Our teaching and learning impacts

Our high-quality teaching is making an impact. Our award-winning teaching and learning to our students fuels our wider impact on society and the economy.

We are proud to say that this report shows that we are equipping our students with the skills and knowledge to become highly valuable employees post-graduation. The Teaching and Excellence Framework (TEF) has awarded us their highest standard, TEF Gold. And our leading experts are delivering research-connected curricula that ensures our students receive a top-quality education.

We offer over 400 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and produce approximately 9,000 graduates each year. We are also:

• Ranked 19 in the UK by Complete University Guide 2025
• 23 in the UK in both the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
• Shortlisted for the University of the Year in 2024 by The Sunday Good Times University of the Year 2024.

University experiences

There are over 28,680 students studying at the University across over 400 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes on its Liverpool and Leahurst Campuses.

In 2024, the University of Liverpool received positive feedback from its 4,200 students who responded to the National Student Survey, achieving high scores in learning resources (90%), academic support (87%) and assessment and feedback (76%). 

Bespoke research for this impact assessment also revealed that alumni rated the University's impact on personal development highly, with over 81% rating the University’s performance highly for preparing them for their current, or past, career. Specifically, students particularly valued the University's focus on mental wellbeing support as a key factor, demonstrating its dedication to improving student services. Students also noted the benefits of their education in areas such as analytical skills, effective communication, teamwork, and critical thinking, which they valued for both their career and personal growth.

Over the past decade, the University’s student population has become increasingly diverse,
encompassing a broad range of ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, cultural backgrounds, and disabilities. 

There is a growing presence of international students on campus from under 20% in 2012/13
to 28% in 2022/23, placing above the sector average of 25.8%.

There has been a significant increase in the number of first-generation students entering higher education, alongside a notable rise in students identifying as LGBTQ+— (an 83.9% increase from 2016/17 to 2020/21.

Among UK-domiciled undergraduate students, those with a registered disability has steadily risen, with a 2.5% increase over the past five years. 18.5% of 2022/23 entrances were disabled, in line with the Higher Education Sector (18.3%) and Russell Group average (18.5%). The proportion of undergraduates from ethnic minority backgrounds has increased 3.8% from 2017/18 to 2022/23, now making up nearly 20% of all entrants, although this is below the Russell Group and Higher Education Sector averages of 36%.

This increasing diversity across the University’s campuses has infused the University with fresh energy, enthusiasm, and a wealth of innovative ideas.

The University is committed to raising aspirations and improving education opportunity across LCR. The new Access and Participation Plan is ambitious, challenging and represents a dedication to ensure anyone with the potential to study at the University can do so, and receive the support they need to succeed during their studies. The promotion of equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups is core to achieving these commitments.

International students

The University is renowned for its strong international student community, which significantly enhances the academic and social environment. With over 7,700 international students on campus, the University is a melting pot of diverse cultures and perspectives, fostering a rich and inclusive educational experience.

The University's global influence is further evidenced by its impressive network of 270,000 alumni spread across 180 countries. These alumni exemplify its commitment to excellence, and serves as a powerful resource for current students, providing mentorship, networking, and career opportunities on an international scale, while also acting as global ambassadors for the University
and for Liverpool.

To support its diverse student body, the University has a dedicated international support team. This team is instrumental in assisting international students with various aspects of their university experience, from visa requirements to cultural integration, ensuring that every student feels welcomed and supported throughout their time at the University.

The impact of international students extends well beyond the economic impact set out earlier in this report. There are additional economic and social benefits, including contributions to local businesses. For example, international students support translation or language services, and companies report that they can provide varied perspectives and solutions on commercial challenges.

Teaching and learning as a tool for social mobility

Higher education serves as a crucial tool for enhancing social mobility and the University is a significant contributor to this effort. A recent alumni survey indicated that over half of respondents (60%) feel their university experience positively contributed to their own social mobility, underscoring the University’s role in facilitating upward social movement.

