How graduate salaries vary by degree subject

Subject choice has a clear impact not only on graduate salaries but also on the gender pay gap - although it's important to remember that financial rewards aren't the only measure of success

Over the past two decades, the expansion of higher education in the UK has brought increased scrutiny to graduate salaries - particularly the earnings differential between graduates and non-graduates.

As student numbers have grown, questions have emerged about whether the graduate earnings premium has diminished. While some studies indicate a modest decline in the premium in recent years, there is strong evidence suggesting 'that there are substantial positive financial returns to a degree'.1,2

However, researchers have also found sizeable variations in earnings between graduates, with some graduates seeing much larger financial returns than their counterparts. For instance, there are significant differences in returns by subject, with evidence repeatedly showing that a degree in Medicine and Dentistry or Economics is likely to attract much higher pay than a degree in the Humanities or Creative arts.3

Using Graduate Outcomes data for the 2022/23 cohort, this article will examine subject-level differences in graduate earnings and briefly explore how gendered patterns in subject choice contribute to observed disparities in pay between male and female first-degree graduates 15 months after graduation.

Graduate salaries by subject

,No significant furter study,With significant further study
Medicine and dentistry,43925,47655
Economics,35750,35590
Electrical and electronic engineering,36115,35280
Maths,34710,34675
Physics ,33370,30970
Civil engineering ,31820,31155
Mechanical engineering,33000,30605
Business and management,30190,29565
IT ,29120,
Chemistry ,29990,29470
Politics,29810,30515
Finance and accountancy,30505,30975
Languages,29065,29505
Hospitality,29825,31105
Geography,29150,30140
Marketing,27930,27615
Physical and geographical sciences,28373,28905
History,28320,28790
Architecture and building ,26115,24850
Law,27690,30530
Sociology,27840,28285
English,27195,27370
Biology ,27515,27807
Psychology ,26485,27265
Design,25635,25820
Media studies,25719,25745
Cinematics and photography ,25150,24900
Performing arts ,26160,
Fine arts,23825,26975

Consistent with previous findings, Medicine and Dentistry graduates reported the highest earnings of any subject group in the 2022/23 cohort, with those in full-time UK employment earning an average of over £43,900 15 months after graduation. Electrical and electronic engineering graduates followed, reporting average earnings of £36,115 when surveyed.

Conversely, Creative arts degrees were associated with the lowest average returns among this cohort with Cinematics and Photography, Art, Design and Media studies graduates all among the lowest earners on average.

Looking at the data above, these differences in average pay by subject are clear but the causes for these differences are not as obvious. Research suggests that a sizable proportion of these earnings differences can be explained by prior attainment and differences in background characteristics (i.e. ethnicity, socio-economic status, school type etc.). Higher-earning subjects 'typically take students with higher prior attainment and from higher socio-economic backgrounds who would have gone on to have higher earnings anyway'. However, even after controlling for these differences, the impact of degree choice on graduate earnings is still significant.4

The impact of subject choice on the gender pay gap

,No significant further study ,With significant further study 
Female,28960,28990
Male,31595,31120

Across successive Graduate Outcomes surveys, a persistent gender pay gap has been evident among first-degree graduates 15 months after completing their studies. For instance, among the 2018/19 cohort, 72% of female graduates earned below £27,000, compared to 57% of males - a 15 percentage point gap.

Since then, male graduates have consistently reported higher average earnings, ranging from £1,500 to over £2,000 more than their female peers. The most recent data shows a £2,635 gap in favour of male respondents. However, the proportion of graduates earning below £27,000 has declined for both sexes, and the gender gap in lower earnings has narrowed slightly.

Among 2020/21 graduates, 59% of women earned below £27,000 compared to 44% of men. In the latest cohort, these figures fell to 47% and 33%, respectively - reducing the gap to 14 percentage points. Similarly, the share of female graduates earning above £30,000 rose sharply, from just 18% among the 2018/19 cohort to 42% among 2022/23 graduates.

