CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Recent graduates from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have secured jobs, volunteer opportunities or enrolled in continuing education at high rates, according to new data released today that also demonstrates the university’s role in keeping top talent within the state of Illinois.
This year’s Illini Success report reflects the postgraduation plans of students who completed undergraduate degrees in August 2023, December 2023 and May 2024. It captures the number of graduates who achieve a “first destination” — defined as a job, enrollment in graduate or professional school, or a volunteer position — within six months of graduation.
The report found 90% of this graduation cohort secured a first destination: 50% of students started a job, 40% enrolled in additional education and less than 1% took on a volunteer position. This cohort also commanded substantial compensation upon entering the workforce, with the average salary for employed recent Illinois graduates reported at $75,373 and a median signing bonus of $5,000.
Illinois continued — and even improved upon — a strong trend of its students staying in state following graduation, according to the report.
Of those graduates who are Illinois residents, 80% secured their first destination within Illinois: an increase of 2% over last year’s cohort. From the entire cohort of graduates from the 2023-2024 classes, 69% will remain in the state for employment or continuing education, with the remaining 31% securing first destinations across 45 other U.S. states and 17 other countries.
“Illinois continues to deliver on its promise of equipping students with experiences that lead to success beyond graduation — in many cases, right here in our state,” said Chancellor Robert J. Jones. “These numbers are evidence of what we’ve known for a long time — that Illinois is an engine of learning, discovery, innovation and economic prosperity, and that the decision to attend this university is a sound investment in your life and career.”
The Illini Success report also offered a snapshot of the university’s commitment to providing experiential learning to students and evidence that these learning experiences can serve as a pipeline to successful postgraduation opportunities.
The report noted that 91% of graduates took part in experiential learning (internship, research project, study abroad, service learning, clinical programs) while attending Illinois, with 42% of those students receiving job offers as a result of that opportunity — an increase in both categories over the previous year.
Employers that hired at least 10 graduates include AbbVie Inc., Amazon, Capital One, Caterpillar Inc., Deloitte, Epic Systems, EY, Google, Grainger, JPMorganChase, KPMG, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, PwC and RSM.
In addition to those graduates pursuing an advanced degree at Illinois, other top graduate and professional schools include Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, New York University, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Rush University, Stanford University, University of Chicago and others.
Data obtained to prepare the annual Illini Success report comes from a survey of graduates and through a collection of other sources, including the National Student Clearinghouse, college reports and LinkedIn metrics. This year’s report had a knowledge rate of 67%, an increase from 65% the previous year. The yearly project is a campuswide collaboration between the Office of the Provost, Career Center, Division of Management Information, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and other partners.
Illini Success by the Numbers (2023-2024)
- 90, the percentage of graduates who secured a first destination (job, graduate school, volunteer program).
- 91, the percentage of students who participated in an experiential learning opportunity (internship, research, study abroad, etc.)
- 42, the percentage of students who received a job offer as a result of their experiential learning opportunity
- 80, the percentage of graduates who are Illinois residents and stayed in the state.
- 46, the number of states, including Illinois, where students found first destinations.
- 17, the number of other countries where students found first destinations.
- $75,373, the average salary for an employed recent graduate.
