Graduating from university increases average earnings at age 29 by 28% for women and 8% for men, new figures suggest.

A report, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), also indicates that decisions about what and where to study are potentially more important than choosing whether to attend higher education.

Conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the research reveals the same course will not result in the same earnings potential, with the outcome depending on where it was studied.

According to the data, every subject for men, and most subjects for women, have at least one institution that offers a negative return, and one with a positive return.

For women there were no subjects that reduced early career earnings on average.

Studying medicine and economics at higher education increases the average earnings of a man by 24% and 33% respectively, and by 75% and 61% respectively for women.

While being enrolled on a creative arts course provides the lowest earnings return for both men and women at -14% and 9%.

The report suggests that male and female students who attend the top 10 returning universities earn at least 26% and 40% more, respectively, than those who do not.

The full data to be released on Tuesday is expected to suggest Russell Group universities give students the greater return, but there are some exceptions.

Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) are used to provide estimates of the relative earnings and employment returns to different degrees – looking at nearly 1,400 courses.

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Making pay fairer

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students, said: "This important research demonstrates that, for the vast majority of students, there are clear financial benefits of getting a degree.

"It is crucial that prospective students have access to high quality information about where, what and how they might study.

"This research provides a wealth of data to let students understand how the course and institution they choose may affect their earnings potential.

"Of course, better financial prospects are only one reason why people go to university."

She added: "But universities should scrutinise this data carefully, and some will need to ask themselves tough questions about how well they are preparing students for life after graduation."

Universities minister Sam Gyimah said: "This data is incredibly powerful in terms of showing us what is actually going on in terms of courses, institutions and the financial return.

"It is also clear from the analysis that there are a clutch of courses at certain universities which are not delivering the financial outcomes for students.

"Where this leads to is to have a relentless focus on quality, and that is something that the Office for Students has a significant role to play in."

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