If you’re an ambitious grad eyeing a future in the U.K., here’s some great news: the lineup of global universities that qualify their graduates for the U.K.’s prestigious High Potential Individual (HPI) visa has just been unveiled, and the U.S. is well-represented.
This sought-after visa lets top-tier alumni head to the U.K. for a career-building stint—two years for most grads and three years for PhD holders—with plenty of freedom. You can bring your family, work in most fields without sponsorship, go solo as a freelancer, volunteer and even travel in and out of the UK as much as you like.
This year’s list covers graduates awarded their degrees between November 1, 2023 and October 31, 2024. The list features 42 universities around the world, and—not surprisingly—American universities dominate with 20 schools including big names like Caltech, Harvard, Stanford, MIT and Yale.
The U.K.’s Home Office compiles this list each November, basing it on schools ranking in the top 50 across at least two global university rankings (Times Higher Education, QS World University Rankings or the Academic Ranking of World Universities).
If you’re from one of these elite institutions, pack your bags for a world-expanding work adventure in the U.K.
U.S. universities qualifying grads for the U.K.’s HPI visa
- California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Duke University
- Harvard University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- New York University
- Northwestern University
- Princeton University
- Stanford University
- University of California Berkeley
- University of California Los Angeles
- University of California San Diego
- University of Chicago
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Washington
- Yale University