As the UK sector anticipates new policy requirements and tighter scrutiny around post-study pathways, aligning program offerings with student demand has never been more important. Yet, international students bring a wide range of goals and preferences to their study decisions.
Program choices often vary by source country and level of study. Some markets send large numbers of postgraduate students looking to upskill quickly. Others have growing undergraduate demand tied to longer-term career planning. These patterns can directly influence which fields of study are thriving and which may need targeted support. How can institutions support under-enrolled programs while continuing to attract high-quality applicants?
New entrant data from the 2023/24 academic year points to some clear shifts, including a higher proportion of international students enrolling in computing/IT and health and medicine.1 Examining these enrolment patterns by source market and field can help institutions stay aligned with evolving demand.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Computing/IT and health and medicine continued to attract a strong share of new international entrants in the UK in 2023/24
- Students from Myanmar, Qatar, and Nepal were significantly more likely to enter computing/IT programs than the all-market average.
- Health and medicine accounted for 11% of all new international entrants in 2023/24. One in every four students from Ireland, Hong Kong, and Canada chose this field.
Computing and Health Made Up a Larger Share of New Entrants to the UK in 2023/24
International student demand in the UK evolves in small but meaningful ways. In 2023/24, more students chose to begin their studies in computing/IT and health and medicine, fields that offer clearer links to employment and future skill needs.
The overall field of study mix among international students in the UK has remained fairly stable over the past five years, but subtle shifts are beginning to take shape. The share of new entrants in computing/IT was up three percentage points in 2023/24 compared to 2019/20. While modest, this represents a change of several thousand more students choosing this field of study. Health and medicine also remained strong in 2023/24, accounting for more than 11% of new starters.
These gains have coincided with a more noticeable shift away from the arts, social sciences, and humanities, whose share of new entrants fell by nearly five percentage points since 2019/20. This pattern suggests students are increasingly drawn to disciplines that intersect with areas where demand and impact are expected to grow, particularly those that emphasize innovation, healthcare needs, and global systems.
That trend also mirrors developments in the UK labour market. The country’s tech sector now exceeds £1.2 trillion in market value. Meanwhile, NHS staffing shortages remain a pressing concern, with recent estimates pointing to a shortfall of over 10,000 nurses. As students assess where their UK education might lead them, it’s likely that domestic labour shortages and growth sectors are shaping the value students perceive in certain programs.
UCAS data for the June 30, 2025 deadline shows that 4,700 international undergraduate students applied for a nursing program, 19% higher than the 2024 deadline.2
Which Student Populations are Driving Demand in Computing/IT and Health and Medicine?
While computing/IT and health and medicine made up 10% and 11% of all new international entrants in 2023/24, several student populations pursued these fields at significantly higher rates:
Computing/IT is a top study priority for several key student populations. Nearly one in five new international students from Myanmar entering the UK in 2023/24 pursued a computing/IT field, more than double the all-market average. Other student populations with notably high engagement in this field of study include those from Qatar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India, all of which had 14% or more of their new UK entrants choose computing/IT. All told, these trends show a broad pattern of interest among students across South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
For institutions looking to support or expand computing/IT programs, these markets may represent high-potential recruitment channels, particularly where domestic interest is flattening or growth targets are proving harder to meet. Targeted outreach in markets like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and Pakistan could help institutions attract students with a strong predisposition toward this field, improving both fill rates and diversity efforts. As we highlighted back in June, UK study visa data shows that demand from these four markets stabilized over Q1 2025; however, some of these countries may also face increased scrutiny moving forward due to past asylum claim rates.3
Understanding the drivers behind the computing/IT demand—such as post-study work potential or domestic labour trends—can help develop messaging and support services to sustain interest over time, especially in response to the 2025 White Paper’s proposed changes to the Graduate Route.
Some emerging markets4 with a high proportion of students entering computing/IT include Algeria (23%), Uzbekistan (15%), Morocco (14%), and Bahrain (12%).
