Two Manchester-based universities have placed in the top ten out of all UK universities in Capital on Tap’s 2025 leaderboard for universities that produce strong business leaders.
The University of Manchester ranked eighth for “producing the most business leaders,” whilst Manchester Metropolitan University ranked third for “producing the most freelancers.”
The University of Manchester ranked one place behind the University of Edinburgh for producing business leaders. It is recorded as having 300,422 alumni, with 12.23 per cent of this group holding leadership titles such as CEO, Managing Director and Founder.
Business leader rankings were decided using “LinkedIn alumni data across major UK universities” that considered all recorded graduates from 1900 to present day.
The league table for universities producing freelancers was formed using the same method of collating LinkedIn data and searching for the word “freelance” in alumni’s job titles.
4.13 per cent of Manchester Metropolitan graduates go on to become freelancers, behind only the University of Westminster and the University of Sussex.
Capital on Tap said that Manchester Metropolitan University has “strong foundations in creative disciplines such as art, design, fashion and media,” and credited the city’s status as a “major UK hub for media and cultural industries” in aiding the university’s ability to produce freelancers.
Featured image via Google Maps.
