CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Nearly nine out of 10 recent graduates from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign accepted a job, continued their education or started a volunteer position within six months of graduation, according to Illini Success, the third-annual campuswide survey of recent Illinois bachelor’s degree recipients that provides extensive information on where students end up after college. The survey results indicate that Illinois will once again exceed national averages related to undergraduate students securing first destinations.
Released today, the survey analysis includes a number of key findings, including:
- Eighty-nine percent of 2016-17 graduates secured a first destination within six months of graduation.
- Across campus, the average salary for full-time employed graduates is $59,494.
- Seventy percent of employed graduates said their jobs were located in Illinois.
- Three percent reported working internationally, with 19 countries listed.
- Thirty-one percent of graduates who participated in internships or other experiential learning activities indicated that they received a full-time job offer as a result.
The report draws from the experiences of those who completed undergraduate degrees in August 2016, December 2016 and May 2017.
“Our alumni continue to find first jobs and postgraduate destinations at a rate that is truly impressive. This year’s Illini Success survey confirms that an Illinois education opens doors to transformational life and career opportunities,” Chancellor Robert J. Jones said. “And we’re particularly proud of the fact that such a high percentage of these graduates choose to stay in our state and become drivers of economic and social growth that benefit all of us in Illinois.”
The project is supported by the Office of the Provost, Career Services Council, Division of Management Information, Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, Office of the Registrar, Institutional Review Board Office, Council of Undergraduate Deans, undergraduate college administrations and other partners.
“We have one voice to celebrate the many successes of Illinois graduates,” said Julia Panke Makela, the associate director for assessment and research of The Career Center. “Since all undergraduate degree graduates responded to the same survey questions, we can tell a unified story for our campus.”
The 2015-16 report, released March 1, 2017, has been previewed online more than 12,000 times and downloaded more than 60,000 times, Makela said.
“We invite our current undergraduate students to use the Illini Success website to explore where Illinois degrees can lead and to be inspired by their peers who have graduated,” she said. “It’s a vibrant resource to help them achieve similar career outcomes.”
New this year is an analysis of three-year trend data, which will be carried forward in future years as a rolling three-year report.