'LOCATION KEY TO GRADUATES' FUTURE'
Almost a fifth of graduates from some of the UK universities are not in work or further study after completing their degrees, figures show.
The new data indicates that a student's chances of gaining a job after graduation are affected by where they choose to study.
Around 18.6% of UK full-time students who left London Metropolitan University with a degree last summer were not employed or studying six months later, along with 17.6% of those who went to Bolton University.
At the other end of the scale, the job prospects for students at other universities are higher.
Around 97.3% of full-time UK students who went to Buckingham University - a private institution - were in work or studying after graduating, along with 96.9% of those who went to Surrey University and 96.7% of those at Derby University.
A number of small, specialist institutions also had high employment and study rates, including the Royal College of Music and the Institute of Education, which saw all of its graduates employed or studying after finishing their course last year.
Of the 24 Russell Group universities - considered by many as among the top institutions in the country - just one had an employment and study rate of less than 90%. This was the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) with a rate of 89.2%.
The figures, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that 91.4% of those full-time UK students who graduated from Oxford University last summer were in work or studying, along with 95.5% of those that went to Cambridge.
Overall, 92.1% of UK full-time first degree university leavers were in employment or further study six months after graduating.
The majority of the 154 UK universities and colleges with figures available saw between 90% and 95% of their graduates find employment or continue study, while 25 had a rate of over 95%.
In Wales, Cardiff had the highest employment and study indicator at 95.1%, in Scotland the highest was Robert Gordon University at 97.7% and in Northern Ireland it was St Mary's University College, which specialises in teacher training, at 97%.
