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Latest university application figures show 9.1% rise
16 July 2008
The number of applicants to UK universities and colleges is up 9.1% on the same point last year. This shows another increase. Data released today by UCAS refers to people applying for full-time undergraduate courses and is a snapshot taken at 30 June.
So far this year, 540,108 people have applied to start courses this autumn compared with 494,842 at the same point last year. The figures continue the trend set earlier in the year which also showed a healthy increase.
A UCAS spokesperson said: "It is hugely encouraging to see that application figures are maintaining the strong growth that we saw at the start of the year."
When considering this year's applicant numbers it is important to remember that the admissions service for nursing and midwifery diploma courses, NMAS, has this year been incorporated into the main UCAS scheme. 13,406 people have applied solely to courses that were previously available through NMAS; when these applicants are excluded from the overall total, the number of people applying is up by 6.4%. A further 8,932 applicants have included one or more choices to courses that were previously available through NMAS within their applications.
The general characteristics of former NMAS applicants need to be borne in mind when analysing the tables. Most NMAS applicants are: women; English and aged 21 years and over. Further all NMAS courses were offered in England.
Media contacts
Darren Barker and Eleanor Stevens
Telephone: 01242 545723 or 01242 545707
Email: communications@ucas.ac.uk
Out of hours: 07768 740 461
Table 1 - The number of applicants by 30 June; by entry cycle and gender
| Year | Female | Male | Total |
| 2008 | 304,946 | 235,162 | 540,108 |
| 2007 | 274,687 | 220,155 | 494,842 |
| % change | 11.0% | 6.8% | 9.1% |
Table 2 - Applicants by declared Area of Permanent Residence by 30 June
| Year | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Rep. of Ireland | Other EU | Non EU | Total |
| 2008 | 390,358 | 20,577 | 33,890 | 16,689 | 5,205 | 26,769 | 46,620 | 540,108 |
| 2007 | 351,533 | 19,624 | 32,988 | 16,827 | 5,633 | 25,753 | 42,484 | 494,842 |
| % change | 11.0% | 4.9% | 2.7% | -0.8% | -7.6% | 3.9% | 9.7% | 9.1% |
Table 3 - Applicants by age and declared Area of Permanent Residence by 30 June
| Country of residence | ||||||
| England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total | ||
| 20 years and under | 2008 | 302,330 | 15,905 | 25,834 | 13,917 | 357,986 |
| 2007 | 279,964 | 15,128 | 25,203 | 14,065 | 334,360 | |
| % change | 8% | 5.1% | 2.5% | -1.1% | 7.1% | |
| 21 to 24 years | 2008 | 41,037 | 2,267 | 4,044 | 1,645 | 48,993 |
| 2007 | 34,542 | 1,985 | 3,835 | 1,631 | 41,993 | |
| % change | 18.8% | 14.2% | 5.4% | 0.9% | 16.7% | |
| 25 years and over | 2008 | 46,991 | 2,405 | 4,012 | 1,127 | 54,535 |
| 2007 | 37,027 | 2,511 | 3,950 | 1,131 | 44,619 | |
| % change | 26.9% | -4.2% | 1.6% | -0.4% | 22.2% | |
| Total | 2008 | 390,358 | 20,577 | 33,890 | 16,689 | 461,514 |
| 2007 | 351,533 | 19,624 | 32,988 | 16,827 | 420,972 | |
| % change | 11.0% | 4.9% | 2.7% | -0.8% | 9.6% | |
Table 4 - Applicants by age and declared area of permanent residence by 30 June
| Area of Permanent Residence | ||||||
| UK | Other EU | Non EU | Total | |||
| 20 years and under | 2008 | 357,986 | 23,104 | 32,336 | 413,426 | |
| 2007 | 334,360 | 21,783 | 28,696 | 384,839 | ||
| % change | 7.1% | 6.1% | 12.7% | 7.4% | ||
| 21 to 24 years | 2008 | 48,993 | 6,716 | 9,309 | 65,018 | |
| 2007 | 41,993 | 7,261 | 8,843 | 58,097 | ||
| % change | 16.7% | -7.5% | 5.3% | 11.9% | ||
| 25 years and over | 2008 | 54,535 | 2,154 | 4,975 | 61,664 | |
| 2007 | 44,619 | 2,342 | 4,945 | 51,906 | ||
| % change | 22.2% | -8.0% | 0.6% | 18.80% | ||
| Total | 2008 | 461,514 | 31,974 | 46,620 | 540,108 | |
| 2007 | 420,972 | 31,386 | 42,484 | 494,842 | ||
| % change | 9.6% | 1.9% | 9.7% | 9.1% | ||
Table Notes - An applicant has a maximum count of 1 to each 'country of institution'. If an applicant's choices include multiple countries then the applicant is counted once within each 'country of institution' present.
