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Employers are increasingly prioritising adaptability and work experience or internships when evaluating candidates, the Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS) 2025 reveals��

The GEURS, produced by data from French consultancy Emerging and published with ̽����Ƶ (THE), shows that employers want graduates that have undertaken some form of work experience. Though other factors continue to play a significant role, such as graduate skills, or digital mindset, this factor is emerging as exceptionally influential in employer assessments.��

Notably,��45.9 per cent of employers��also emphasise the ability to learn and adapt to new technologies and trends, while��45.1 per cent��value collaboration skills like communication and teamwork—skills critical in modern workplaces.��

GEURS assesses the employability performance of higher education institutions and is the only ranking and survey to reveal the world’s top 250 universities for producing employable graduates based on employers’ assessment, knowledge and expectations. For this 14th edition, 129,126 votes were canvassed from 13,240 operational and international managers in 33 countries. This is the largest sample to date.��

In line with previous year’s surveys, there is an increased presence of universities from Asia marking a more global approach to measuring how universities prepare their students for the world of work.��

Asia has 52 institutions in the top 250, three more than last year. India, in particular, has shown a strong performance this year with 10 universities in the top 250. This success is largely due to the technological specialisation of its institutions, attracting the attention of international employers. The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, despite a slight fall (28^th) is the top performing Indian university, while the Indian Institute of Science has made impressive progress (47^th), becoming the second Indian university in the top 50.

Chinese universities are continuing to climb up and consolidate their position in the top echelons of the ranking with Peking University going up three positions to 11^th place and Tsinghua University climbing two positions to 19^th place.��

MIT and Caltech maintain their top two positions for another year. After a marked decline over the last 15 years, the number of American universities in the GEURS ranking seems to be stabilising. In 2025, 52 American universities feature in the top 250, a slight increase on previous years.

The top UK university is the University of Cambridge in fifth place position, with the University of Oxford following in seventh place. There are 13 UK universities present in the ranking this year.

US and UK institutions take up 10 of the top 20 places. Other countries present in the top 20 include Germany, Japan and Singapore, China, Canada, Spain, France, and Switzerland.��

Some Canadian universities are continuing to see a downward trend including the Université de Montréal/HEC (down 12 places) and McMaster University (down 3 places). However, other institutions such as the University of Toronto (14th), McGill University (31st) and the University of British Columbia (36th) remain in similar positions to last year.��

In Latin America, Mexico leads with three universities in the top 250, while Brazil and Colombia are also well-represented within the table.��

The Gulf region, particularly the United Arab Emirates, continues to make progress. The United Arab Emirates University is a new entrant at 230th place, and Qatar University, the only representative of its country, once again climbed into the world's top 150.��

Employability is an indicator that offers a unique perspective on institutional performance, with representatives from an impressive array of over 40 countries and regions featured in the top 250 leaders worldwide: Turkey, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Czechia, UK, France, Spain, Italy, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Morocco, Austria, Colombia, Egypt, Finland, Iceland, India, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, South Africa, Switzerland and Taiwan.��

Sandrine Belloc, Emerging’s managing partner, commented: “The mounting global emphasis on employability is driving a transformative shift as universities and employers increasingly unite to equip graduates with essential skills for today’s dynamic workforce.�� It’s inspiring to see this commitment to skill alignment expanding globally, giving a growing number of students access to the competencies and opportunities needed to thrive in an interconnected job market.”��

Top 10 universities in the Global Employability University Ranking and Survey 2025��

Please credit: “Global Employability University Ranking and Survey (GEURS)” and include this link if including any tables or data.��

Seeta Bhardwa, Editor, THE Student, said:��“Employers are looking for a wide range of skills in new graduates including digital skills, work experience and social awareness and it is interesting to see that universities across the globe are expanding their programmes and initiatives to meet these needs. While the US and UK remain strong in this table, the increased presence of Asian and mainland European universities is encouraging to see.”��

Top 10 countries in the Global Employability University Ranking and Survey 2025��

��GEURS is a unique source of information and a dynamic tool guiding higher education professionals, students and companies.��

• View the full table on THE's website here��
• View the full table on Emerging's website ��
• View the methodology .��

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