizewinners and 48 Pulitzer winners among its alumni.

Like many institutions favoured by employers, Harvard has a long history of groundbreaking research and innovation.

Many students undertake extracurricular activities while studying, from sport to entrepreneurial endeavours, which equip them with the essential skills to succeed.


How to boost your career prospects as a university student
Finding a job: graduate advice
Your student experience is on hold; career development doesn’t have to be
Video: advice from employers for university students on career development

What is the difference between a graduate scheme and a non-graduate scheme job?
How to start a business while at university: tips from the students who did it


Global University Employability Ranking 2023-34

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2024 profile

Rank 2023-24 Rank 2022-23 University Countryregion
1 2 California Institute of Technology US
2 1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology US
3 5 Stanford University US
4 4 University of Cambridge UK
5 3 Harvard University US
6 9 Princeton University US
7 7 The University of Tokyo Japan
8 6 University of Oxford UK
9 8 National University of Singapore Singapore
10 10 Yale University US
11 16 Imperial College London UK
12 11 University of Toronto Canada
13 12 Technical University of Munich Germany
14 14 Peking University China
15 15 ETH Zurich Switzerland
16 13 Columbia University US
17 17 New York University US
18 19 IE University Spain
19 18 CentraleSupélec - Paris Saclay University France
20 21 University of California, Berkeley US
21 27 Tsinghua University China
22 23 HEC Paris France
23 20 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland
24 25 London School of Economics and Political Science  UK
25 22 Boston University US
26 24 Carnegie Mellon University US
27 28 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi India
28 33 Ecole Polytechnique - Institut Polytechique de Paris France
29 30 The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong
30 26 Duke University US
31 29 McGill University Canada
32 35 Australian National University Australia
33 31 Tokyo Institute of Technology Japan
34 34 Arizona State University (Tempe) US
35 32 Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Singapore
36 36 University of British Columbia Canada
37 37 University of Navarra Spain
38 42 Kyoto University Japan
39 43 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China
40 40 Technion Israel Institute of Technology Israel
41 49 London Business School UK
42 38 Johns Hopkins University US
43 47 University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
44 41 EMLyon Business School France
45 45 University of Melbourne Australia
46 48 Humboldt University of Berlin Germany
47 44 KU Leuven  Belgium
48 39 Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands
49 90 The University of Chicago US
50 52 Sorbonne University France
51 51 Fudan University China
52 50 Mines Paris - PSL University France
53 54 LMU Munich Germany
54 46 Georgia Institute of Technology US
55 58 Indian Institute of Science India
56 53 Technical University of Berlin Germany
57 55 ESSEC Business School France
58 57 EDHEC Business School France
59 56 University of Sydney Australia
60 74 Dartmouth College US
61 60 Bocconi University Italy
62 72 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (ITT) India
63 70 ESCP Business School France
64 65 Seoul National University South Korea
65 68 Université Paris-Saclay France
66 69 University of Zurich Switzerland
67 75 University of Manchester UK
68 64 King's College London UK
69 66 Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
70 73 Heidelberg University Germany
71 61 University of Helsinki Finland
72 63 University of Montreal/HEC Canada
73 62 KTH Royal Institute of Technology Sweden
74 59 Ecole normale supérieure Paris-Saclay - Paris Saclay University France
75 67 Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) South Korea
76 71 Stockholm University Sweden
77 76 Florida Institute of Technology US
78 83 Brown University US
79 82 Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Germany
80 85 National Taiwan University Taiwan
81 78 Monterrey Institute of Technology Mexico
82 80 University of California, Los Angeles US
83 79 University of Science and Technology of China  China
84 77 Cornell University US
85 81 McMaster University Canada
86 86 National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) Taiwan
87 84 University of Auckland New Zealand
88 112 Zhejiang University China
89 87 Delft University of Technology Netherlands
90 91 Tel Aviv University Israel
91 88 Technical University of Denmark Denmark
92 94 Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
93 89 Hanyang University South Korea
94 96 Leiden University Netherlands
95 99 Polytechnic University of Milan Italy
96 98 Free University of Berlin Germany
97 93 University of Vienna Austria
98 97 The University of Queensland Australia
99 95 Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) South Korea
100 92 Sungkyunkwan University  South Korea
101 107 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology  Germany
102 102 University of Oslo Norway
103 108 University of São Paulo Brazil
104 103 Korea University South Korea
105 101 Utrecht University Netherlands
106 104 Yonsei University South Korea
107 100 Tufts University US
108 106 Karolinska Institute Sweden
109 110 Rice University US
110 105 University of Lausanne Switzerland
111 111 UNSW Sydney Australia
112 114 University of Hamburg Germany
113 109 Monash University Australia
114 118 University of Bern Switzerland
115 115 Texas A&M University US
116 116 Chalmers University of Technology Sweden