The above table relates solely to Main Scheme applicants and the choices that such applicants have made within the Main Scheme, choices made in "Extra" are not taken into account. Likewise acceptance notifications received directly from institutions (Records of Prior Acceptance) and any choices associated with such notifications are not taken into account in compiling the above table.
Table 5 - Applicants by declared area of permanent residence and country of institution as of 30 June
| Area of permanent residence | Country of institution | |||||
| England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | |||
| England | 2008 | 389,097 | 35,484 | 29,844 | 1,235 | |
| 2007 | 350,235 | 41,571 | 30,449 | 1,225 | ||
| % change | 11.1% | -14.6% | -2.0% | 0.8% | ||
| Wales | 2008 | 12,142 | 17,304 | 942 | 67 | |
| 2007 | 11,951 | 16,672 | 930 | 73 | ||
| % change | 1.6% | 3.8% | 1.3% | -8.2% | ||
| Scotland | 2008 | 4,773 | 305 | 32,848 | 154 | |
| 2007 | 5,026 | 363 | 32,065 | 150 | ||
| % change | -5.0% | -16.0% | 2.4% | 2.7% | ||
| Northern Ireland | 2008 | 8,832 | 813 | 5,142 | 14,304 | |
| 2007 | 9,072 | 989 | 5,502 | 14,663 | ||
| % change | -2.6% | -17.8% | -6.5% | -2.4% | ||
| Rep. of Ireland | 2008 | 3,580 | 1,023 | 2,659 | 1,572 | |
| 2007 | 3,908 | 1,111 | 2,873 | 1,993 | ||
| % change | -8.4% | -7.9% | -7.4% | -21.1% | ||
| Other EU | 2008 | 24,071 | 2,201 | 8,027 | 165 | |
| 2007 | 23,007 | 2,566 | 7,408 | 238 | ||
| % change | 4.6% | -14.2% | 8.4% | -30.7% | ||
| Non EU | 2008 | 43,441 | 4,845 | 8,803 | 575 | |
| 2007 | 39,794 | 5,664 | 8,237 | 663 | ||
| % change | 9.2% | -14.5% | 6.9% | -13.3% | ||
| Total | 2008 | 485,936 | 61,975 | 88,265 | 18,072 | |
| 2007 | 442,993 | 68,936 | 87,464 | 19,005 | ||
| % change | 9.7% | -10.1% | 0.9% | -4.9% | ||
Table 5 note - An applicant has a maximum count of 1 to each 'country of institution'. If an applicant's choices include multiple countries then the applicant is counted once within each 'country of institution' present.
Wales (down 10.1%) and Northern Ireland (down 4.9%) both show a fall in applicants to institutions in those countries, though the fall for Northern Ireland amounts to a relatively small 933 people. Scotland shows a rise of 0.9% and England a rise of 9.7% applicants heading there. England's figures are enhanced by the NMAS inclusion.
The fall in applicants heading to Wales is largely due to a 14.6% decrease in English applicants choosing Welsh institutions. Welsh applicants planning to stay in Wales are up 3.8%.
