Is your degree a wealth-builder or a lifetime tax? Pick a subject and see the break-even year, the loan balance and the AI risk.
Why now
The Department for Education told prospective students to “choose carefully” rather than go by default — publishing its own analysis that some subjects are worth up to £400,000 over a lifetime while others deliver little or negative return. That is the question this site answers, subject by subject, on the department's own data.
Youth unemployment, 16–24
Q1 2026 — the highest in over a decade
House of Commons Library ↗
Graduate hiring, 2024 → 2025
Weakest year since the pandemic; ~140 applications per vacancy
Institute of Student Employers ↗
Tuition per year, 2026/27
Up from £9,250 — and now rising every year with inflation
GOV.UK ↗
Say a degree isn't worth it
Not worth the time and money, British Social Attitudes
British Social Attitudes ↗
Figures current as of August 2026. Degree Index takes no view on whether you should go — it shows you the numbers for your subject and lets you decide.
Pulls ahead of the no-degree route within 8 yrs, low AI risk
Pulls ahead
£43k at graduation → £64k by year 10
5-yr course
Pulls ahead
£34k at graduation → £39k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead
£31k at graduation → £71k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead
£30k at graduation → £36k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead in 9–15 yrs — returns depend on your trajectory
Pulls ahead
£24k at graduation → £44k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead
£30k at graduation → £54k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead
£30k at graduation → £54k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead
£27k at graduation → £43k by year 10
4-yr course
Slow to pull ahead, high debt growth, or high AI risk
Pulls ahead
£32k at graduation → £53k by year 10
4-yr course
Pulls ahead
£30k at graduation → £47k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead
£23k at graduation → £35k by year 10
3-yr course
Pulls ahead
£24k at graduation → £30k by year 10
4-yr course
Showing 12 of 27 subjects — search above to find any degree.
All 27, alphabetically. Each one gets the same treatment: the year it pulls ahead of a named non-graduate route, the total repaid, and its automation exposure.
Why this exists
The entry-level roles many degrees lead into are being reshaped by AI faster than courses are updating for it.
Faculty identified AI-written submissions correctly only 53.75% of the time — so the paper certifies less than it used to.
Whatever happens to the job market, the loan accrues interest from day one.
The Guardian on how AI is reshaping the graduate job market in the US.
BBC News further reporting on AI's effect on graduate employment.
LSE Impact Blog on AI-enabled cheating undermining what degrees actually certify.
The Independent on the UK student loan system's finances and Plan 2 changes.