Stanford University retains its top spot in the ranking, which sees six UK universities in the top 50

Three UK universities are among the top 20 in the world for graduate employability, according to a ranking by higher education think tank QS.

California’s Stanford University retained its top spot in the ranking, which is in its second year. Meanwhile, the University of Cambridge, the UK’s highest-ranking institution, slipped down a place this year to number 6. The University of Oxford holds onto its place at 8 and UCL enters the top 20 at number 17.

A further three UK institutions make the top 50, with Imperial College London falling nine places to 29, the University of Manchester at 33 and the University of Bristol at 50. The University of Edinburgh slips out of the top 50 at 60.

Outside of the leading 10, where the US claims five spots, the rankings include a relatively diverse range of universities from across the world. Australian universities perform particularly well, with two – the universities of Sydney and Melbourne – in the top 10. The other nation represented in the top 10 is China, although Tsinghua University has dropped seven places this year to the tenth spot.

Ben Sowter, research director at QS, says that the key takeaway from the rankings this year is that “employability is about more than prestige and selectivity”, since institutions which have prioritised achieving strong graduate outcomes score highly, regardless of reputation.

As well as looking at graduate employment rates, universities’ scores are calculated on employer reputation, partnerships with employers, presence of employers on campus, and alumni outcomes. Each category is weighted differently to reflect its importance to students.

The table below shows the top 100 universities with the overall total for 2018.