Table 6 - Applicants with a non-UK area of permanent residence by country (countries having more than 600 applicants) by 30 June
| Country | 2008 | 2007 | Percent change |
| China | 7,880 | 6,423 | 22.7% |
| Ireland | 5,205 | 5,633 | -7.6% |
| France | 3,535 | 3,388 | 4.3% |
| Germany | 3,459 | 3,335 | 3.7% |
| Hong Kong | 3,228 | 3,155 | 2.3% |
| Cyprus | 2,991 | 3,385 | -11.6% |
| Nigeria | 2,807 | 3,106 | -9.6% |
| Malaysia | 2,795 | 2,583 | 8.2% |
| United States of America | 2,581 | 2,544 | 1.5% |
| India | 2,413 | 2,373 | 1.7% |
| Pakistan | 2,399 | 2,332 | 2.9% |
| Poland | 2,320 | 2,809 | -17.4% |
| Greece | 2,049 | 2,052 | -0.1% |
| Singapore | 2,013 | 1,553 | 29.6% |
| Canada | 1,615 | 1,303 | 23.9% |
| Sweden | 1,385 | 1,430 | -3.1% |
| Norway | 1,236 | 1,031 | 19.9% |
| Italy | 1,227 | 1,113 | 10.2% |
| Bulgaria | 1,056 | 549 | 92.3% |
| Spain | 1,053 | 1,023 | 2.9% |
| Lithuania | 1,013 | 801 | 26.5% |
| Saudi Arabia | 996 | 572 | 74.1% |
| Sri Lanka | 917 | 1,007 | -8.9% |
| Korea (South) | 858 | 827 | 3.7% |
| Belgium | 771 | 729 | 5.8% |
| Romania | 755 | 352 | 114.5% |
| Netherlands | 710 | 615 | 15.4% |
| Brunei | 701 | 747 | -6.2% |
| Kenya | 677 | 687 | -1.5% |
| United Arab Emirates | 640 | 485 | 32.0% |
| Switzerland | 621 | 507 | 22.5% |
| Russia | 607 | 543 | 11.8% |
| Total Non UK | 78,594 | 73,870 | 6.4% |
Table 7 - The number of choices by 30 June by JACS 2 subject line and course type (degree, foundation degree and other)
| Joint Academic Coding System (JACS 2) Subject Line | Degree 2008 | Percent change | Found. degree 2008 | Percent change | Other 2008 | Percent change |
| M1 - Law by Area | 87,807 | -9.2% | 85 | 65 | ||
| C8 - Psychology | 76,694 | -9.7% | 69 | 46 | ||
| A1 - Pre-clinical Medicine | 69,133 | -4.5% | ||||
| W2 - Design studies | 65,583 | -3.5% | 4,711 | -0.7% | 1,070 | -29.0% |
| N2 - Management studies | 60,820 | -7.3% | 887 | -14.6% | 2,486 | -21.8% |
| B7 - Nursing | 54,042 | -8.0% | 3,297 | 78.7% | 51,661 | 2835.3% |
| Q3 - English studies | 53,837 | -9.6% | 20 | 33 | ||
| NN - Combinations within Business & Admin Studies | 51,714 | -0.1% | 1,404 | 17.1% | 923 | -7.8% |
| N1 - Business studies | 50,974 | -12.5% | 1,332 | -14.2% | 1,248 | -20.0% |
| G4 - Computer Science | 44,795 | -12.0% | 2,431 | 1.5% | 1,711 | -23.4% |
| X1 - Training Teachers | 44,320 | -13.8% | 392 | 50 | ||
| L5 - Social Work | 43,926 | -9.3% | 1,444 | 16.9% | 9,884 | -5.6% |
| V1 - History by Period | 43,582 | -6.4% | 1 | 20 | ||
| L1 - Economics | 43,218 | 1.5% | ||||
| C6 - Sports Science | 43,190 | -13.2% | 2,473 | -6.2% | 1,059 | -25.4% |
| W4 - Drama | 41,464 | -10.5% | 1,867 | 1.1% | 995 | -35.0% |
| Y Combs of social studies/bus/law with arts/humanities | 41,177 | -11.1% | 1,779 | 43.6% | 260 | |
| Y Combs of languages with arts/humanities | 36,734 | -13.7% | 45 | |||
| G1 - Mathematics | 33,961 | -7.0% | ||||
