Three Scottish universities top UK list for graduate employment, new analysis finds

Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen tops the list with 91.2% of its graduates in employment within 15 months. The university reports particularly strong results in building and planning, architecture, engineering and technology subjects, where the analysis found 100% employment and zero recorded unemployment for those cohorts.

Beyond the top three, two other Scottish universities make the top 10: Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh is seventh with 85.7%, and Heriot-Watt University rounds out the top 10 with 85.0%.

Full top-10 snapshot (Careerminds UK)

• Robert Gordon University — 91.2%
• Glasgow Caledonian University — 88.2%
• University of the West of Scotland — 87.6%
• University of Gloucestershire — 86.3%
• Bournemouth University — 86.3%
• Edge Hill University — 85.9%
• Queen Margaret University — 85.7%
• Sheffield Hallam University — 85.3%
• University of Salford — 85.2%
• Heriot-Watt University — 85.0%

Context for applicants and course selection

Careerminds UK's resident careers expert Amanda Augustine comments that reputation alone is not the only factor prospective students should consider. If employability is a priority, Augustine advises looking beyond traditional league tables to the outcomes most relevant to a student's chosen course and the performance of recent graduates in the job market.

The timing of this analysis is notable: the article notes employers have cut graduate hiring by 8% year-on-year, which increases the importance of choosing institutions and courses with stronger documented outcomes.

• If rapid transition into work matters, outcome metrics like the percentage employed within 15 months give a measurable comparison between universities.

• Well-known institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge do not appear in this particular top-10 employment list, indicating that highly selective universities do not necessarily lead on all employability measures.

Careerminds UK's analysis places three Scottish universities at the top of UK graduate employment outcomes, with five Scottish institutions in the top 10 overall. The findings encourage prospective students to weigh graduate outcomes and subject-level performance alongside broader reputation when selecting where and what to study.