The University of Waterloo ranked 22nd in the world for graduate employability and first for employer partnerships as part of an international ranking that evaluates employability in universities from UK firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
The ranking scores universities in five categories: employer reputation, alumni outcomes, partnerships with employers, employers’ presence on campus and graduate employment rate.
Waterloo rates first overall in the world in the partnerships with employers category. The success of this category is a result of Waterloo’s largest and most successful co-operative education program of its kind, and from the established research partnerships within the industry.
“The University of Waterloo delivers an unmatched experiential education program that enrolls two-thirds of our students,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo. “Waterloo’s co-op students graduate with up to two years of degree-relevant, paid work experience, a network of contacts and hands-on understanding of how businesses work. Simply put, our students are not only employable at graduation but are sought after by organizations worldwide.”
Waterloo co-op students work with some of the biggest and most influential companies in the world including AECOM, Barclays, General Motors, Google, Morgan Stanley and The Walt Disney Corporation. More than 6,700 employers hire Waterloo co-op students in more than 60 countries and in 2015/2016, students at Waterloo reported more than $253 million in co-op earnings.
QS first published the pilot version of the Graduate Employability Rankings in 2015. QS worked over three years to identify a suitable methodology to provide the world’s students with a unique tool to compare university performance in this area.