| N4 - Accounting | 30,654 | -8.3% | 213 | 164 | ||
| B9 - Others in Subjects allied to Medicine | 29,221 | -8.8% | 523 | -0.4% | 1,859 | 28.0% |
| Y Combs of science/engineering with arts/humanities/languages | 28,374 | -10.4% | 3,488 | 13.9% | 253 | |
| Y Combs of science/engineering with social studies/bus/law | 27,798 | -5.2% | 974 | 23.4% | 300 | |
| N8 - Hospitality, Leisure, Tourism and Transport | 27,299 | -3.1% | 2,809 | -9.1% | 2,366 | -21.7% |
| W6 - Cinematics and Photography | 27,203 | -6.3% | 2,466 | 2.0% | 696 | -35.4% |
| K1 - Architecture | 26,525 | -3.5% | 66 | 90 | ||
| H3 - Mechanical Engineering | 26,498 | -5.3% | 667 | 51.2% | 274 | |
| L2 - Politics | 25,068 | -7.2% | 1 | 54 | ||
| B2 - Pharmacology,Toxicology and Pharmacy | 25,045 | -15.0% | 129 | 27 | ||
| H2 - Civil Engineering | 22,707 | -3.3% | 234 | 260 | ||
| C1 - Biology | 22,628 | -11.2% | 79 | 39 | ||
| X3 - Academic studies in Education | 22,393 | -1.0% | 1,324 | 18.2% | 112 | |
| P3 - Media studies | 22,375 | -11.3% | 1,346 | 12.4% | 194 | |
| Y Combs of soc studies/law with business | 20,917 | -6.5% | 118 | 19 | ||
| L3 - Sociology | 20,874 | -10.3% | 11 | 142 | ||
| W3 - Music | 20,552 | -14.6% | 1,911 | -4.0% | 461 | -37.0% |
| H6 - Electronic and Electrical Engineering | 20,071 | -14.2% | 167 | 619 | -28.4% | |
| B1 - Anatomy,Physiology and Pathology | 19,755 | -28.8% | 97 | |||
| F1 - Chemistry | 19,752 | -10.6% | 1 | 24 | ||
| Y Combs of phys/math science with social studies/bus/law | 18,506 | -8.2% | 235 | 137 | ||
| W1 - Fine Art | 17,588 | -6.6% | 575 | -0.7% | 212 | |
| F3 - Physics | 16,973 | -15.8% | 17 | |||
| N5 - Marketing | 16,911 | -11.5% | 549 | -6.3% | 128 | |
| F8 - Physical Geographical Sciences | 16,589 | -9.5% | 54 | 37 | ||
| Y Combs of arts/humanities | 16,123 | -14.5% | 300 | 73 | ||
| K2 - Building | 15,566 | -2.3% | 569 | 36.5% | 1,051 | -3.0% |
| Z Combs of 3 subjects, or other general courses | 15,539 | -18.1% | 12 | 177 | ||
| LL - Combinations within Social Studies | 15,421 | -8.4% | 65 | 22 | ||
| Y Combs of social studies/bus/law with languages | 14,910 | -13.6% | 3 | |||
| L7 - Human and Social Geography | 14,539 | -6.3% | 2 | |||
| WW - Combinations within Creative Arts and Design | 12,854 | -13.5% | 1,181 | 26.7% | 164 | |
| Y Combs of med/bio/agric sciences | 12,621 | -11.1% | 524 | 2.7% | 71 | |
| C7 - Molecular Biology,Biophysics & Biochem | 11,973 | -13.4% | 18 | 31 | ||
| G5 - Information Systems | 11,807 | -9.5% | 648 | -6.4% | 462 | -26.6% |
| P5 - Journalism | 11,198 | 0.5% | 444 | -30.5% | 20 | |
| H1 - General Engineering | 10,756 | -4.9% | 78 | 104 | ||
| A2 - Pre-clinical Dentistry | 10,733 | -4.2% | ||||
| M9 - Others in Law | 10,421 | -3.9% | 53 | 106 | ||
| Y Combs of soc studies/law | 10,158 | -17.2% | 48 | 5 | ||
| H4 - Aerospace Engineering | 9,519 | -13.5% | 682 | 8.8% | 29 | |
| RR - Combinations within European Langs,Lit and related | 9,448 | -13.5% | ||||