In the 2023-24 academic year, the University of Liverpool’s Widening Participation and Outreach team reached over 7,000 young people through campus visits and collaborated with 32 partners, including local charities and organisations, to deliver impactful events. The University also invested over £11 million in financial aid to support students. Additionally, engagement with 170
local schools and colleges highlights the University’s commitment to broadening access to higher education and fostering social mobility.

The University excels in widening access. A key measure of Widening Participation performance relates to the proportion of students successfully gaining a place from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. As measured against POLAR4 postcode data, the University consistently performs in the top three of the English Russell Group universities, will an average of 10.5% of entrants over the past 3 years living in the most underrepresented national Quintiles. This figure, as both a percentage and raw student numbers, has increased year on year since 2019-20.

The widening participation team runs a wide range of programmes. The objectives of the schemes are to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply for university and provide support to these students in succeeding during their studies, including paid mentorship opportunities, scholarships, and coaching. These programmes are detailed in the case studies.

Around 9,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students graduate from the University of Liverpool each year.

The teaching and wider student experience delivered by the University plays a crucial role in enhancing students' skills, which benefits both the individuals and society as a whole. Graduates have greater human capital, which in turn boosts their productivity and labour market outcomes.

The University contributes to the UK economy by improving students' skills through formal education, work experience opportunities, and other sought-after activities. The latest data shows that 88% of recent graduates from the University are in work or further study.

Figures around graduate retention are complex due to origin and destination data and movement of people, but varied research on the topic has shown that many graduates remain in Liverpool post-graduation. Studies suggest that 20-30% of the University’s graduates remain working in the LCR six months after completing their courses of study, higher than in some comparable cities.

This is particularly important for key sectors of the economy, including the health sector; many of the University’s graduates enter the local NHS workforce as newly qualified doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, and the University enjoys close relationships with NHS trusts across the region where students are involved in delivering patient care during their studies. This strong relationship between the University and local NHS extends to a variety of other positive impacts; for example, as of the 2023-24 academic year there were 102 medical and dental clinical academics on teaching and research contracts, splitting their time 50:50 between work at the University and the local NHS trusts.

Additionally, 108 General Medical Council (GMC) registered medics were studying and researching at the University for either a PhD or a MD, and 372 clinicians from local Trusts had honorary clinical academic affiliations with the University. Alongside a range of specific research collaborations and strategic initiatives, this help to ensure that the University’s research strengths help the local NHS to offer patients access to clinical trials and other innovations in healthcare.

Enterprise impacts from Graduates

Graduates do not only end up as employees, but they are entrepreneurs and innovators. The University fosters an entrepreneurial spirit with students. Many students and graduates have established successful businesses. In the 2022/23 academic year alone, 32 UK start-ups were founded by University of Liverpool students in 2023 over £55,000 was allocated from the Design Your Future Programme Enterprise Fund, directly supporting 28 student and graduate startups.

The University’s enterprise initiatives have also had a broad impact, with:

• More than 830 participants engaging in enterprise challenges, competitions and internships with 460 employers, including major firms, such as Amazon, Kellogg’s, and IBM, as well as public-sector employers such as the Civil Service
• Start-up Schools introduced for ages 15-18 and 19+, in partnership with the LCR Careers Hub, local entrepreneurs and industry experts. These programmes offered practical insights into starting and running successful businesses, resulting in 32 participants earning industry-recognised accreditation
• The University hosting eight Entrepreneurs Monthly Meet-ups in 2022/23, attended by 520 participants. These events connected students and graduates with leading entrepreneurs and independent businesses 
• The University launching new programmes for students in Years 7-11 to further support local students and graduates in creating impactful commercial and social ventures
• The delivery of the LCR Founders programme, in collaboration with Liverpool John Moores University. This is helping to grow a thriving co-founder ecosystem by matching up student and graduate talent at both organisations to form new business start ups. 480+ individuals have participated since 2020/21.

To find out more, download the Economic and Wider Impacts Executive Summary or download the full Economic and Wider Impacts PDF report.