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The fastest growing (and shrinking) degrees

Who’s winning the competition for students?

Photo courtesy of m2ec on Flickr

Far more Ontario high school graduates are choosing to study science or engineering in 2011 than in 2010, while arts, music and fine arts enrollments declined, according to new data from the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre. Education registrations declined dramatically too — unsurprising considering that Two-Thirds of New Teachers Can’t Find Full-Time Work.

But arts programs can take comfort in the fact that they still take in more students than any other programs. Arts (25,845), Science (14,212) and Business Administration (9,300) accounted for 71 per cent (49,357) of the 69,546 first-year registrations made by July 7, 2011.

Here are the major program areas, from the fastest growing to the fastest shrinking.

OTHER ADMINISTRATION +21.6 per cent

OTHER DEGREES +6.2 per cent

ENGINEERING +5.8 per cent

SCIENCE +5.6 per cent

JOURNALISM +4.6 per cent

FAMILY & CONSUMER STUDIES +4.2 per cent

PHYSICAL & HEALTH EDUCATION +3.1 per cent

SOCIAL WORK +2.9 per cent

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION  +2.7 per cent

OVERALL REGISTRATIONS +1.9 per cent

ARCHITECTURE +1.5 per cent

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES +1.4 per cent

ARTS -0.4 per cent

MATHEMATICS -1.2 per cent

NURSING -2.8 per cent

FINE AND APPLIED ARTS -4.4 per cent

EDUCATION  -6.7 per cent

MUSIC -9.4 per cent

Note:  These figures include students who applied directly from secondary school to undergraduate degree programs. Only subjects with at least 100 registrations are included in this list.

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