Surrey’s work placements and research partnerships ranked best in the UK by QS World Employability Rankings

The QS World Employability Rankings focus on successful collaborations with global companies to produce citable, transformative research and also focus on work placement partnerships. In 2017-18, Surrey sent 1,200 students out on placement across the world. The benefits of student placements are wide reaching, with 39% of our students returning from placement with a job offer, and 92% feeling they are more employable post placement. Placement students also achieve better grades and on average earn 15% more than those not on placement.

Just as importantly, work placements help students gain confidence, and grow in maturity. The responsibility of a year in industry means that students will be challenged to step up and use their knowledge and skills to deliver a job or project. Putting study into a broader context gives students the chance to test out career paths; they can experiment with what their future could look like and open doors to graduate job opportunities.

Keith Herrmann, Director of Employability and Careers, said: “Our Professional Training placements offer students a unique experience to gain access to the world of work. Gaining valuable employability skills is an integral part of their studies and at Surrey, Professional Training is classed as a crucial part of a student’s personal and professional development. It is great to see the work of our academic placement tutors and Employability and Careers team recognised by QS in this ranking.”

The University of Surrey is regarded as one of the UK’s leading research universities with a global reputation for academic excellence and extensive global partnerships. Surrey’s wide range of research partners include Vodafone, Airbus Defence and Space, and Huawei.