One in four students drop out of university, new data shows

Foreign student numbers have soared to record levels, as fresh figures reveal the most popular fields of university study and the highest dropout rates for degrees. See the data.

Women are attending university at record rates, but male enrolments are falling, new federal Education Department student data reveals.

Women are almost twice as likely as men to go to university, after female enrolments surged to a record 62 per cent of Australians starting a degree last year.

The number of women starting university has jumped 7.3 per cent over the past decade – at the same time as male enrolments slumped 5.9 per cent.

The growing gender gap is revealed in fresh figures on student enrolments, released on Friday by federal Education Minister Jason Clare, who hailed an increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and students from poor families.

However, the data shows that 23 per cent of students – nearly one in four – drop out of their degrees, with 10 per cent quitting in the first year.

At least one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who started university in 2021 had dropped out by 2024, including 18 per cent who quit during the first year of study. The poorest students were twice as likely to drop out in the first year, compared to those from wealthy families.

Engineering has the highest success rate, with just 15 per cent of students dropping out of the degree.

But 28 per cent of students bailed out of teaching degrees – the worst rate of any field of study.

Some of the most expensive degrees – including arts and management – were popular among students who enrolled last year.

Nearly 100,000 students started society and culture degrees, although new enrolments have fallen 7.5 per cent over the past decade, due in part to the former Coalition government’s Job Ready Graduates scheme in 2021, which boosted out-of-pocket costs above $50,000.

Management and commerce has lost 16 per cent of enrolments since 2015.

Engineering – which costs Australian students about $36,000 – has soared in popularity over the past decade, with a 15 per cent jump in enrolments.

Information technology has doubled its intake of students in 10 years.

More than 90,000 students began a degree in health fields last year, including medicine, allied health and nursing, which is one of the cheapest courses costing less than $15,000.

Generous scholarships helped deliver a 10 per cent rise in initial teacher education enrolments last year, compared to 2023.

However, numbers remain 14 per cent lower than in 2015 – a concern for schools struggling with teacher shortages.

Creative arts has taken the biggest blow in enrolments, which fell 22 per cent over the decade.

At the same time, architecture and building enrolments soared 23 per cent.

Foreign student numbers surged to a record 589,288 last year, exceeding one-third of total enrolments for the first time.

The number of international students has soared 62 per cent in the past decade – compared to a paltry 3.8 per cent rise in the number of Australian students, who totalled 1,086,789 in 2024.

Last year, 270,283 Australian students started a bachelor degree – 6000 fewer than in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic inflated numbers temporarily.

Universities are relying more heavily on enrolments from school-leavers, compared to mature-age students.

Women made up 62 per cent of new enrolments, compared to 58 per cent a decade ago.

And 2440 students identified as intersex or non-binary last year – far more than the 46 students in 2015.

The Education Department report suggests the gender gap could be caused by more boys dropping out of high school, or starting a trade apprenticeship.

However, a plunge in apprenticeship numbers was revealed in separate data released this week by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, which reported a 7.9 per cent drop in the number of apprentices and trainees in the year to March 2025.

“The fall was mainly due to a continued reduction in commencements and an increase in trade completions,’’ it stated.

Mr Clare said more jobs would require more skills in the years ahead.

“Opening the doors of our universities wider to more people from the suburbs and the regions and poor families isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s what we have to do, otherwise we won’t have the workforce we need and the economy will be stuck in second gear,’’ he said. “This data shows we’re making progress, but there’s still a lot more work to do.’’

The Albanese government’s Universities Accord has set an ambitious goal for 80 per cent of the workforce to have a university degree or vocational qualification by 2050 – up from 60 per cent today.

Next year, it will introduce needs-based funding for universities, so that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are guaranteed a commonwealth-subsidised degree.