Medr/2026/04: Subjects of study – demand, provision and distribution  of subject areas across higher education in Wales

Introduction

1. This piece of work has been carried out in response to a request from Vikki Howells, Minister for Further and Higher Education, at the beginning of 2025, for Medr to provide an overview of the demand, provision and distribution of subject areas across higher education (HE) in Wales. The analysis summarises HE subject provision in Wales and includes an analysis of the current enrolments by subject group at Welsh higher education providers (HEPs),the trend in enrolments, a comparison with the UK, a regional analysis, an analysis of study through the medium of Welsh, an analysis of the A level pipeline to HE, UCAS applications and acceptances to HE in Wales and Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 results.

Executive summary

2. Overall, the subject distribution of HE enrolments in Wales for 2023/24 is similar to that of the UK as a whole, with the high level subject groups with the most enrolments being Business and Management, Subjects allied to medicine and Social sciences for both Wales and the UK.

3. There are different subject distributions for different modes and levels of study. Popular full-time (FT) undergraduate (UG) subjects include Business and management, Law, Computing, Engineering, Nursing and midwifery and Biosciences, while Combined and general studies, Education and teaching, Health and social care, Psychology and Engineering are popular for part-time (PT) UG study. For FT postgraduate (PG) study, Business and management is by far the most popular subject group. For PT PG study, Business and management, Education and teaching, Nursing and midwifery and Allied health have the most enrolments.

4. There are much higher proportions of domiciles from overseas for postgraduate provision, than for undergraduate provision. For subject groups with over 1,000 enrolments in 2023/24, particularly large proportions are seen for FT PG provision in Business and management (94%), Computing (84%), Engineering (79%) and Allied health (72%).

5. Some subject groups have high proportions of enrolments from the rest of the UK, such as Languages and area studies, Economics, Geography, earth and environmental studies, Politics, Physics and astronomy and Biosciences, all with over 70% from the rest of the UK for full-time undergraduate provision.

6. The Open University in Wales dominates PT UG provision accounting for over half of all PT UG provision in 2023/24. UG non-degree provision was the most likely to be studied on a part-time basis, and some subjects were much more likely to be studied part-time, such as Combined and general studies.

7. Overall, the number of enrolments at Welsh HEPs increased by 14% over the past 10 years. This is lower than the UK figure at 25%. However, enrolments in certain subject areas have declined significantly over the past 10 years. Particular areas of concern for FT UG degree provision include Language and area studies, Education and teaching, Design, and creative and performing arts, Physical sciences and Mathematical sciences, all with decreases of 20% or more. In contrast, FT UG degree enrolments in Medicine and dentistry, Subjects allied to medicine, Computing, Architecture, building and planning, Social sciences and Law have increased by 20% or more.

8. For FT PG taught (PGT) provision, large proportional increases in enrolments were seen in Subjects allied to medicine, Physical sciences, Mathematical sciences and Computing. Decreases were seen in Language and area studies and Historical, philosophical and religious studies.

9. Compared to the UK as a whole, Wales has lower proportions of enrolments from overseas students, and higher proportions than might be expected of PT and UG non-degree provision.

10. Wales’ share of FT PG research (PGR) enrolments at UK HEPs has decreased overall between 2019/20 and 2023/24, though PT PGR is up over the same period. For FT PGR provision, the share of enrolments at UK HEPs has been below 4% for the past four years, when overall enrolments at Welsh HEPs have a share of just over 5%. The low share of FT PGR enrolments and small numbers of PGR students in certain subject groups is reflected to some extent in the REF 2021 results for Wales.

11. Wales has a higher than expected proportion of enrolments at UK HEPs in some subjects, including Sport and exercise sciences, Combined and general studies, Health and social care and Biosciences.

12. For most subjects, the number of Welsh domiciles staying in Wales to study outnumbered those studying in the rest of the UK, exceptions include Medicine and dentistry, Veterinary sciences, Music and Other performing arts.

13. There are areas where FT UG demand from Welsh domiciles exceeds the supply in Welsh HEPs of places for home domiciled students. These include Veterinary sciences, Creative arts and design, Music, Other performing arts, General, applied and forensic sciences, and Materials and technology.

14. Provision in Wales is concentrated in the south of the country, and there are certain subjects that are only available in Cardiff University. The population of Wales is also greater in the south, but provision is not evenly distributed according to the local population. Some subjects, such as Engineering and Materials and technology in South West Wales, are concentrated in particular locations. Certain vulnerable subjects are based in small providers such as language and area studies in Aberystwyth University.

15. Most provision is based in the nine universities in Wales, with Cardiff University being the largest HEP. Smaller amounts of provision are available in further education colleges and alternative providers. This provision is available either directly from the college or alternative provider, with a university or other organisation awarding the qualification, or is franchised in from a university. These arrangements provide local opportunities for certain subjects in places that do not have a university and offer progression opportunities for those studying at level 3 in colleges.

16. Welsh medium provision is concentrated in FT UG study, with little provision at PG level. Welsh medium provision is also concentrated in certain subjects such as Celtic studies (as would be expected given this includes Welsh language and literature), Education and teaching, Agriculture, food and related studies and Design, and creative and performing arts. However, numbers are small and proportions of fluent Welsh speakers that take some Welsh medium provision are small in some subject areas.

17. The pipeline to HE from A level completions mirrors some of the decreases seen in enrolments at UG level. Work is being carried out in Medr to explore the drop in progression between AS level and A2 qualifications which may provide some insight into this.

18. For UG entrants that apply through UCAS, Welsh domiciles are more likely to be accepted to Welsh HEPs for most subjects, this is likely due to Welsh domiciles preferring Welsh HEPs in their applications. However, the number of acceptances in some subjects mean that some subjects are dominated by entrants from the rest of the UK. This includes Economics, Languages and area studies, Biosciences, and Geography, earth and environmental studies, with over 70% of acceptances from the rest of the UK.

19. Staff full-time equivalent (FTE) submitted to the REF 2021 exercise for Wales accounted for 3.9% of the UK total, which is lower than might be expected, and in some subject areas staff FTE numbers submitted were very small.