People bother to go to Russell Group unis because they sound more impressive, so are supposedly better at helping students get grad jobs. But quite a few of the UK’s Russell Group unis are apparently getting worse at preparing students for grad jobs.
The 2025 edition of the Complete University Guide is out, and includes a ranking of all the UK’s unis for graduate prospects. You can read about how the Complete University Guide comes up with all these scores here, if you feel that way inclined. Nine Russell Group unis did not score as well for grad jobs in this year’s ranking as they did five years ago in the 2020 version of the Complete University Guide. Does this mean they’re in their flop eras?
So, here are the nine Russell Group unis which are worse for getting students grad jobs in 2025 than they were five year ago, according to the Complete University Guide.
University of Nottingham
Back in 2020, Notts was in the top 10 UK unis for grad jobs. The uni scored 86.0 per cent and came ninth – just one spot behind LSE. This year, Notts was scored 82.0 per cent, and came 21st. LSE, on the other hand, has shot right up to second place.
Newcastle University
This scored 85.8 per cent in 2020, making it the tenth best UK uni for grad jobs. But Newcastle is now way, way further down the league table for grad jobs. It came 23rd, with a score of 81.0 per cent.
University of Exeter
At least Exeter grads have this handy sign to take a gazillion pics in front of
It’s bad news for all the Exetaaaaah horse girls and rugby boys. Their uni apparently isn’t as good at getting students grad jobs as it used to be. Exeter came 11th in 2020, with a 85.5 per cent score. Now it’s only 32nd, with an 81 per cent score.
University of Glasgow
Glasgow was the 12th best UK uni for grad jobs back in the day, but now it’s only the 27th. The score dropped from 85.4 per cent in 2020 to 81 per cent in 2025. Ouch.
University of Liverpool
In 2020, Brum and Liverpool tied for 13th place. They both scored 85.3 per cent for graduate prospects. Neither are scoring that well anymore. Liverpool has plummeted to 28th place, with a score of 81 per cent.
University of Birmingham
Brum also got a lower school this year, but didn’t drop as dramatically as Liverpool. The uni scored 83 per cent, and came 15th.
Imagine how long it must have taken to get a pic with everyone’s hats in the air at once
University of Sheffield
Sheffield is apparently slightly worse at getting students grad jobs than it used to be. Oh dear. In 2020, Sheffield scored 84.3 per cent and came 19th. This year, the Complete University Guide gave Sheffield a score of 82 per cent and put it in 23rd place for grad jobs.
University of Leeds
So, Leeds did get a moderately lower score for graduate prospects this year than it did in 2020. The uni scored 81.2 per cent back then, but 80 per cent now. But because of how well the unis near Leeds in the ranking did, Leeds actually ranked two places higher for grad jobs this year than it did in 2020. Leeds came 33rd instead of 35th.
Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary did get a mildly lower score of 77 per cent this year then the 78.6 per cent score it got in 2020. But because the other UK unis around it on the league tables have done even worse, Queen Mary actually came 46th in 2025, which is eight spots higher than in 2020.
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