117 117 University of Basel Switzerland
118 118 Eindhoven University of Technology Netherlands
119 113 Aarhus University Denmark
120 131 Arts et Métiers  France
121 121 University of Pennsylvania US
122 132 Autonomous University of Barcelona Spain
123 127 Chemnitz University of Technology Germany
124 120 RWTH Aachen University Germany
125 126 University of Amsterdam Netherlands
126 143 Boston College US
127 123 National Autonomous University of Mexico Mexico
128 129 Ghent University Belgium
129 124 Waseda University Japan
130 125 Keio University Japan
131 133 Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong
132 142 Nanjing University China
133 135 Autonomous University of Madrid Spain
134 140 Goethe University Frankfurt Germany
135 139 University of Buenos Aires Argentina
136 136 Carlos III University of Madrid Spain
137 128 UCL UK
138 134 Northwestern University US
139 138 University of St Andrews UK
140 141 University of Mannheim Germany
141 143 Paris Dauphine University - PSL University France
142 149 University of Cologne Germany
143 155 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur India
144 156 École des Ponts ParisTech France
145 130 Michigan State University US
146 147 Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) China
147 137 University of Edinburgh UK
148 152 Nagoya University Japan
149 148 Northeastern University US
150 158 Complutense University of Madrid Spain
151 145 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor US
152 162 Qatar University Qatar
153 150 Georgetown University US
154 146 American University of Beirut Lebanon
155 153 Harbin Institute of Technology China
156 154 Indian Institute of Management  India
157 176 University of California, San Francisco US
158 164 Osaka University Japan
159 151 Aalto University Finland
160 159 Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norway
161 160 University of Technology Sydney Australia
162 165 TU Wien Austria
163 166 University of Southern California US
164 163 Tongji University China
165 161 University of Iceland Iceland
166 168 University of Antwerp Belgium
167 178 Universitat Ramon Llul  Spain
168 171 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill US
169 172 University of Alberta Canada
170 200 Huazhong University of Science and Technology China
171 173 University of Chile Chile
172 194 Emory University US
173 169 University of Geneva Switzerland
174 188 University of California, San Diego US
175 179 Abu Dhabi University UAE
176 186 Babson College US
177 185 American University in Dubai UAE
178 175 University of Ottawa Canada
179 167 University of Florida US
180 157 University of Birmingham UK
181 170 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands
182 174 Purdue University West Lafayette US
183 181 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign US
184 182 King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia
185 183 University of Victoria Canada
186 184 Wageningen University & Research Netherlands
187 187 King Saud University Saudi Arabia
188 177 Rutgers University US
189 198 Cardiff University UK
190 191 University of Waterloo Canada
191 180 Macquarie University Australia
192 199 Sapienza University of Rome Italy
193 196 Université du Québec Canada
194 193 Penn State University (Main campus) US
195 NR Toronto Metropolitan University Canada
196 189 George Washington University US
197 197 Case Western Reserve University US
198 NR Beijing Normal University China
199 202 Trinity College Dublin Ireland
200 215 National Tsing Hua University Taiwan
201 195 University of Georgia US
202 203 Vanderbilt University US
203 189 Durham University UK
204 204 University of Bergen Norway
205 212 Istanbul Technical University Turkey
206 209 Queensland University of Technology Australia
207 214 University of Gothenburg Sweden
208 NR University of Bonn Germany
209 206 Aalborg University Denmark
210 219 Copenhagen Business School Denmark
211 220 Charles University  Czech Republic
212 210 Scuola Normale Superiore de Pisa Italy
213 218 Bar-Ilan University Israel
214 216 Uppsala University Sweden
215 223 Télécom Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris France
216 208 University of Bologna Italy
217 226 Ecole Centrale de Lyon France
218 NR University of Freiburg Germany
219 205 Sabanci University Turkey
220 225 Amity University India
221 232 Technical University of Darmstadt Germany
222 201 Leibniz University Hannover Germany
223 238 Aix-Marseille University France
224 229 University of Notre Dame US
225 242 Bangalore University India
226 234 Bielefeld University Germany
227 NR University of Barcelona Spain
228 NR Washington University in St Louis US
229 239 Tokyo University of Science Japan
230 NR Wuhan University China
231 243 Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina Argentina
232 221 University of Malaya Malaysia
233 240 Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) Brazil
234 NR Tohoku University Japan
235 NR Indian Institute of Technology Madras India
236 236 Skema Business School France
237 NR University of Delhi India
238 233 University of Guadalajara Mexico
239 NR University of Massachusetts Amherst US
240 NR Université Grenoble Alpes  France
241 NR University of Milan Italy
242 NR University of Lisbon Portugal
243 211 Brandeis University US
244 NR National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Greece
245 NR University of Cape Town South Africa
246 NR Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute US
247 NR University of Indonesia Indonesia
248 NR Hassan II University of Casablanca Morocco
249 248 Cairo University Egypt
250 245 Stellenbosch University South Africa

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