| Y Combs of phys/math science with arts/humanities/languages | 9,077 | -15.4% | 338 | 155 | ||
| Y Combs of languages | 8,608 | -8.7% | ||||
| B8 - Medical Technology | 8,564 | -16.9% | 90 | |||
| H8 - Chemical,Process and Energy Engineering | 8,561 | -0.9% | 5 | 24 | ||
| V5 - Philosophy | 8,028 | -13.6% | ||||
| GG - Combinations within Mathematical & Computer Sci | 7,945 | -10.7% | 194 | 27 | ||
| N3 - Finance | 7,511 | 2.7% | 26 | 32 | ||
| D1 - Pre-clinical Veterinary Medicine | 7,087 | 6.8% | ||||
| F4 - Forensic and Archaeological Science | 7,078 | -12.3% | 237 | 173 | ||
| VV - Combinations within Hist & Philosophical studies | 7,061 | -9.3% | 9 | 11 | ||
| W5 - Dance | 6,842 | 0.6% | 208 | 151 | ||
| F6 - Geology | 6,459 | -7.3% | 10 | |||
| V3 - History by Topic | 6,446 | -4.9% | 16 | 7 | ||
| B4 - Nutrition | 6,074 | -9.6% | 25 | |||
| Y Combs of sciences with engineering/technology | 6,028 | -14.8% | 136 | 43 | ||
| C3 - Zoology | 5,942 | -10.0% | 119 | 17 | ||
| G6 - Software Engineering | 5,706 | -4.6% | 309 | 127 | ||
| J9 - Others in Technology | 5,680 | -7.1% | 894 | 21.5% | 381 | |
| F7 - Science of Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments | 5,659 | -11.1% | 85 | 30 | ||
| PP - Combinations within Mass Comms & Documentation | 5,585 | -14.7% | 89 | 23 | ||
| B6 - Aural and Oral Sciences | 5,564 | -24.5% | ||||
| Y Combs of med/bio/agric sciences with phys/math sciences | 5,510 | -17.6% | 182 | 11 | ||
| V6 - Theology and Religious studies | 5,296 | -13.5% | 7 | 65 | ||
| B5 - Ophthalmics | 4,747 | -11.4% | 102 | |||
| Q8 - Classical studies | 4,684 | -16.8% | ||||
| M2 - Law by Topic | 4,403 | -17.3% | 182 | 12 | ||
| R9 - Others in European Langs,Lit and related | 4,385 | -10.2% | ||||
| K4 - Planning (Urban,Rural and Regional) | 4,252 | -8.7% | 29 | 76 | ||
| R1 - French studies | 4,097 | -10.0% | ||||
| D3 - Animal Science | 4,083 | -9.0% | 1,846 | 34.0% | 273 | |
| L6 - Anthropology | 3,652 | -7.7% | ||||
| P9 - Others in Mass Comms & Documentation | 3,534 | -13.2% | 27 | |||
| QQ - Combinations within Linguistics,Classics & related | 3,418 | -8.9% | ||||
| Y Combs of phys/math sciences | 3,343 | -7.9% | 8 | 34 | ||
| N6 - Human Resource Management | 3,291 | -10.1% | 10 | 51 | ||
| B3 - Complementary Medicine | 3,253 | -9.2% | 423 | 201 | ||
| L4 - Social Policy | 3,222 | -20.1% | 575 | 15.5% | 193 | |
| C9 - Others in Biological Sciences | 3,150 | 3.3% | 30 | 13 | ||
| H7 - Production and Manufacturing Engineering | 3,137 | -19.3% | 4 | 16 | ||
| T9 - Others in non-European Langs & related | 3,043 | -11.6% | ||||
| HH - Combinations within Engineering | 2,756 | -9.6% | 142 | 26 | ||
| Q1 - Linguistics | 2,745 | -11.7% | ||||
| D4 - Agriculture | 2,584 | -10.4% | 1,204 | 5.7% | 310 | |
| CC - Combinations within Biological Sciences | 2,483 | -13.8% | 1 | |||
| N9 - Others in Business & Admin Studies | 2,473 | -15.8% | 14 | |||
