English Social Mobility Index Results
The latest results for the English Social Mobility Index, which is compiled by London South Bank University (LSBU) and published by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), shows the University of Bradford, Aston University and the University of Wolverhampton in the top three places.
The annual LSBU English Social Mobility Index is published each year by the Higher Education Policy Institute and measures the social mobility of graduates.
The newly published results, which cover last year (2025), show the number of socio-economically disadvantaged graduates AND the social distance they travel for each registered higher education institution in England.
The Index combines access, continuation and outcomes measures for undergraduates for all modes of study (except apprenticeships due to limitations in the available data).
The results for 2025 show:
- Bradford (1) and Aston (2) take the top two places – both are former Colleges of Advanced Technology (CATs);
- The University of Wolverhampton (3) comes next, followed by Birmingham Newman University (4) and another former CAT, the University of Salford (5);
- The University of Greater Manchester (6) and Birmingham City University (7) also make the top 10, as do Imperial College London (8), The University of Huddersfield (9) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (10).
Notably and in part due to the weighting of graduate salaries by region, introduced to the Index in 2024 to account for salary differences across the country, universities in the West Midlands make up four of the top 10, alongside two institutions from Yorkshire and the Humber, two from the North West and two from London.
A fuller explanation of the Survey is provided in the full-length report produced when the Index started in 2021, which is available here. Earlier years’ results remain available on the HEPI website.
Nick Hillman OBE, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, who publish the Index said:
“At a time when there is a lot of criticism of universities, it is important to be reminded of the critical work they do transforming lives. The Social Mobility Index is different to other rankings because it puts the focus wholly on students and their real-world outcomes. The diversity of institutions in this year’s top 10 suggests the Index measures something valuable that institutions of all types can do well at, if they choose to adopt a dedicated focus.”
You can access more details about the report on the HEPI website.