University of Southern Queensland boasts highest median full-time salary for graduates

A Queensland university has topped the nation for the highest median full-time income for its graduates, a new report has found.

A Queensland university has topped the nation for the highest median full-time income for its graduates, a new report has found.

The University of Southern Queensland ($70,700) led the way, followed by the University of Tasmania ($70,300), University of New England ($70,000) and Central Queensland University ($69,700).

USQ also made the top five list of Australian universities with the highest rate of full-time employment for graduates, which was topped by Charles Sturt University.

The Graduate Outcomes Survey by Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) has listed the universities where graduates are most likely to land a full-time gig, and Bathurst’s Charles Sturt was the nation’s best last year at 84.7 per cent.

The University of New England, whose main campus is at Armidale in the Northern Tablelands of NSW, was the only other university with a full-time graduate employment rate (80.6) above 80 per cent.

Charles Darwin University (79.1), University of Southern Queensland (78.9) and University of NSW (76.2) rounded out the top five.

Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, NSW. Picture: supplied

The two lowest rates of graduate full-time employment were recorded by University of Western Australia (54.5) and Murdoch University (54.8).

“Most universities experienced falls in undergraduate full-time employment in line with the overall decline in labour market conditions in 2020,” the report said.

“However, there were only three universities that experienced an increase in their undergraduate full-time employment rate between 2019 and 2020 and these were all regional universities; the University of Southern Queensland (2.8 per cent) the University of New England (2.4 per cent) and Southern Cross University (o. 2).

“Graduates from regional universities are more likely to be older, study externally and part-time and maintain a continuing connection with the labour market which explains, in part, why graduates from these universities may have fared better in the current downturn.

“Graduates from regional universities are more likely to have completed vocational degrees and these graduates have also fared better.”

Originally published as University of Southern Queensland boasts highest median full-time salary for graduates