Summary

A report recently published by EIC, a major Chinese agent for overseas education, has reported a significant shift in the subjects the students they represent plan to study. Although business and administration remains the most popular subject, the report - based on a large-scale survey of prospective international students - finds that the proportion planning to study this subject has fallen by more than seven percentage points between 2015 and 2019 and now makes up only a little over a third of the total. Meanwhile, the proportion wanting to study engineering has increased by almost 10 per cent.

The report also looks into how students choose which subject to study. At the undergraduate level the most popular answer for science and engineering students, accounting for almost half of respondents, was an interest in their chosen subject. This is in marked contrast to prospective business students, only around a quarter of whom gave this answer; the most popular answer among this group (and the number 2 option in the science and engineering group) was a perception of broad employment opportunities. In both cases this was a more popular choice than plans to find a job in the student's specific area of study.

Answers were a little different among prospective postgraduate students. At this level, more than half of both engineering and business students felt that broad employment opportunities were the main reason to study their subject, again followed by plans to work in their field of study. Interest in the subject was only a major factor for 34 and 28 per cent of prospective science/engineering and business postgraduates respectively.

As well as a shift from business to STEM, EIC also reports a shift in which science and engineering subjects students are most interested in studying overseas. There has been a strong rise in the popularity of subjects related to computing and IT, which in China are classed under the broad field of Engineering, with traditional engineering subjects such as civil or electronic engineering seeing a drop in interest in relative terms. The report notes particularly strong interest in subjects related to artificial intelligence.

Despite the overall interest in engineering courses, EIC's report notes that demand for UK study is still comparatively more focused on finance and business-related courses. The top 10 subjects for the agent's UK-bound master's degree applicants only include two STEM courses.

EIC’s report also contains a brief discussion on employability of returning STEM graduates. The report finds that the average returning STEM graduate with a bachelor’s degree earned an initial salary of RMB 84,800 (£9,700) per year, while returning master’s degree graduates earned RMB 121,300 (£13,900) on average – both substantially higher than their domestically-educated counterparts. Graduates’ biggest difficulties in finding employment are intense competition, a lack of relevant work experience, the advantages of their course not being obvious, insufficient interview skills, and difficulty expressing their abilities to potential employers.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, British Council International Education Services

Data from HESA confirms that there has been a slight decline in the proportion of Chinese students studying business-related subjects in the UK over the last few years - at least up to the 2017-18 academic year, which is currently the most recent data available. Business student numbers have continued to grow in absolute terms, but at a slower rate than the overall number of Chinese students in the UK.

UK enrolment statistics also back up EIC's finding that there has been a proportional shift in Chinese students from traditional engineering subjects towards areas such as computer science, although again there has been growth in almost all subject areas due to the dramatic rise in Chinese students going overseas.

However, the overall growth in STEM fields as a whole does not appear to have been as dramatic in the UK as that described by EIC. This might suggest that there is more room for UK universities to promote their strengths in these areas, and particularly to capitalise on growing interest in subjects related to artificial intelligence.

From an employability perspective, the survey results again demonstrate the importance of work experience, but also illustrate that many students feel they lack interview / CV building skills. As the relevant skills may be different between China and the UK, it may be helpful for universities to invest in support aimed specifically at developing graduates’ employability in China.

Source

EIC - EIC releases report on Chinese students' interest in studying science and engineering overseas (in Chinese): https://www.eic.org.cn/news/detail/1f72e29065844f21b1171ffa574ff6cf