- Aston University is second in the country for social mobility for the fifth year running
- Rankings based on several factors including access to education, continuation and undergraduate outcomes
- The English Social Mobility Index is published each year by the Higher Education Policy Institute.
For the fifth year running, Aston University is in the top two in England for improving students’ prospects.
The English Social Mobility Index was founded in 2021, and each year Aston University has been ranked second.
It is published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) and is compiled by London South Bank University (LSBU) whose researchers calculate the number of socioeconomically disadvantaged graduates and the ‘social distance’ they travel. They combine access, continuation and outcomes measures for undergraduates for all modes of study apart from apprenticeships.
Last year Aston University launched four ‘power skills’ designed to prepare students for successful global careers and navigate the exponential pace of change in the world. AI & digital, environmental sustainability, innovation & entrepreneurship, and inclusive leadership are studied by all new undergraduate students.
Professor Aleks Subic, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of Aston University said:
“Aston’s ranking once again as second in England in the Social Mobility Index for 2025 is a powerful reflection of the enduring mission of Aston University — ensuring that ability and ambition, not background, shape a person’s future. Maintaining this position highlights the sustained impact of our commitment to widening access, supporting student success, and delivering strong graduate outcomes.
“Education has the power to transform lives, families, and communities. When students gain the skills, confidence, and opportunities to succeed, the impact extends far beyond the individual. That is why advancing social mobility sits at the very heart of Aston’s purpose.”
The rankings take location into account when measuring salaries and use median wages by region data from the Office for National Statistics. This is to mitigate against the distorting impact of variation in earnings by region – accounting for the salary premium enjoyed by graduates in regions such as London.
Professor Antony Moss, pro vice-chancellor education and student experience of LSBU said:
“Despite the progress that has been made in widening access to higher education over the last fifteen years, long standing inequalities both in access and outcomes persist for many disadvantaged learners. Institutions need to do more, both individually and collectively, to close the access and outcome gaps for these learners, and I hope that LSBU’s Social Mobility Index continues to provide a helpful tool for universities to understand the efficacy of their approaches to supporting disadvantaged students.”
This year the University of Bradford retained the top place, and the University of Wolverhampton was third. Other universities in the top ten include the University of Salford, Imperial College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Notes to editors
-
Professor Subic wrote an article on social mobility for HEPI on 15 March https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/03/15/weekend-reading-educating-for-the-ai-economy-skills-social-mobility-and-the-future-of-opportunity/
Further information on the methodology is provided below. A full explanation of the Survey is provided in the full-length report produced when the Index began in 2021, which is available here. Last year’s results are available on HEPI’s website here.
For further information, please contact Patrick Christie, Head of Policy and Stakeholder Engagement at LSBU at 07801 286266 / christp2@lsbu.ac.uk or Nick Hillman, Director of HEPI, on 07730 718247 / n.hillman@hepi.ac.uk.Graduate Outcomes are measured by two components which are given equal weight and combined:
Graduate Outcomes as measured by the percentage of graduates with ‘Positive Outcomes’ in the Office for Students’ Proceed definition. The Proceed Definition counts highly skilled employment, any further study and other activities (except ‘Doing something else’) as positive outcomes; and medium / low skilled employment and unemployment as negative outcomes. Median salaries as measured in the Graduate Outcomes survey, adjusted to account for wage variations across different regions of England.2025 Social Mobility Index Methodology
The English Higher Education Social Mobility Index (SMI) ranks English universities registered with the Office for Students (excluding specialist institutions) by their contribution to social mobility, based on the social distance travelled by their graduates.
It combines measures of a) access, b) continuation and c) graduate outcomes for undergraduate students. All modes of study are included, although apprenticeship students are necessarily excluded due to a shortage of comparable data.
The following measures are included and reported separately for each year, mode and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) quintiles 1 and 2:
Access
Access is measured by the proportion of new entrants from Index of Multiple Deprivation Quintiles 1 and 2 at each provider.
Continuation
Continuation is measured by the Office for Students’ Continuation indicator, which records the percentage of first-year students who complete their course or remain in UK higher education for 12 months (full-time students) or 24 months (part-time students) after starting their course.
Note: Because the Office for Students’ Access and Participation dataset splits all data by mode (FT and PT), the data inputs are pulled into the model by mode and then pro-rated by the FT/PT headcount split.
Graduate Outcomes
- Graduate Outcomes as measured by the percentage of graduates with ‘Positive Outcomes’ in the Office for Students’ Proceed definition. The Proceed Definition counts highly skilled employment, any further study and other activities (except ‘Doing something else’) as positive outcomes; and medium / low skilled employment and unemployment as negative outcomes.
- Median salaries as measured in the Graduate Outcomes survey, adjusted to account for wage variations across different regions of England.
Years of Input
Variable
Mode of Study
Y1
Y2
Access %
FT + PT
2022-23
2023-24
Access population
FT + PT
2022-23
2023-24
Continuation %
FT
2021-22
2022-23
PT
2020-21
2021-22
Graduate Outcomes
(tailored JISC dataset)
FT + PT
2021-22
2022-23
Note: Data from Year 1 and Year 2 is averaged
Weightings of the measures
Weightings
IMD Q1
IMD Q2
Weighting
Index components
Access
1
0.5
2
3
Continuation
1
0.5
1
1.5
Graduate Outcomes
1
0.5
1
1.5
6
The double weighting of IMD1 over IMD2 recognises the greater impact on upward social mobility achieved by successfully delivering outcomes to students from IMD1 postcodes.
Access, in turn, is weighted the highest at x2 because social mobility depends on those learners from disadvantaged backgrounds successfully matriculating to university to begin with.
The two outcomes stages (Continuation and Graduate Outcomes) are weighted at x1 each.
Salary Weighting
Salaries have been adjusted using median wages by region data from the ONS to mitigate against the distorting impact of variation in earnings by region – accounting for the salary premium enjoyed by graduates in regions such as London.
Using median weekly pay by region of residence for full-time employees (taken from the ONS Annual Survey for Hours and Earnings) and then averaging this into six graduate destination regional groupings provided by JISC in the GO dataset, the index applies a reduction to those salaries for the regions where the median wage is above the salaries of the region with the lowest median wage (North East, Wales, Northern Ireland).
Median full-time employee Weekly Salary by region of residence, April 2025 (JISC Groupings)
East of England, Scotland
£791.62
London
£903.00
North East, Wales, Northern Ireland
£709.11
North West, Yorkshire and the Humber
£725.33
South East
£815.00
West Midlands, South West, East Midlands
£729.13
About Aston University
For over 130 years, Aston University has been making our world a better place through education, research and innovation. Our history is intertwined with the remarkable city of Birmingham, once the heartland of the Industrial Revolution and now the thriving base for an innovation ecosystem of global significance, which Aston is co-creating.
Our vision is to be a leading university for science, technology and enterprise, measured by the positive transformational impact we achieve for our people, students, businesses and the communities we serve.
Aston focuses on high-quality, exploitable research that has an impact on society through medical breakthroughs, advancements in engineering, policy and practice in government, and the strategies and performance of business.
The University offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes, as well as continuing professional development solutions.
Thanks to its focus on delivering excellent outcomes for students, Aston University's reputation continues to grow. It was recognised as the Daily Mail University of the Year for Student Success 2025, is second in England for social mobility (2023 HEPI Social Mobility Index), and is top 20 for graduate salaries (2024 Longitudinal Education Outcomes).
Aston University is now defining its place in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and beyond) within a rapidly changing world.
For media inquiries in relation to this release, contact Nicola Jones, Press and Communications, 07825 342091 or n.jones6@aston.ac.uk
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