Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) global higher education analysts and career advice specialists have announced the world’s 500 leading universities for graduate employability. The rankings indicate that University College Dublin (UCD) is the strongest provider of highly employable graduates. It ranks 75th and is followed by Trinity College Dublin (TCD) at 111-120.
UCD leads overall in the rankings, with stronger research relationships with employers than any other Irish university. It scores 82.2/100 for Partnerships with Employers.
University of Limerick (UL) is third at 201-205, followed by University College Cork (UCC) which ranks fourth at 301-500, and Dublin City University (DCU) at fifth ranking at 301-500.
QS found that Trinity produce more highly successful alumni than any other Irish university. QS’s Alumni Outcomes indicator is based on analysis on the education profiles of 31,000 leaders in their respective fields, with TCD scoring 77.1/100.
Stanford University is the world-leader, followed by the University of California, Los Angeles and Harvard University. The report shows that The United States of America is home to five of the world’s top 10 universities for student employment.
Cambridge and Oxford universities rank sixth and eight respectively with University College London (UCL) at 17th .
Ben Sowter, Research Director, QS, said: “the ranking is designed to improve the conversation we are having about this important component of a university’s mission, and allow students to make informed global comparisons.”
Sowter continued: “These results indicate that universities cannot rely on reputation alone. They also need to ensure that they are committed to innovative teaching methods, proactively forge relationships with businesses, and provide numerous opportunities for students to meet potential future employers.”
QS use five metrics to calculate this ranking, Employer Reputation, Alumni Outcomes, Partnerships with Employers, Employer-Student Connections and Graduate Employment Rate.