Degree courses with some of the worst employment records in the country will be trying to scoop up students in Clearing on A-level Results Day this week.
New analysis by the Daily Mail has identified the top 20 course groupings, by university, for graduates being out of work five years after leaving.
The worst one, Creative Arts and Design at the University of West London, had almost a quarter – 23.7 per cent – of graduates out of work, while the median salary for those that did work was just £24,900.
The university is entering courses from this category into Clearing which have historically admitted students with A-level grades of just DDD.
Meanwhile, the second worst in the analysis was Business and Management at the University of East London, with 22.6 per cent out of work.
The top 20, which also included Law and Psychology at other universities, all had at least one in six graduates out of work, while five have median salaries of less than £25,000.
This is despite many graduates having racked up more than £50,000 in debt during their degrees, including three years of tuition fees charged at more than £9,000 annually.
All of the listings in the top 20 are entering Clearing – with the vast majority allowing students entry with a string of C,D and E grades.
| Course grouping | University | % out of work | Median salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Creative Arts and Design | University of West London | 23.7% | £24,900 |
| 2. Business and Management | University of East London | 22.6% | £29,600 |
| 3. Computing | Falmouth University | 21.1% | £30,400 |
| 4. Law | University of East London | 19.9% | £31,100 |
| 5. Law | University of West London | 19.7% | £25,300 |
| 6. Computing | London Metropolitan University | 19.7% | £34,400 |
| 7. Creative Arts and Design | University of Wolverhampton | 19.5% | £23,100 |
| 8. Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology | Birkbeck College | 19.3% | £35,500 |
| 9. Computing | University of East London | 18.3% | £35,900 |
| 10. Media, Journalism and Communications | London Metropolitan University | 18.1% | £26,400 |
| 11. Philosophy and Religious Studies | University of Essex | 17.9% | £31,800 |
| 12. Creative Arts and Design | University of Greater Manchester | 17.7% | £22,700 |
| 13. English Studies | Roehampton University | 17.6% | £29,300 |
| 14. Education and Teaching | University of East London | 17.4% | £24,200 |
| 15. Psychology | University of Greater Manchester | 17.3% | £21,000 |
| 16. Law | Middlesex University | 17.3% | £29,300 |
| 17. Media, Journalism and Communications | University of Portsmouth | 17% | £31,800 |
| 18. Psychology | The University of West London | 16.9% | £28,000 |
| 19. Sociology, social policy and anthropology | London South Bank University | 16.8% | £28,900 |
| 20. English studies | The University of Westminster | 16.8% | £29,300 |
| Source: Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data for 2023/24, for those graduating in 2017/18 (Department for Education). Only course groups with 50+ graduates were included. The indicator ‘no sustained destination’ was used to measure graduates out of work. | |||
Degree courses with some of the worst employment records in the country will be trying to scoop up students in Clearing on A-level Results Day this week (file picture)
Last night, Tory education spokesman Laura Trott said of the Daily Mail’s analysis: ‘Too many young people are leaving university saddled with debt and facing poor job prospects.
‘With youth unemployment rising on Labour’s watch, many will never be able to pay off their loans, taken out to pay for courses that aren’t delivering a return.’
Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, added: ‘A generation of less academically able kids have been led along a pathway to financial and career ruination.
‘They are left with huge and unpayable debts that will have to be picked up by hard working taxpayers.
‘Too many universities have placed their own financial survival above the best interests of young people and of the country.
‘Universities should be excluding most youngsters whose A-Level grades fall below A and B.
‘We need to convert half of universities back into vocationally orientated polytechnics.’
On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of pupils will pick up their A-Level results, with those who fail to make their grades entering Clearing to find an alternative course.
New analysis by the Daily Mail has identified the top 20 course groupings, by university, for graduates being out of work five years after leaving (pictured: the University of West London tops the list)
Included in our top 20 analysis is Computing at London Metropolitan University, which had 19.7 per cent out of work, Law at Middlesex University and Psychology at the University of Greater Manchester, both with 17.3 per cent.
For comparison, Cambridge had no graduates recorded as unemployed for its Veterinary Sciences courses.
Meanwhile, Southampton’s Computing courses had only 2.1 per cent out of work, and Bristol’s Business and Management courses had only 3 per cent.
The Daily Mail’s analysis looked at the Department for Education’s Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data, which is based on tax and benefits records.
It examined employment figures in the year 2023-2024 – the latest available – for those graduating in 2017-2018 from various subjects at individual mainstream universities. Similar subjects were grouped together into course categories.
The Daily Mail ranked categories at different universities according to the proportion of UK graduates who were not in sustained work or further study in 2023/24, with only those with 50 or more graduates included.
This captured those living in the UK who do not have a job, were not studying and were not self-employed, as well as those who may have intermittent but not consistent work.
It comes after the Government announced new vocational routes for 14-year-olds to sit alongside academic subjects, to offer an alternative route for those who are less suited for university.
The Government is also consulting on introducing a minimum requirement of a pass in GCSE English to access student finance.
A Department for Education spokesman said: ‘A university degree remains a worthwhile investment, but too many courses don’t deliver the outcomes promised to students.
‘We are taking action to restore universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration and growth by cracking down on poor quality courses.
‘Going to university isn’t the only route to success which is why we’re putting technical and academic education on an equal footing by announcing plans to provide more, prestigious vocational routes from aged 14 and introducing V Levels from aged 16.’
A University of East London spokesman said it had redesigned its curriculum since 2018, with the more recent Graduate Outcomes Survey – which is self-selecting – showing improvements in outcomes.
They added: ‘There’s a reason the University of East London has achieved the fastest, largest increase in graduate outcomes… This is the multi- award-winning careers-first advantage for the UK’s most socially inclusive student population – graduates going further, faster.’
A London Met spokesman said it had made ‘significant changes in teaching, student support, and employability provision’ since the graduates measured had left in 2018.
They said the same survey shows London Met now ‘leads all London post-92 universities for graduates entering managerial and senior roles’.
A spokesman for London South Bank University said the employment data was not reflective of today’s courses because only some of the subjects included are still running.
A Wolverhampton spokesman said: ‘Creative Arts and Design graduates often pursue portfolio careers, self-employment, freelance work and entrepreneurial opportunities, many of which are not always fully reflected in traditional employment datasets. Graduates may also move between projects, commissions and short-term contracts in the years following graduation as they establish their careers.’
The other universities were contacted by the Daily Mail.
A spokesman for Universities UK, which represents most vice chancellors, said: ‘The evidence is clear that a university degree still pays off in a big way for the large majority of people – and that the Treasury makes a strong return on investing in students.
‘The graduate premium is holding up, despite growth in the minimum wage and the generally poor performance of the economy which has held back wage growth.’
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