| W8 - Imaginative Writing | 2,448 | -1.0% | 12 | 27 | ||
| L9 - Others in Social Studies | 2,394 | -6.3% | 76 | 34 | ||
| FF - Combinations within Physical Sciences | 2,341 | -10.7% | ||||
| T7 - American studies | 2,272 | -14.5% | 1 | |||
| V4 - Archaeology | 2,183 | -29.7% | 40 | 1 | ||
| P2 - Publicity studies | 2,095 | -5.8% | ||||
| C4 - Genetics | 2,046 | -19.5% | ||||
| L0 - Social Studies: any area of study | 2,036 | -18.7% | ||||
| R4 - Spanish studies | 1,971 | -8.3% | ||||
| C5 - Microbiology | 1,812 | -22.3% | ||||
| W7 - Crafts | 1,788 | -5.8% | 301 | 25 | ||
| MM - Combinations within Law | 1,740 | -15.2% | 9 | 6 | ||
| R2 - German studies | 1,551 | -8.3% | ||||
| W9 - Others in Creative Arts and Design | 1,207 | -10.3% | 453 | 2 | ||
| Y Combs of engineering/technology | 1,142 | -11.4% | 5 | |||
| J4 - Polymers and Textiles | 1,097 | -10.9% | 5 | |||
| T2 - Japanese studies | 1,053 | -6.5% | ||||
| Y Combs of engin/tech/building studies | 976 | 4.8% | 21 | 4 | ||
| BB - Combinations within Subjects allied to Medicine | 940 | -14.2% | 12 | 11 | ||
| D6 - Food and Beverage studies | 905 | -6.7% | 193 | 24 | ||
| J5 - Materials Technology not otherwise spec | 892 | -9.4% | 28 | |||
| F9 - Others in Physical Sciences | 866 | -11.4% | ||||
| KK - Combinations within Architecture,Build & Plan | 835 | -5.6% | 51 | 13 | ||
| G3 - Statistics | 775 | -22.0% | ||||
| J7 - Biotechnology | 739 | -12.0% | 4 | |||
| T1 - Chinese studies | 671 | -20.2% | ||||
| XX - Combinations within Education | 661 | -14.7% | 135 | |||
| V9 - Others in Hist & Philosophical studies | 632 | -12.7% | 2 | |||
| P1 - Information Services | 625 | 16.0% | 1 | |||
| F5 - Astronomy | 621 | -13.3% | ||||
| T6 - Modern Middle-Eastern studies | 597 | -18.2% | 4 | |||
| Q2 - Comparative Literary studies | 569 | -8.8% | ||||
| K3 - Landscape Design | 561 | -17.1% | 111 | 16 | ||
| R0 - European Langs,Lit & related: any area | 560 | -11.4% | ||||
| Q5 - Celtic studies | 541 | -25.3% | 5 | |||
| J6 - Maritime Technology | 497 | -14.9% | 52 | 15 | ||
| H0 - Engineering: any area of study | 457 | 15 | 3 | |||
| G0 - Mathematical & Comp Sci: any area | 451 | -19.8% | ||||
| R7 - Russian and East European studies | 432 | -14.3% | ||||
| H5 - Naval Architecture | 407 | 29 | ||||
| W0 - Creative Arts & Design: any area | 385 | |||||
| Q9 - Others in Linguistics,Classics & related | 382 | |||||
| V2 - History by Area | 364 | |||||
| P4 - Publishing | 337 | 46 | 1 | |||
| G7 - Artificial Intelligence | 323 | 15 | ||||
| R3 - Italian studies | 293 | |||||
| G2 - Operational Research | 278 | 5 | ||||
| X9 - Others in Education | 278 | 289 | 3 | |||
| F0 - Physical Sciences: any area of study | 245 | |||||
| D9 - Others in Vet Sci,Ag & related subjects | 242 | |||||
| TT - Combinations within non-European Langs & related | 228 | |||||
| DD - Combinations within Vet Sci,Ag & related subjects | 217 | |||||
