ABSTRACT
One internationally confirmed response to growth in opportunities in higher education is a greater demand for and take-up of more explicitly work-related courses. Figure 10.1 shows the pattern of choice of subject by applicants to UK higher education as it has changed over the decade 1983–94. During a period in which undergraduate numbers went up by 70 per cent the above average increases were all in professional and vocational areas, notably the professions allied to medicine (largely as a result of an NHS policy change, bringing nursing and midwifery as well as the other PAMs into HEIs), business and financial studies and information sciences. On this scale traditional engineering and science slipped back, along with languages and humanities. The apparent strong demand for multi-subject and multi-disciplinary choices appears to hold out hope for some of Dearing’s vision of future breadth but it is important to note that many of these are second or ‘insurance’ choices. Change in postgraduate and undergraduate choice of subjects: GB, 1983/84 to 1993/94 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203209370/a11c528d-e477-4214-bb22-e45f284b5ca0/content/fig10_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> Sources: IES, 1996.