Health and medicine shows a comparable trend, with a different mix of student populations driving above-average interest:
Health and medicine draws above-average interest from a globally distributed set of student markets. Students from Ireland, Hong Kong, and Canada were especially likely to enter health and medicine programs in 2023/24, with one in four new entrants from each market choosing this field. This represents more than 14 percentage points above the all-market average. Other high-interest markets span the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Southern Europe, underscoring a wide geographic appeal of health-related fields.
In some countries, UK degrees are valued for their clinical rigour and cross-border recognition. In others, limited domestic capacity or constrained professional pathways may drive demand for overseas training. Institutions can benefit from tailoring their outreach to reflect these differences, emphasizing program quality, postgraduate options, and alignment with healthcare priorities across both local and global contexts.
Some emerging markets5 with a high proportion of students entering health and medicine include the Philippines (38%), Zimbabwe (30%), Jordan (19%), and Belgium (19%).
What Fields of Study do the UK’s Largest International Student Populations Pursue?
Field of study preferences don’t just vary by market. They also take on different significance when viewed through the lens of student volume. Looking at the UK’s largest international student populations helps reveal which programs are driving demand at scale.
Business and law continues to dominate among high-volume source markets, particularly in South Asia. In 2023/24, over half of new students from India and Pakistan entered this field. For China, on the other hand, business and law enrolment has declined steadily over five years. Arts, social sciences, and humanities has grown to become the top choice among students from China, accounting for nearly 38% of new entrants in 2023/24.
Engineering and technology, once popular across multiple student populations, has seen a notable decline in recent years. The field accounted for 12% of new international entrants from India in 2019/20 but just 7% in 2023/24. A similar drop occurred among Pakistani students. However, with the UK launching a £54 million recruitment strategy to attract global research talent from the US in June, we expect this field to see somewhat of a rebound over the next couple of years.
American student interest in the UK is at an all-time high, with UCAS data showing nearly 8,000 applications for the fall 2025 semester.
Even as health and medicine has received increased attention across the UK sector, its performance among the largest student populations remains steady. Indeed, Nigeria and the US remain strong contributors, with 15% of their new UK students entering this field. As institutions prepare for further sectoral reforms and anticipate post-White Paper adjustments, maintaining a steady corridor into healthcare-aligned programs and post-graduate opportunities could prove especially important in safeguarding both student outcomes and national workforce goals.
Aligning Your Institution With What’s Next
Program-level shifts in international demand rarely happen all at once, but they matter more than ever in today’s climate of policy change and increasing scrutiny. Institutions that respond early to evolving student priorities will be better positioned to sustain enrolment, diversify their cohorts, and meet labour-aligned goals.
Whether it’s understanding which fields are gaining momentum in key markets or identifying untapped student populations for under-enrolled programs, ApplyBoard’s insights and platform are built to support smarter recruitment decisions. Our data can help your institution not only see where demand is trending, but how to meet it with the right message, the right markets, and the right partners.
ApplyBoard is not only helping partners navigate these shifts through data-driven insights, but is also a committed champion of the White Paper’s Agent Quality Framework (AQF) mandate. We’re leading the way in agent quality with our rigorous onboarding, training, and performance-monitoring standards powered by tech-driven solutions like TrainHub. These efforts ensure that students receive informed, ethical guidance, giving our partners the confidence that they can grow at a sustainable and credible scale.
Interested in learning how ApplyBoard can help you achieve your recruitment goals? Connect with your Account Director or contact our commercial partnerships team today to explore tailored strategies for your institution.
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FOOTNOTES:
1. All enrolment data courtesy of HESA, unless otherwise noted. Academic years are from August of the previous year to July of the given year. For example, the 2023/24 academic year spans August 2023 to July 2024. Per HESA’s standard rounding methodology, all counts of people have been rounded to the nearest multiple of five.
2. Note that UCAS data shows only a partial view of undergraduate international admissions in the UK.
3. The PIE, Rumoured UK visa crackdown to target Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. May 2025.
4. Emerging markets defined here as between 500 and 1,000 new entrants in 2023/24.
5. Emerging markets defined here as between 500 and 1,000 new entrants in 2023/24.
