Southern Cross graduates in top tier for pay and employment: GOS data

The 2023 Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) sampled 116,000 recent graduates across the country from both undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs.

Southern Cross graduates of undergraduate programs reported an 82.8 per cent full-time employment rate, well above the national university average of 79.4 per cent, and a $72,500 median full-time salary, again above the national median of $71,000.

Graduates of Southern Cross postgraduate coursework programs reported a 92.6 per cent full time employment rate and a median starting salary of $110,000, with the national university averages at 90 per cent and $97,000 respectively.

“It’s a genuinely pleasing result, that serves to remind us yet again of the employability and success of our graduates,” said Vice-Chancellor Professor Tyrone Carlin.

“It’s also testament to the quality of a regional Australian university focused on student success.”

The 2023 GOS showed mostly positive trends for university graduates, with increases in full-time employment and salaries across the sector. Although the gender pay gap is evident at all levels and almost $13,000 at the postgraduate coursework level, the report also noted that the gap was slowly shrinking and the difference in median annual salary for graduates of undergraduate programs had narrowed to a difference of $3,100 between male and female salaries.

The GOS also measures how satisfied graduates are with their course experience. Nationally, Agriculture and Environmental Studies topped the list of the most satisfied graduates, followed by Medicine, Law and Social Work. The least satisfied were Dentistry graduates.

Southern Cross has enjoyed a series of outstanding ranking results in the first half of the year, including placing in the global Top 100 Young Universities by the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and its best ever result in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) 2025 World University Rankings.

About the Graduate Outcomes Survey

The Graduate Outcomes Survey (GOS) is one of four surveys that make up the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) initiative. Graduates of Australian higher education institutions are asked about their recent work or further study activity, four to six months after completing their course. More than 116,000 responses were received for the 2023 GOS over three collection periods in November 2022, February 2023 and May 2023 with results released June 2024.