Aims
The Employment Outcomes (EO) indicator measures to what degree institutions can ensure a high level of employability for their graduates, and their record in producing graduates that have gone on to make a meaningful impact on society.
For many students a successful career is the primary goal of their university education and therefore is important to measure an institution's track record in this field.
Equally an institution who produces graduates who go on to achieve success in fields such as the arts, politics, business etc. can point to their role in the development of those careers.
Relevant Rankings
Employment Outcomes is an indicator used in the following rankings:
- QS World University Rankings
- QS Sustainability Rankings
- QS Europe Region Rankings
- QS International Trade Ranking
- QS Global MBA Rankings
- QS Business Masters Rankings
It forms part of the Employability lens.
It contains two metrics - Alumni Impact and Graduate Employment Index.
Metrics
Alumni Impact
The Alumni Impact metric aims to measure an institution’s record in producing graduates that have gone on to make a meaningful impact on society.
To do this we compile and analyse the profiles of 82,000+ impactful graduates in areas such as business, politics, higher education, and charities, to identify the institutions where they undertook their studies.
An institution’s score in this area is then calculated based on the share of impactful graduates it has at both a domestic and global level.
Graduate Employment Index
The Graduate Employment Index metric is based on graduate employment rate, which is defined as the percentage of graduates who go on to paid (non-voluntary) full or part time work within 15 months of finishing their degree.
We do not consider graduates who undertake voluntary or unpaid work, are continuing further study, or are unavailable for work due to military service, disability, travel, or caring needs.
The graduate employment rate is normalised to create the final Index
Methodology
Below you can find the weighting(s) for the indicator. Weightings are reviewed on an annual basis.
Ranking Project | Weighting |
QS World University Rankings | 5% |
QS Sustainability Rankings | 10% Alumni Impact |
QS Europe Region Rankings | 5% |
QS International Trade Ranking | 5% Graduate Employment Rate |
QS Global MBA Rankings | 15% |
QS Business Masters Rankings | 20% |
Data Sources
Alumni Impact - Data is drawn from QS's own database of impactful graduates
Graduate Employment Index - Data is drawn from institutional or third party survey data, which must have a response rate of more than 20%. Where the graduate employment rate is not available, we calculate an estimate based on a banded position in Employer Reputation considering the country/region.
Calculations
- Alumni Impact is multiplied by the natural logarithm of the Graduate Employment Index
- Log-transformation is applied to draw in outliers and to ensure that the Graduate Employment Index component does not unduly influence the final score when compared with Alumni Impact Index.