Which HE course are popular this year

The THES has analysed statistics to compare university admissions from the 1996/7 cohort and the 2011/12. However, in 2002/3 there was a major reclassification exercise which led to reallocating a number of courses and a change in the way joint courses were recorded. The figures look at all full time, part time, undergraduate and post graduate courses.

Over the period the number of students has grown by 42%, media studies has grown by 360%, journalism by over 400%, sports science as a course did not exist in 1996, but since 2002/3 it has grown by 150%, travel, transport and tourism has grown by 300% since 2002/3, politics has grown by 125% since 1996, economics by 75% and psychology by 280%. Business and administrative studies has grown by 64%. However, in science subjects the growth has been much more muted; physics has grown by 26%, biology 22% and chemistry has declined by 1.3%. Engineering has grown by 21% but the majority of this growth is from overseas students. The only STEM subject to buck the trend is mathematics, which has grown by 134%.

Jurgen Enders, professor of higher education at Southampton University, noted that “Low cost/high fee fields can be attractive for universities, think of universities using their business schools as cash cows”. In addition, universities are keen to expand courses that draw in lots of foreign students (who pay much higher fees) with almost two thirds of the increase in business studies coming from overseas students. The UK is unusual in allowing universities to choose what courses to offer to meet market demand, with little central planning.