Find out which university degrees could earn you most across your lifetime

Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith said it was important that prospective undergrads “choose carefully”.

“Don’t walk into a degree by default,” she says.

“Going to university and getting a degree is one of the most transformational things a young person can do. But it is not a universal guarantee of success and not all degrees are equal.

“As well as the variation by subject, too many franchised and poor-quality courses do not offer a good deal to young people, selling the dream then leaving students in the lurch.”

Responding to the IFS report, Nick Harrison, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, said while university was not a guarantee of “financial success”, it does remain the “most reliable route to upward mobility”.

He added: “Most graduates continue to see big financial benefits over their lifetimes, and for young people from lower-income backgrounds those gains are often greatest.”

However, he said the report raised an “uncomfortable question” regarding the career options young people have.

“If we are telling young people not to go to university, what exactly are we telling them to do instead? There is no shortage of criticism of so-called low-value degrees, but there is a chronic shortage of high-quality alternatives.

“Apprenticeships and technical pathways can offer great prospects for progression and success, but there are simply not enough of them available to be a viable alternative for lots of young people.”

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, said it was important to highlight that some degree choices such as the arts, were “not motivated by money”.

“We should recognise that these subjects also feed the creative industries, which are a huge economic driver for the UK.

“In an age of AI, we’ll value the understanding of how human beings think and act more, not less, in the future.”