With three out of four (75%) young Australians telling us they plan to go to university after high school during our latest survey, it looks like uni is going to retain its crown as the most popular post-school pathway.
In fact, for all the years we’ve been surveying young people about their post-school education and career choices, university just keeps getting more popular each year.
So which areas of study are set to be the most popular in 2023?
We asked 250 school students from across Australia who are planning to go to university what they were interested in studying. They were able to pick more than one area of study if they had multiple they’re considering or if they’re looking to do a double degree. Here’s what they said.
- Science – 34%
Just over one in three respondents told us they want to study science, which can lead to a multitude of careers including agricultural science, biosecurity research, environmental policy-making, food chemistry, nanoscience, nutrition, psychology (pending further study), and more.
The highly flexible Bachelor of Science degrees usually take around 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $6,500-35,000, depending on the institution, number of credit points and subject selection.
- Medicine & health – 32%
About a third of respondents said they were interested in studying medicine and health to pursue Bachelor’s degrees in areas like nursing, applied science, oral health, occupational therapy, engineering (biomedical) and more, which can lead to master’s and doctorate degrees in medicine, surgery, dental medicine, and psychiatry.
Duration and tuition fees vary significantly and depend on the career path and institution.
- Business & commerce – 24%
Roughly one in four respondents were interested in undertaking a business and/or commerce degree to pursue a major such as accounting, behavioural science, economics, business analytics, employment relations, event management, human resources, finance, financial planning, logistics and supply chain management, sports management, real estate, sustainable business and more.
A Bachelor of Business degree usually takes around 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $14-35,000, depending on the institution, number of credit points and subject selection.
- Arts & social sciences – 22%
Over a fifth of respondents were interested in studying arts and social sciences in order to undertake a huge range of majors, such as creative writing, criminal justice, history, indigenous studies, languages, journalism, literary studies, security and international studies, sociology, popular culture, social justice and strategic communication.
A Bachelor of Arts degree usually takes around 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $12,500-35,000, depending on the institution, number of credit points and subject selection.
- Law – 20%
One in five respondents indicated an interest in studying law, which offers an opportunity to explore perspectives in business, politics, policy and sociology in Australian and international society and operate as a legal professional in a range of contexts.
A Bachelor of Laws degree usually takes around 3-5 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $14,500-63,000 depending on the institution.
- Engineering – 19%
Just under a fifth of young Aussies we surveyed said they were interested in studying engineering which offers specialisation areas such as aeronautical engineering, biomedical engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, advanced computing and more.
An undergraduate Bachelor of Engineering degree usually takes around 4 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $8-38,000 depending on the institution.
- Art & design – 17%
Seventeen percent of school students we surveyed said they were keen on studying art and design which leads to careers such as animation, english and creative writing, games design, photography, design, film and screen media production, visual arts and contemporary Australian Indigenous art.
A Bachelor of Visual Arts usually takes around 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $8-30,000 depending on the institution.
- Education – 17%
Meanwhile, seventeen percent of school students were interested in a career in education to become teachers in our country’s schools.
A Bachelor of Education usually takes 3-4 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $5-30,000 depending on the institution.
IT – 15%
Fifteen percent of survey respondents indicated they were interested in studying IT, which can lead to professions such as IT consultant, cloud analyst, UX developer, social media analyst, cyber security specialist and web and mobile programming.
A Bachelor of Information Technology usually takes 3-4 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $8,500-33,000 depending on the institution.
- Music – 12%
Twelve percent of school students were keen on studying music at university, which can lead to careers such as artist management, concert manager/promoter, digital music producer, music distributor, music event manager, music writer/journalist, performer, recording artist, sound designer, sound/studio engineer or music teacher.
A Bachelor of Music usually takes 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $8-33,000 depending on the institution.
- Agriculture & environment – 11%
Just over one in ten school students expressed interest in studying agriculture and the environment, which can lead to careers in industry areas such as environmental consultancy, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), agricultural and research agencies, and the CSIRO and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
A Bachelor of Agriculture usually takes 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $15-33,000 depending on the institution.
- Architecture & planning – 9%
Nine percent of school students told us they want to study architecture and planning, which can lead to career paths as a registered architect, project manager, property developer or urban planner (subject to completing further requirements).
A Bachelor of Architectural Design usually takes 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing from $8-33,000 depending on the institution.
- Tourism & hospitality – 4%
Last, but not least, just 4% of school students said they wanted to study tourism and hospitality at university, which can lead to careers in accommodation management (hotels, resorts, hostels), events and weddings, guest relations and communications, marketing and sales, tour and travel agencies, operations management/planning and special interest tourism.
A Bachelor of Architectural Design usually takes 3 years to complete, with a year’s full-time study costing around $14,500, depending on the institution.
