The top 20 universities most targeted by Britain’s top 100 employers have been revealed in a new study released today. The report, conducted by High Fliers Research, examined which institutions attracted the largest number of top graduate recruiters for campus fairs, recruitment presentations or other local university promotions during 2023-2024. Among the companies on this list of leading employers are the BBC, Google, Apple, Amazon, the Bank of England, Aldi, Microsoft and Dyson. Here’s the list of the top 20 universities approached by graduate recruiters in 2023 – 2024 in High Fliers Research’s list, compared to their ranking in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.

Most popular universities for top graduate employers 2023-2024

Map of the unis most targeted to top graduate employers 2024

The top UK universities targeted by famous graduate employers in the last year didn’t automatically flock to Oxbridge like many expect. Neither did the capital city of London. In fact it was the other UK cities that are home to the unis most attractive to employers. Find out if your uni is on the list!

University of Liverpool one of the best universities for gender equality
20. University of Liverpool
19. Queen Mary University of London
19. Queen Mary University of London
Imperial college london
18. Imperial College London
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17. University of Glasgow
University of Edinburgh
16. The University of Edinburgh
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15. Oxford University
King's College London economics courses
14. King's College London
How many students are there at Cambridge University?
13. University of Cambridge
University of Sheffield
12. University of Sheffield
University of Bath
11. University of Bath
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10. University of Exeter
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9. Durham University
university of southampton
8. University of Southampton
university college London is the uni with most attractive students
7. University College London
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6. University of Warwick
University of Bristol
5. University of Bristol
University of Leeds
4. The University of Leeds
Nottingham University
3. University of Nottingham
university of manchester
2. University of Manchester
University of Birmingham biggest univeristies in the UK
1. University of Birmingham

20. Liverpool (29)

19. Queen Mary (46)

18. Imperial College (5)

17. Glasgow (12)

16. Edinburgh (13)

15. Oxford (2)

14. King’s College (x)

13. Cambridge (3)

12. Sheffield (18)

11. Bath (8)

10. Exeter (11)

9. Durham (7)

8. Southampton (17)

7. UCL (6)

6. Warwick (9)

5. Bristol (16)

4. Leeds (24)

3. Nottingham (32)

2. Manchester (23)

1. Birmingham (22)

top unis for graduate employers

The Good University Guide is compiled using a range of university data including entry standards, student funding and graduates’ career prospects.

In the Good University Guide, Cambridge and Oxford University are in first and send place but Manchester, the second most-targeted university for the leading employers, doesn’t make the top 30.

Graduate employers use universities to recruit graduates through a variety of means – here are some of the top ways employers attract students to look out for.