The top paying degrees in the UK

Medicine and economics are the highest-paying degree subjects in the UK, delivering graduates up to £400,000 in additional lifetime earnings, according to new research published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The findings, released by the Department for Education on Thursday (25 June), show that graduates earn around £100,000 more over their lifetime on average than someone of the same background and attainment who did not attend university.

The figure holds even after taxes and student loan repayments have been accounted for.

But the research found that financial returns vary sharply depending on the subject studied.

While medicine and economics sit at the top of the scale, some subjects deliver little or even negative returns when measured against the earnings of a similar individual who did not hold a degree.

The government has this week set out plans to draw up options for legislation that would limit the growth of certain courses at providers where students consistently see poor returns.

Ministers also confirmed a crackdown on the rapid expansion of franchised provision, much of which the department described as poor quality, as part of an effort to prioritise student outcomes over volume or profit.

A consultation in the autumn will examine a minimum English language requirement for prospective undergraduates seeking to access student finance, intended to ensure that students taking on debt are equipped to complete their studies.

Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith said going to university and getting a degree was one of the most transformational things a young person could do, but warned that it was not a universal guarantee of success and that not all degrees were equal.

She said too many franchised and poor-quality courses did not offer a good deal to young people, “selling the dream then leaving students in the lurch”, and urged prospective students to “choose carefully” rather than walk into a degree by default.

Most needed degrees

The research was published alongside the government’s new Pathways to Priority Occupations measure, which identifies medicine, nursing, architecture and computing as among the leading degree subjects for accessing jobs in priority sectors of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, including construction and health and social care.

An estimated 1.8 million additional skilled workers will be needed across these sectors by 2035.

The measure will form part of the criteria used to determine which subjects qualify for a new targeted maintenance grant, which is set to be offered to students from the 2028-29 academic year.

It will be used alongside other data and stakeholder feedback to decide how the funding is allocated.

The government is also working with UCAS to make earnings and employment outcomes for individual courses clearer and more accessible to prospective undergraduates.

Ministers used the announcement to highlight a record £3.3bn investment in apprenticeships this year, aimed at delivering 50,000 additional apprenticeship starts for young people by 2029. The move is intended to reverse part of a 40% decline in apprenticeship starts among 16 to 24-year-olds over the past decade.

The measures form part of the government’s wider Youth Guarantee, which includes financial incentives for businesses to hire young people who have been out of work and aims to deliver up to 500,000 opportunities.

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