| R8 - European studies | 163 | |||||
| G9 - Others in Mathematical & Computer Sci | 160 | 1 | 3 | |||
| T5 - African studies | 137 | |||||
| C2 - Botany | 132 | |||||
| J1 - Minerals Technology | 120 | |||||
| D5 - Forestry | 110 | 103 | 13 | |||
| D7 - Agricultural Sciences | 109 | 43 | ||||
| N0 - Business & Admin studies: any area | 103 | |||||
| C0 - Biological Sciences: any area of study | 102 | |||||
| R6 - Scandinavian studies | 86 | |||||
| T3 - South Asian studies | 82 | |||||
| K9 - Others in Architecture,Build & Plan | 74 | |||||
| Q6 - Latin studies | 74 | |||||
| Q4 - Ancient Language studies | 63 | |||||
| F2 - Materials Science | 59 | |||||
| X2 - Research and Study Skills in Education | 49 | |||||
| N7 - Office Skills | 40 | |||||
| J2 - Metallurgy | 38 | |||||
| T4 - Other Asian studies | 36 | |||||
| JJ - Combinations within Technology | 35 | |||||
| K0 - Architecture,Build & Plan: any area | 23 | |||||
| Q7 - Classical Greek studies | 14 | |||||
| J0 - Technologies: any area of study | 13 | |||||
| H9 - Others in Engineering | 4 | |||||
| R5 - Portuguese studies | 4 | |||||
| V0 - Hist & Philosophical studies: any area | 2 | |||||
| A9 - Others in Medicine and Dentistry | 1 | 80 | ||||
| Grand Total | 2,057,670 | -9.2% | 54,312 | 8.3% | 85,305 | 102.7% |
Table 7 notes:
The large increase in Subject Line B7 - Nursing - "Other" is largely attributed to the incorporation of the admissions service for nursing and midwifery diploma courses, NMAS, into the main UCAS scheme, as a result the 2008 cell in this table includes 49,663 choices made to courses previously available through NMAS.
Because of the reduction in the number of choices available to applicants in the 2008 cycle most subjects in this table show a fall from 2007.
Foundation year courses are accounted for as Degree. 'Other' includes HND, HNC, Certificates of HE, Diplomas of HE (including those in social work, midwifery and nursing) and some postgraduate courses in social work.
From 2008 the subject lines reported incorporate recent adjustments made to the Joint Academic Coding System and are now specified on the basis of JACS 2. In addition, subject lines that have previously been reported have been reassessed and altered.
Where changes in subject line have occurred the figures for both 2008 and 2007 have been recalculated so that comparisons are made on a like for like basis. For reporting purposes, the subject lines most affected by JACS 2 changes are:
C2 - Botany
C5 - Microbiology
F7 - Science of Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments
F8 - Physical Geographical Sciences
G0 - Mathematical & Comp Sci: any area
G9 - Others in Mathematical & Computer Sci
J7 - Biotechnology
N2 - Management studies
N8 - Hospitality, Leisure, Tourism and Transport
R8 - European studies (New Subject Line)
R9 - Others in European Langs, Lit and related.
