10 of the Best US Universities for Graduate Employability 2020

Established in 1701, Yale University is the second-oldest university in the US to be featured in the graduate employability rankings. Yale University rises one place this year, to rank 13^th in the world but remains strong in seventh place in the US.

Yale scores well in both the alumni outcomes and employer reputation indicators at seventh and ninth in the world respectively. With notable alumni including George H W Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, actress and director Jodie Foster, this is hardly surprising.

The QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2020 see Cornell University rise nine places to reach 12^th  worldwide and sixth among the top universities in the US. Like many of the top US universities featured in the rankings, Cornell University earns its highest score in the alumni outcomes indicator, in 11^th place worldwide.

The university’s most famous alumni include Bill Nye (‘The Science Guy’), Christopher Reeve, Henry Heimlich, Irene Rosenfield and Toni Morrison. It is also part of the respected Ivy League group.

Staying firmly in 11^th place in the world for graduate employability is New York University (NYU), which earns its highest score for alumni outcomes but also scores well in the partnerships with employers indicator, most likely a result of the university’s on campus recruitment program, in which a wide range of organizations come to campus and interview current students for full-time roles after graduation.

Down one place this year to rank fifth in the world for graduate employability this year, Harvard University is the oldest university in the US and was established in 1636. Harvard boasts first place for both the employer reputation and alumni outcomes indicators, which is reflected in the fact that over 500 employers recruit directly on campus each year, as well as the fact that the university is part of the highly reputable Ivy League group. The university also has very impressive array of alumni, including Barack and Michelle Obama, Mark Zuckerburg, Bill Gates, John F Kennedy and George W. Bush.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) drops one place this year to rank third in the world for graduate employability. UCLA scores highly in the alumni outcomes and the employer reputation indicators, both ranking within the top 20 worldwide.

UCLA also has links to many top employers, as well as an annual career week which allows students to engage with industry experts on campus, and there are also many career workshops available for students.

In second place both among the top US universities and worldwide for graduate employability, is Stanford University.

Stanford places highest in the world for the partnerships with employers indicator, and offers many career fairs each academic year, helping students increase their graduate employment prospects by allowing them to connect to a large network of employers.

Stanford also performs well in all the other graduate employability indicators, particularly alumni outcomes and employer reputation, with an alumni including Herbert Hoover, Tiger Woods, Reese Witherspoon, John F. Kennedy and Elon Musk.

For another year running, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) takes top place among the top US universities, coming first in the world in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2020, as well as first in the world university rankings.

As expected, MIT scores well in all the graduate employability indicators, but gains its highest scores for the employer reputation and alumni outcomes. The university has a Global Education and Career Development Center, which helps to support student careers and also offers advice on going abroad for work or study.

Discover some of MIT’s most successful graduates.

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