The results of the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017 are in, and European universities are well-represented among the top 300 in the world for graduate employability. The ranking assesses performance in five categories, including graduate employment rates, industry partnerships and student-employer connections. The UK claims 37 representatives in the ranking, Germany 15, France 11, and Spain 10.
1. Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech
Ranked 6th in the world for graduate employability, and the only non-UK European university in the top 10, France’s Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech receives its highest score in the ‘employer reputation’ category – reflecting its esteemed status, as one of the country’s highly selective grandes écoles. The university is a partner of the ParisTech Entrepreneurs Incubator, a support structure for innovative digital start-up projects, which launched more than 350 companies in 2015.
2. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
Switzerland’s ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) places 16th in the graduate employability ranking, achieving its strongest score for ‘employer reputation’. ETH Zurich is associated with 21 Nobel Prize winners, including Albert Einstein and Wolfgang Pauli. The university supports budding entrepreneurs with Pioneer Fellowships, which enable recipients to further develop their research in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab (ieLab).
3. KIT, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
Ranked joint 20th in the world for graduate employability, Germany’s KIT, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie places 11th in the category assessing partnerships with employers, thanks to its strongcooperation with industry in a number of research projects and other collaborative efforts. KIT offers vocational training in more than 30 commercial, technical and scientific professions, and also offers the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) platform to help budding entrepreneurs.
4. Technische Universität Darmstadt
Staying in Germany, Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt) is ranked joint 30th in the world for graduate employability in 2017. It claims its highest score in the industry partnerships category, reflecting its involvement with global companies on research and employment-related partnerships. TU Darmstadt prides itself on its ‘Dual Career Service’, which advises students in finding employment and establishing contacts with employers in the region.
=5. University of Navarra
Heading to Pamplona, Spain, the University of Navarra (Universidad de Navarra) shares 37th place with Politecnico di Milano in the employability ranking, with strong scores in the ‘employer pertnerships’ and ‘employer reputation’ indicators. The university aims to promote the professional development of its students, running the University of Navarra Business Foundation as a meeting point between businesses and students/alumni.
=5. Politecnico di Milano
Italian institution Politecnico di Milano places joint 37th in the graduate employability ranking, achieving extremely high scores for both ‘partnerships with employers’ (2nd in this category) and ‘graduate employment rate’ (3rd). Politenico di Milano offers a range of international projects for student exchange, allowing students to study abroad at a partner university, and was the winner of the Nurturing Employability Award in the Wharton-QS Stars Awards 2014: Reimagine Education.
7. Chalmers University of Technology
Chalmers University of Technology, located in Gothenburg, Sweden, is ranked joint 40th for graduate employability in 2017. It places 6th in the list for its partnerships with employers, maintaining partnerships with companies such as Ericsson, Volvo and SKF. Notable former students of Chalmers include Nobel Prize-winning industrialist Gustaf Dalén, popular YouTube vlogger Felix Kjellberg (‘PewDiePie’) and architect Margit Hall.
8. Technische Universität München
Heading back to Germany for the next of our round-up of the best European universities for graduate employability, Technische Universität München (TUM) is ranked joint 42nd this year, with its highest score for ‘employer reputation’ (21st). As of 2016, more than 800 start-ups have come from TUM, and the university aims to foster a supportive environment for students with entrepreneurial ambitions to launch their ideas with a market-focused approach.
9. Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Also in Germany, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen) is ranked 44th in the world for graduate employability in 2017 and is not far behind TUM in its ‘employer reputation’ rank (24th). The largest technical institution in Germany, RWTH Aachen maintains close links with industry, partnering with companies from various sectors to support the university in coaching, events and a broad range of other activities to support entrepreneurial students in achieving their goals.
10. Delft University of Technology
Concluding our look at some of the best European universities for graduate employability is the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology (also known as TU Delft), ranked 47th in the world for graduate employability in 2017 and also featuring in the top 50 of the ‘employer reputation’ indicator. The strong demand for its graduates is evidenced by a 2013 report which indicated that TU Delft graduates are more likely to find jobs faster and with a higher salary compared to the national average.
UK universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
University of Cambridge
University of Oxford
Imperial College London
UCL (University College London)
University of Manchester
University of Bristol
University of Edinburgh
University of Nottingham
University of Leeds
King's College London (KCL)
Germany universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
KIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Technische Universität Darmstadt
Technical University of Munich
RWTH Aachen University
Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin)
Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet Heidelberg
Universität Konstanz
Universität Mannheim
Universität Stuttgart
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Technische Universität Dresden
Georg-August-University Goettingen
Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz
Technische Universität Braunschweig
University of Cologne
France universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Ecole Polytechnique
Université Paris Dauphine
CentraleSupélec
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA)
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Sciences Po
École des Ponts ParisTech
Ecole normale supérieure, Paris
Université de Montpellier
Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV)
Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC)
Spain universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
University of Navarra
University of Barcelona
University Complutense Madrid
Politécnica de Madrid
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Universidad Politècnica de València
Switzerland universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
University of St.Gallen (HSG)
University of Zurich
University of Lausanne
Sweden universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Chalmers University of Technology
Uppsala University
Russia universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University)
Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Saint-Petersburg State University
Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT / Moscow Phystech)
National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE, Moscow)
The National University of Science and Technology MISIS
Portugal universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Universidade Nova de Lisboa
University of Coimbra
University of Porto
University of Lisbon
Poland universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
University of Warsaw
Norway universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Norwegian University of Science And Technology
University of Oslo
Netherlands universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Delft University of Technology
Erasmus University Rotterdam
University of Amsterdam
Eindhoven University of Technology
Leiden University
Italy universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Politecnico di Milano
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Sapienza University of Rome
Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna
University of Turin
University of Trento
Ireland universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin
University of Limerick
University College Dublin
Greece universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
National Technical University of Athens
Finland universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Aalto University
University of Helsinki
Denmark universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Aarhus University
Aalborg University
Czech Republic universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
Charles University in Prague
Belgium Republic universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
KU Leuven
Universite libre de Bruxelles
Austria Republic universities in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017
University of Vienna
