University represents many things. A leap towards independence, the opportunity to explore a subject more deeply, a chance to create lasting friendships – and to party hard in the process.
Deciding to go, however, is the most consequential financial decision of a young person’s life. University also represents debt – and come the April after graduation, loans need repaying.
Under the Plan 5 student loans that kicked in last autumn, graduates will start repaying once they earn £25,000, meaning many will be repaying more, and for longer. Due to the soaring cost of living and tuition fees running to £9,250 a year, the average balance outstanding in England is very close to hitting £50,000.
The question of whether university is worth it has never been more pertinent – but not all degrees are created equal.
While computing, law and business courses from the country’s top institutions can see alumni salaries rise beyond double the UK median wage within a few years, some “Mickey Mouse” degrees may actually hurt your career prospects.
Whether you’re trying to choose a course or university, or you want to see the earning prospects for a course you’ve already taken, our interactive tool below can show you how graduate salaries compare.
In the tax year ending 2022, graduates who had entered the labour market one year earlier were taking home £22,000 annually on average, according to Telegraph analysis of Department for Education (DfE) data.
This figure rises to £31,000 after five years. Some graduates, however, were far better off than others.
The most lucrative degree in the country was Computer Science at the University of Cambridge. Those on the course can look forward to median annual earnings after five years of around £100,000, which has jumped from £84,500 last year.
By comparison, median full-time wages across all employees last year were closer to £35,000.
Last year the course received 13 applications for every place, and was the top rated undergraduate degree in the field, according to The Complete University Guide 2024.
Diplomas in medicine and dentistry yielded the highest earnings per subject, with an average of £52,000 a year across all UK universities.
At the other end of the scale, performing arts graduates took home the lowest salaries. After five years they made on average just over £23,000 – well below the average, and roughly equivalent to working full-time at the National Minimum Wage.
But it is those graduating with allied health degrees from the University of Sunderland – physiotherapy, occupational therapy or paramedic science and out-of-hospital care – who fared worst of all, with five-year earnings of just £14,600. They would, however, avoid repaying their student loan, as their income comes under the £25,000 threshold.
The data also provides a measure of how many graduates are found to be in regular employment or further study when surveyed. This was the case for just 59.9pc of those having studied languages at Oxford Brookes University, the lowest level of all courses.
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