10 of the Best European Universities for Graduate Employability in 2019

Outside the UK, 163 European universities are featured among the world’s top 500 for graduate employability in this year’s QS Graduate Employability Rankings. This includes 26 in Germany, 16 in Italy, 14 in Spain and 12 in France.

The ranking aims to highlight the institutions producing the most employable graduates, and is based on a methodology which considers five factors, including each university’s graduate employment rate, employer reputation and connections with employers.

Read on discover the 10 highest ranked non-UK European universities for graduate employability in 2019. We have covered the top 10 UK universities in a separate article.

10. Technische Universität Darmstadt

Starting off with a German entrant, and Technische Universität Darmstadt is ranked 78^th in the world for its graduate employability this year, earning its best score for its employer reputation (72^nd). Entrepreneurial students can gain support from the HIGHEST Startup and Innovation Center, which aims to advance further innovations and business creations. 

9. University College Dublin (UCD)

Image credit: Leandro Neumann Ciuffo (Flickr)

The highest-ranked of Ireland’s five entries, University College Dublin (UCD) comes 74^th for graduate employability this year, with its strongest score in the partnerships with employers indicator. UCD takes an active role in linking its graduates with employers, with more than 300 employers participating in on-campus recruitment events during the 2015/16 academic year, while thousands more post roles on the UCD Career Development Centre website.

8. CentraleSupélec

France’s CentraleSupélec is up 13 places this year to rank joint 67^th in the world for graduate employability, with a very high score for the employer reputation category. A key founding member of the University of Paris-Saclay (a consortium of leading French research universities), CentraleSupélec runs the annual ‘Forum CentraleSupélec’ event, which allows students to connect with representatives from 200 companies from around the world.

7. Universidad de Navarra

The highest-ranked of Spain’s 14 representatives in the graduate employability rankings continues to be the Universidad de Navarra, which is this year placed joint 61^st, earning its best score for the employer-student connections indicator. According to the latest figures from the university, graduate employment rates continue to improve, with 92.5 percent of graduates in employment or further studies, enjoying relatively fast access to the labor market.

6. RWTH Aachen University

Next in our look at the best European universities for graduate employability is the German RWTH Aachen University, which climbed an impressive 30 places to now rank 60^th in the world, achieving excellent scores for both the employer reputation and partnerships with employers indicators. RWTH Aachen’s Career Center offers a wide range of support services, including special seminars aimed at advising international students on the process of staying in Germany to work after their studies.

5. Delft University of Technology

Heading to the Netherlands, Delft University of Technology is ranked joint 41^st for its graduate employability this year, with a very high score (21^st) for the partnerships with employers category, a score it shares with RWTH Aachen University. A major source for cooperation with companies is the TU Delft Science Park, which houses more than 200 national and international companies, including start up incubator YES!Delft.

4. Politecnico di Milano

Politecnico di Milano, the largest technical university in Italy, continues to lead the way among Italy’s 16 entries in the Graduate Employability Rankings, and is up three places this year to rank 36^th. It gets the highest score in the top 10 for its graduate employment rate (second in the world) and is also placed in the global top 10 for its partnerships with employers.

3. KIT, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

Ranked 31^st for its graduate employability this year, KIT, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie is Germany’s strongest entrant in the ranking and achieves its highest score for the partnerships with employers category. Special career events run by KIT include ‘Hidden Champions’ in which students can get connected with small or medium-sized companies, and ‘Company Speed Dating’ in which students and company representatives connect through eight-minute conversations.

2. Ecole Polytechnique

Heading back to France, Ecole Polytechnique lays claim to being the country’s highest-ranked representative in the graduate employability rankings this year at 30^th in the world, attaining its highest score for its graduate employment rate, at joint eighth. According to salary comparison website Emolument.com, average annual salaries for Ecole Polytechnique graduates start at US$77,000 for those with a bachelor’s degree and go up to a whopping $148,000 for those with a PhD.

1. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)

ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) continues to be ranked first in continental Europe for graduate employability, with an overall rank of joint 15^th this year. Known as one of the most prestigious European universities, ETH Zurich gets its highest score in the employer reputation indicator (18^th in the world) and also achieves a very strong score for its graduate employment rate. The university aims to ensure that its career center is a central platform between companies and students, and students are advised on all aspects of the transition to the workplace. 

Want more content like this? Register for free site membership to get regular updates and your own personal content feed.