While the gap in lower earnings for first-degree graduates has narrowed only slightly - even though female graduates in the most recent cohort reported higher average salaries than 2018/19 graduates - the picture looks different when we consider graduates overall.

Here the proportion of women reporting lower earnings has also declined year-on-year. For example, 61% of female graduates in the 2018/19 cohort earned below £27,000 (compared to 48% of males), whereas among 2022/23 graduates this fell to 31% for women and 25% for men.

However, the gender gap in lower earnings narrowed significantly - from 13 percentage points among 2018/19 graduates to just 6 percentage points in the latest cohort. And similar to first degree graduates, the share of all female graduates earning above £30,000 has risen sharply, from 30% in the 2018/19 cohort to 53% in 2022/23.

Furthermore, while female graduates' earnings tend to increase over time, the rate of growth is typically faster for male graduates. A range of factors beyond subject choice - such as childbearing, career interruptions, and differing salary expectations - contribute to these divergent outcomes in the years following graduation. Nonetheless, this article focuses specifically on the role of subject choice in shaping early-career earnings differences between male and female graduates.

Female graduates are more likely to enrol in degree programmes associated with lower financial returns. For example, humanities subjects - typically linked to lower earning potential than STEM fields - were dominated by women in 2022/23, who made up 63% of all graduates in these disciplines. Similarly, 65% of creative arts graduates identified as female.

In contrast, only 22% of graduates in technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects were women. Given the salary data discussed earlier, we can infer that this tendency to enrol onto courses associated with lower earning potential contributes to the earnings gap observed between male and female graduates 15 months after graduation.

Does it really matter?

While assessing the financial value of a degree is undoubtedly useful - particularly for prospective students weighing their labour market prospects - higher education also holds intrinsic value beyond earnings. It contributes to personal development, intellectual engagement, and broader societal participation.

Notably, only 2% of Graduate Outcomes respondents working within the UK cited high pay as the main reason for taking their job, suggesting that salary is not always the primary driver of career decisions. For example, among performance arts graduates, salary-based metrics alone fail to capture what matters most to them. Research indicates that these graduates are not only highly engaged with their discipline, but also report strong satisfaction with their work-life balance and a sense of contribution to their artform and community.

Moreover, when asked if their job is meaningful, the vast majority (73%) agreed - suggesting that many Performance arts graduates pursue meaningful careers despite being among the lowest paid graduates. Similarly, the majority of respondents who graduated from the five courses associated with the lowest financial returns also agreed that their jobs are meaningful. Nevertheless, 16% suggested that they are working in roles that they do not feel are meaningful.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of those who graduated from courses associated with the highest returns indicated that they were working within meaningful roles when surveyed. For instance, 97% of Medicine and Dentistry graduates and 87% of Electrical and electronic engineering graduates agreed that their work is meaningful.

Likewise, when asked if they were utilising their skills at work, those who graduated from subjects associated with higher returns were more likely to respond affirmatively - Dentistry (97%) and Electrical and electronic engineering (66%) graduates were more likely to report this than Maths (52%), Economics (51%), and Physics (45%) graduates.

Interestingly, in some cases, those who graduated from courses associated with lower returns were just as likely to agree that they were utilising their skills in their current jobs as those who graduated from courses associated with higher returns. For instance, 58% of Design graduates and 52% of Performance arts graduates indicated that they are making use of the skills that they acquired from university.

Therefore, when evaluating the value of a university degree, it is important to recognise that financial returns are only one part of the picture. Most university graduates find meaningful work that draws on the skills acquired during their studies 15 months after graduation.

Notes:

1. Graduate labour market statistics, Department for Education, 2024.
2. The impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2020.
3. The relative labour market returns to different degrees, Institute for Fiscal Studies, 2018.
4. Ibid.

Written by

Micha-Shannon Smith

Information analyst

Prospects Luminate