What can I do with my degree or course?

There are many ways you can use your degree or course from the University of St Andrews. You could pursue a career directly related to your subject, or you may prefer to go in a different direction.

According to the Institute of Student Employers, the majority of graduate opportunities in the UK are open to graduates of any discipline. Rather than seek specialist subject knowledge, employers often prioritise evidence of motivation, skills, and strengths in their selection processes. This means that should you so wish, you could extend your job search to opportunities with a rather less obvious connection to your subject of study.

Subject-related options

To help you explore your options from a subject perspective, consider using the following resources:

Where do St Andrews graduates go?

You may also like to be inspired by what other graduates from your subject area went on to do. The Graduate destinations page provides data on the destinations of recent graduates of the University, derived from the Graduate Outcomes survey which takes place 15 months after graduation. You can filter the results by subject and/or degree level.

For further information on graduate destinations, Luminate provides national data from the same Graduate Outcomes survey.

Further study

Depending upon your level of study, you may wish to continue studying to a higher level. This may provide you with a pre-requisite qualification for a targeted area of work, or it may allow you to study your specialist subject in greater depth. For further information on postgraduate study, please visit our Further study page. 

What are the options for research postgraduates?

If you are a research postgraduate, there are many things you can do after you complete your degree. A common route is academia, but this is not your only option. A research degree gives you a range of skills and experience that you can use to transition into a career in a wide variety of different sectors. The Vitae website provides national data on what those with a research background go on to do.

If you are interested in an academic career, visit the academia career sector page. Otherwise, you can explore alternatives and discover non-academic careers for PhD holders (FindAPhD).

Additional resources

If you wish to discuss your options further you can also speak to a careers adviser.