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HE qualifications awarded

Qualifications Students Statistics Publication

HESA publication 'Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12' released today

Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12 shows that 787,205 higher education qualifications were awarded by UK higher education institutions (HEIs) in 2011/12. Approximately half of these qualifications were first degrees, one third were postgraduate qualifications and one sixth were other undergraduate qualifications (such as foundation degrees, credits and diplomas of higher education). 

39% of all qualifications were awarded in science subjects, although 64% of postgraduate research qualifications were for science. 57% of all qualifications were awarded to women, and 25% were awarded to non-UK domicile students. The graphic and table below demonstrate the breakdown of qualifications awarded by level, subject, domicile and gender. 

Qualifications obtained by level, gender and domicile 2011/12

Roughly the same number of science first degrees were awarded to women and men. In other subjects 58% more first degrees were awarded to women than to men. Nearly half (47%) of taught postgraduate qualifications were awarded to non-UK domicile students.

Qualifications obtained at UK HEIs by subject, level, gender and domicile 2011/12
  Science Other All subjects
Level Gender UK Non-UK UK Non-UK  
Postgraduate
Research		 Female 4090 2715 2310 2075 11190
Male 4550 4095 2175 2110 12925
Total 8635 6810 4480 4185 24115
Postgraduate
Taught		 Female 21690 12960 55240 42130 132015
Male 17300 22780 32735 35145 107960
Total 38990 35740 87975 77270 239975
First
Degree		 Female 70540 9115 119740 22485 221880
Male 65540 13390 73730 16450 169105
Total 136075 22505 193475 38935 390985
Other
Undergraduate		 Female 33100 1380 42465 4490 81435
Male 21885 1905 23380 3520 50690
Total 54985 3285 65845 8010 132125
Total qualifications obtained 238685 68340 351775 128400 787205
Source: HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12
See Annex below for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland figures

Publication

Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12 is a downloadable publication which includes comprehensive data on students and qualifiers broken down by demographic and course characteristics. Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12 is available to purchase now.

Further tables and graphs from Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12 are published as free online data tables and in the publication's introduction.

A schedule of HESA releases for 2013 can be found here.

Notes for editors

  1. Press enquiries should be directed to:
    • Simon Kemp
    • HESA Press Officer
    • 01242 211120
    • [email protected] 
    • 95 Promenade, Cheltenham, GL50 1HZ.
  2. In the above data and annex tables 0, 1, 2 are rounded to 0. All other numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest multiple of 5.
  3. HESA student data is collected from all publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the UK, plus the University of Buckingham, which is a non-publicly-funded institution. The 2011/12 data covers 163  HEIs (131 in England, 10 in Wales, 18 in Scotland and 4 in Northern Ireland).
  4. HESA cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.
  5. Equivalent tables for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland can be found in the Annex below.
  6. More data on qualifications obtained can be found in Statistical First Release 183, the Free Online Data Tables page and the publication introduction.
  7. Definitions of the terms used in this press release can be found online here.

Annex - equivalent tables for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

England

Qualifications obtained at HEIs in England by subject, level, gender and domicile 2011/12
  Science Other All subjects
Level Gender UK Non-UK UK Non-UK  
Postgraduate
Research		 Female 3285 2200 1945 1775 9205
Male 3765 3405 1805 1740 10715
Total 7050 5600 3750 3515 19920
Postgraduate
Taught		 Female 18180 10585 47225 35000 110990
Male 14275 18880 27595 27020 87770
Total 32455 29460 74825 62020 198760
First
Degree		 Female 56380 7235 101660 19340 184615
Male 53710 11085 63160 13960 141915
Total 110095 18320 164815 33300 326530
Other
Undergraduate		 Female 30175 1210 37705 3425 72520
Male 18535 1540 20680 2745 43500
Total 48710 2750 58385 6170 116020
Total qualifications obtained 198310 56135 301775 105005 661230
Source: HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12

Wales

Qualifications obtained at HEIs in Wales by subject, level, gender and domicile 2011/12
  Science Other All subjects
Level Gender UK Non-UK UK Non-UK  
Postgraduate
Research		 Female 195 70 65 50 385
Male 225 135 110 85 560
Total 420 205 180 135 945
Postgraduate
Taught		 Female 1160 655 2415 2545 6780
Male 930 1010 1760 4415 8110
Total 2090 1665 4175 6965 14890
First
Degree		 Female 4400 405 6260 1320 12380
Male 3940 745 3950 1230 9870
Total 8340 1150 10210 2550 22250
Other
Undergraduate		 Female 660 40 2105 130 2930
Male 1430 170 1165 135 2900
Total 2090 205 3270 265 5830
Total qualifications obtained 12940 3230 17830 9915 43915
Source: HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12

Scotland

Qualifications obtained at HEIs in Scotland by subject, level, gender and domicile 2011/12
  Science Other All subjects
Level Gender UK Non-UK UK Non-UK  
Postgraduate
Research		 Female 495 375 245 195 1310
Male 460 475 215 245 1395
Total 950 855 460 440 2710
Postgraduate
Taught		 Female 1770 1460 4305 4230 11765
Male 1655 2635 2585 3505 10385
Total 3425 4090 6890 7740 22145
First
Degree		 Female 7535 1295 8995 1695 19515
Male 6145 1405 5055 1185 13785
Total 13675 2695 14055 2875 33300
Other
Undergraduate		 Female 1765 100 2110 410 4385
Male 1740 160 1165 350 3420
Total 3505 260 3275 765 7800
Total qualifications obtained 21560 7905 24675 11820 65960
Source: HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12

Northern Ireland

Qualifications obtained at HEIs in Northern Ireland by subject, level, gender and domicile 2011/12
  Science Other All subjects
Level Gender UK Non-UK UK Non-UK  
Postgraduate
Research		 Female 115 70 50 50 285
Male 100 80 40 40 255
Total 215 145 90 90 540
Postgraduate
Taught		 Female 580 260 1295 350 2485
Male 435 265 795 200 1695
Total 1015 525 2090 550 4180
First
Degree		 Female 2225 180 2830 135 5370
Male 1740 155 1565 75 3535
Total 3970 335 4395 205 8905
Other
Undergraduate		 Female 500 35 545 520 1600
Male 180 35 370 290 875
Total 680 65 920 810 2475
Total qualifications obtained 5880 1070 7490 1660 16100
Source: HESA Students in Higher Education Institutions 2011/12
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