Pharmacy applications up but university applications down
Applications for pharmacy courses are up by 9.6 per cent amid a general decline in the number of students applying to UK higher education institutions this year, according to the latest statistics from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).
UCAS revealed that almost 13,000 fewer students had applied to institutions
in the UK by the 15 January deadline for courses starting in September
2006 than had applied by that time last year.
However, subject areas that have experienced an increase in applications
include pharmacy, pharmacology and toxicology (9.6 per cent), nursing
(15.4 per cent), social work (7.4 per cent) and mathematics (11.5 per
cent). Subjects experiencing a decline include law (7.4 per cent), psychology
(6.3 per cent) and biology (6.3 per cent).
Top-up fees, whereby universities can charge students up to £3,000
per year for tuition, come into effect in England from September. Scottish
and Welsh institutions have not introduced top-up fees and the number
of students applying for courses in these countries may reflect this.
The number of applicants to English institutions is down by 3.7 per cent
while the numbers of applicants to Scottish and Welsh institutions are
up by 1.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. In addition, the number
of English applicants to Scottish universities rose by 1.9 per cent whereas
the number of English applicants to English universities dropped by 4.5
per cent. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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