The 21 global universities that produce the most employable graduates

Times Higher Education has published its annual “Global University Employability Survey,” a ranking of universities that turn out graduates with the best job prospects.

The data was collected from a wide-ranging survey of recruiters and managing directors and based on a variety of weighted factors that can make a graduate employable.

The skills and experiences deemed most important for employability were professional experience, a high degree of specialisation, proficiency in at least two foreign languages, extracurricular activities, an excellent academic record, and graduation from a “top” university.

While universities in the US, the UK, and Japan dominate the top of the ranking, there’s also room for institutes in other parts of Europe, North America, and Asia.

Take a look.

21. HEC Paris, France — The French business school specialises in education, and research in business management. It scores particularly highly in the 2016 World University Ranking for its international outlook.

20. Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan — Like many institutions near the top of the list, 'Tokyo Tech' specialises in science and engineering. Students work as labratory members, and often collaborate with senior researchers.

19. University of California, Berkeley, USA — The public research university is regarded as one of the most prestigious state universities in the USA. Its faculty has won 19 Nobel prizes, mostly in physics, chemistry, and economics.

18. McGill University, Montreal, Canada — One of just three English-language universities in French-speaking Quebec, McGill caters for roughly 40,000 students. It was established in 1829 as a faculty of medicine, and continues to specialise in that area.

17. Peking University, Beijing, China — Peking is a member of the C9 league, the group of nine elite universities in China. It counts Mao Zedong, the autocratic founding father of the People's Republic of China, among its alumni.

16. Imperial College London, UK — The college has around 15,000 students and 8,000 staff, and focuses on science, engineering, medicine, and business.

15. National University of Singapore — Singapore's flagship university spans 17 schools across three campuses. It has particularly strong engineering and technology faculties.

14. University of Toronto, Canada — Founded in 1827, the university offers over 900 courses to over 60,000 students. It is known as a centre of innovation and research, and was the birthplace for scientific breakthroughs, including the discovery of insulin and invention of the electron microscope.

13. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology — Founded in 1991, the institute places a particular emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and business management.

12. Columbia University, New York, USA — The private Ivy League research university in Upper Manhattan, New York City, counts among its alumni Nobel prize winners including outgoing US President Barack Obama and economist Joseph Stiglitz.

11. Boston University, Massachusetts, USA — The private research university offers medical, dental, business, and law degrees through 18 schools and colleges on two urban campuses.

10. University of Tokyo, Japan — The leading research institution has a staff to student ratio of just seven, one of the lowest of any university on the list. It is also one of the few universities on our list which primarily offers liberal arts programmes.

9. Princeton University, New Jersey, USA — Princeton is one of the leading Ivy League universities, and is acclaimed for both its teaching and research. It has a relatively small student body of less than 10,000, 98% of whom live on campus.

8. Technical University of Munich, Germany — specialising in the natural sciences, the university's alumni includes Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine.

7. University of Oxford, UK — Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, with evidence of teaching having taken place as far back as 1096. Its alumni list includes 26 Nobel Prize winners, and over 30 modern world leaders, including Bill Clinton and Aung San Suu Kyi.

6. Yale University, Connecticut, USA — The prestigious Ivy League research university is one of the few on the list that follows a liberal arts programme. Undergraduate students follow a curriculum covering humanities and arts, sciences, and social sciences before choosing a departmental major.

5. Stanford University, California, USA — Less than an hour's drive from San Francisco, the city is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, and has become closely associated with the nearby tech hub of 'Silicon Valley.'

4. University of Cambridge, UK — The fourth-oldest surviving university in the world houses 150 faculties across six schools: Arts and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Clinical Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology. It is among the best universities in the world for physical and life sciences.

3. Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA — One of the most prestigious universities in the world, Harvard has more than 45 Nobel laureates and 30 heads of state among its alumni.

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA — Established in 1861, the private research university aims to 'further knowledge and prepare students in science, technology and other fields of study that will best benefit the nation and the world today.' It lays claim to 85 Nobel Laureates, and 58 National Medal of Science winners.

1. California Institute of Technology, USA — Known as 'Caltech,' the Pasadena campus is world-renowned as a hub of science and engineering research. It came second overall in the 2016 World University Ranking.