Choices reported are those made within the UCAS Main Scheme, choices made in "Extra" are not reported. Likewise acceptance notifications received directly from institutions (Records of Prior Acceptance) are not counted as "choices" in compiling the above table.
Percentage change is not shown if both the number of 2008 choices and the number of 2007 choices is less than 500
Table 8 - Foundation degree, applicants and applications (number of choices) by 30 June
| Applicants | Choices | |
| 2008 | 38,414 | 54,312 |
| 2007 | 35,534 | 50,150 |
| Percent change | 8.10% | 8.30% |
Table 8 Note
The above table relates solely to the applicants who have made at least one choice to a Foundation Degree course within the Main Scheme; choices made in "Extra" are not taken into account. Likewise notifications of acceptances received directly from institutions (Records of Prior Acceptance) and any choices associated with such notifications are not taken into account in compiling the above table.
Table 9 - Applicants by June 30 who were 18 years and under and who had an area of permanent residence within the UK by entry cycle, simplified version of the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) and Country of residence
2008 question: If you are in full-time education, please state the occupation of the highest-earning family member of the household in which you live. If he or she is retired or unemployed, give their most recent occupation. If you are not in full-time education, please state just your own occupation.
Restricted to applicants aged 18 and under
| 2008 | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total | Proportion of Known |
| 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations | 39,083 | 1,705 | 4,563 | 1,112 | 46,463 | 24.6% |
| 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations | 48,967 | 2,772 | 5,558 | 2,049 | 59,346 | 31.5% |
| 3. Intermediate occupations | 21,288 | 1,095 | 2,359 | 1,247 | 25,989 | 13.8% |
| 4. Small employers and own account workers | 12,080 | 772 | 1,301 | 908 | 15,061 | 8.0% |
| 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations | 7,692 | 470 | 867 | 414 | 9,443 | 5.0% |
| 6. Semi-routine occupations | 18,669 | 1,024 | 2,003 | 758 | 22,454 | 11.9% |
| 7. Routine occupations | 7,875 | 566 | 815 | 480 | 9,736 | 5.2% |
| 8. Not Classified - Unknown | 30,239 | 1,849 | 3,186 | 1,155 | 36,429 | |
| Total | 185,893 | 10,253 | 20,652 | 8,123 | 224,921 |
2007 question: If you are under 21, please give the occupation of your parent, step-parent or guardian who earns the most. If he or she is retired or unemployed, give their most recent occupation. If you are 21 or over, please give your own occupation.
Restricted to applicants aged 18 and under
| 2007 | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland | Total | Proportion of Known |
| 1. Higher managerial and professional occupations | 38,206 | 1,785 | 4,516 | 1,013 | 45,520 | 25.3% |
| 2. Lower managerial and professional occupations | 46,579 | 2,666 | 5,445 | 2,131 | 56,821 | 31.6% |
| 3. Intermediate occupations | 19,920 | 1,168 | 2,275 | 1,229 | 24,592 | 13.7% |
| 4. Small employers and own account workers | 11,407 | 714 | 1,368 | 1,005 | 14,494 | 8.1% |
| 5. Lower supervisory and technical occupations | 7,296 | 499 | 941 | 443 | 9,179 | 5.1% |
| 6. Semi-routine occupations | 16,345 | 933 | 1,881 | 784 | 19,943 | 11.1% |
| 7. Routine occupations | 7,289 | 556 | 772 | 500 | 9,117 | 5.1% |
| 8. Not Classified - Unknown | 27,393 | 1,518 | 2,818 | 1,134 | 32,863 | |
| Total | 174,435 | 9,839 | 20,016 | 8,239 | 212,529 |
Notes to editors
- UCAS is the organisation responsible for managing applications to UK higher education courses. UCAS is a private company and charity and not a government body.
- Data on the number of applications (choices made) to individual institutions can be found in the 30 June applications digest. Please note that because of the reduction in available choices for applicants most universities and colleges will show a fall in this table.