Kids aren't as stupid as we thought they were
University degrees with significant rises in applications (2007 v 2006):
- Civil engineering 18,605 up 13%
- Economics: 37,974 up 12.8%
- Physics: 19,140 up 12.2%
- Chemistry: 20,786 up 11.3%
- Fine art: 9,703 up 10.5%
- Maths: 33,790 up 10%
- Music: 21,281 up 9.9%
- History: 6,021 up 9.2%
- English: 55,581 up 7.6%
- Biology: 23,367 up 6%
They’ve obviously noticed that if you’re graduating with tens of thousands of pounds of debt, you may as well do something useful.
Christopher Doidge
14 Feb 2007 14:19
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Tags: Art Biology Chemistry Children Economics Education English History Maths Music Physics Universities
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Chris May
As the proud owner of a physics degree, I can tell you that it’s anything but useful. There are very few days when I’m called on to solve a Greens Function, or describe the exitation states of boron, or the stages in the Main Sequence of a star’s lifecycle – which is fortunate because I flushed them from my brain the moment i walked out of my last exam. It was only useful in that it lets me tick that box that said ‘numerate degree required’ on a couple of graduate job apps.
And is, say, History really any more ‘useful’ (in the sense of future earning potential) than, something like Electronic Engineering (which isn’t on the list) ? Seems to me that there might be a deeper analysis required before you can draw many conclusions about students’ motivations.
14 Feb 2007, 15:21
I wish I’d decided to do a degree in Fine Art, that would have been well useful.
14 Feb 2007, 15:31
Holly Cruise
History is surprisingly popular. So I’m told. I’ll test this from September…
14 Feb 2007, 22:49
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