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Original poster

Changing trends in degree choices

3 replies

poetryandwine · 30/08/2026 11:55

Hi, everyone -

I have just made a post on the HE Board called ‘Changing UCAS Trends.’

It discusses an article in today’s Observer, freely available online, highlighting degrees with good lifetime earnings that students are moving towards, and some with weaker earnings that they are moving away from.

The article summarises a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies , who are generally very sound. It has a gaping hole around the field of STEM, which is my own and where student numbers and employment prospects are generally robust. But it is interesting!

I won’t repeat my main post here. Best wishes.

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Original poster
poetryandwine · 30/08/2026 20:14

I was disappointed to see the results for Languages in particular, along both axes. I agree with your thoughts regarding critical thinking, @Tunaboona and @Messedupmyusernameagain.

I would only add that I am in STEM and a good STEM degree also develops critical thinking! But I know that too many do not. If we focused on quality rather than quantity I don’t think there would be such a competition between disciplines. However is it possible that to maintain quality when applicant numbers drop, certain disciplines (Languages, at the moment) should have geographically dispersed centres of excellence? I realise this is not a problem free solution.

OP posts:
Messedupmyusernameagain · 30/08/2026 20:02

Tunaboona · 30/08/2026 19:59

I think universities are going to regret dismantling humanities and arts. There has been such a push on STEM but AI is going to take a lot of those jobs. I think employers are going to want critical thinking not rote and mechanical learning.

Not just Universities. Employers and government will too. Once something becomes rare it will be more valued. Flooding the market with excessive amounts of stem grads while devaluing and closing arts, languages and Humanities I think will cause problems in the future. We need all types of people.

Tunaboona · 30/08/2026 19:59

I think universities are going to regret dismantling humanities and arts. There has been such a push on STEM but AI is going to take a lot of those jobs. I think employers are going to want critical thinking not rote and mechanical learning.