University: Number of NI students highest in decade

Just over 65,500 NI students were at university in 2020/21, figures show

The number of Northern Ireland students at university in 2020/21 was higher than any time in the past decade.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) said that some of the sharp increase in enrolments related to a change in how A-level grades were awarded in 2020.

Pupils received grades calculated by schools in both 2020 and 2021 after summer exams were cancelled.

Just over 65,500 NI students were at university in 2020/21, a rise of 5% from 62,690 the previous year.

That was the largest annual percentage increase over the past decade, according to DfE.

Three-quarters of those students (48,920) were in higher education in Northern Ireland, and a quarter elsewhere in the UK.

The department's analysis also said that there were students from 137 different countries enrolled in Northern Ireland.

There are almost as many students from India enrolled in university in Northern Ireland than from the rest of the UK in total, for example.

The DfE figures also show 16,620 students from Northern Ireland were in higher education in England, Scotland or Wales in 2020/21.

Almost 5,500 were at universities in north-west England and 3,755 in Scotland, the most popular areas.

'Increase in candidates meeting offer conditions'

Previous statistics from DfE have shown that two-thirds of Northern Irish full-time students who studied elsewhere in the UK did not return home to work after graduating.

The DfE figures include undergraduate and postgraduate, full and part-time students and those enrolled on Open University courses.

DfE said that the record rise in students in 2020 was the result of a number of factors.

There has been a rise in the proportion of international students at universities, such as Queen's in Belfast

Alongside the change in how A-level grades were awarded, there was an increase in the number of available undergraduate places, the analysis said.

"Uncertainty regarding employment prospects early in the pandemic may also have contributed to an increase in postgraduate study," it said.

However, a rise in the number of young people going to university is likely to be related to a sharp fall in student numbers in Further Education (FE) Colleges.

There has also been a rise in the proportion of international students at Northern Ireland's universities.

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Three-quarters of 66,000 university students in Northern Ireland are from Northern Ireland.

About 3,300 are from the rest of the UK while about 2,000 are from the Republic of Ireland.

But DfE said that about 17% of students enrolled in higher education in Northern Ireland are from countries other than the UK outside the European Union (EU).

That includes about 3,150 in Northern Ireland from India, 2,000 from China and 1,500 from the Philippines.

Medical subjects, business and management, and social sciences were the most popular degree courses taken by NI students

Ten years ago 85% of students in Northern Ireland were from Northern Ireland.

The DfE statistics also show that almost six in every 10 students in Northern Ireland are women.

Medical subjects, business and management, and social sciences were the most popular degree courses taken by Northern Ireland students.

Separate figures recently published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) also showed that the proportion of students dropping out of degree courses in Northern Ireland had fallen to the lowest level on record.