Career outcomes trump rankings in student decision-making

Career development opportunities remain the most influential factor determining where international students pursue education, according to new research conducted by IDP Education in March 2025.

The Emerging Futures 7 – Voice of the International Student research collected responses from more than 6,000 students from 114 countries and shows a growing number of students are linking graduate employment prospects with their definition of high quality of education.

According to the research, students’ understanding of whether an institution provides ‘high-quality education’ is now largely based on its graduate employment rate. This outranked ‘institution ranking’, ‘facilities available to students’ and ‘quality of academic staff’ – showing that students are seeking tangible outcomes from their studies.

The research also identified that career outcomes were the top non-academic factor when choosing an institution for 58% of international students.

“We know that international students choose their study destination based on factors that help them become job ready, with access to post-study employment visas being the key influence,” said Simon Emmett, chief partner officer at IDP Education.

“Simultaneously, we observe that international students are increasingly able to address essential skill shortages in the destination workforces.”

According to Emmett, the research is a “timely reminder” for governments and policymakers to embrace the international student cohort, who go on to fill vital skill gaps and foster long-lasting diplomatic ties between their home and host countries.

Elsewhere, the research highlighted key challenges facing today’s international students – with cost and affordability emerging as top concerns.

Financial considerations, such as the cost of visa, and savings requirements are weighing on students’ minds
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“Financial considerations, such as the cost of visa, and savings requirements are weighing on students’ minds. One in two students told us they would consider switching to another destination country if it had lower savings requirements,” said Emmett.

“Additionally, two thirds of students cite tuition fees, living costs and extra expenses as their biggest worry.”

IDP’s research also gave fresh insight into international student preferences for first-choice destination of study. Australia still holds the top spot, followed by the US, the UK and Canada respectively.

According to IDP, Australia has seen a five percentage point increase increase since March 2024 while Canada has continued to see a drop in the number of students choosing it as their first-choice destination, down six percentage points since March 2024.

The findings – highlighting Australia’s continued popularity as a first-choice destination, alongside growing concerns about affordability and visa costs – come as both major political parties in Australia propose significant increases to student visa fees ahead of the upcoming federal election.

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