The Most Popular Masters Degree Subjects for International Study in the UK

The UK is always a popular option for postgrad study abroad and perhaps it's one you're thinking of for your Masters. But what subjects do other students actually pick? And is the kind of Masters you're thinking of a popular choice for international study?

Knowing the answer can be useful: it could give you some idea of how common postgraduate qualifications are likely to be in your subject, or show you which kinds of course are likely to be the most 'international', with a greater mix of students from different countries.

Top 18 subjects for Masters study abroad in the UK

The table below gives the latest official numbers for international students studying different subjects at postgraduate taught level (so, Masters degrees, as well as shorter courses like Postgraduate Certificates and Diplomas, but not PhDs) at UK universities. It also shows what percentage of students studying that subject are from outside the UK, so you can see how 'international' a subject is. You can read a little bit more about the data at the bottom of this page.

Top UK Postgrad Subjects for International Students
	Subject	Students	% Int.
1	Business & Management	132,940	73
2	Computing	32,900	69
3	Engineering & Technology	27,940	75
4	Social Science	24,455	39
5	Nursing, Health and other Subjects Allied to Medicine	15,265	16
6	Design and the Creative and Performing Arts	14,525	54
7	Education and Teaching	12,045	17
8	Law	11,870	32
9	Architecture, Building and Planning	9,440	48
10	Media, Journalism and Communications	7,265	56
11	Psychology	5,355	18
12	Languages, Literature, Linguistics & Classics	5,235	38
13	Mathematical sciences	5,090	70
14	Medicine & Dentistry	4,110	26
15	Biological and Sport Sciences	3,805	34
16	History, Archaeology & Philosophy	3,435	26
17	Geography	2,410	43
18	Physical Sciences	2,320	52
The information in this table is based on official HESA statistics for student numbers in the 2021-22 academic year.

This table clearly shows that the UK is a very popular choice for international students looking for MBAs and other Business Masters degrees. Not only are these the most popular courses for people studying abroad, they also have the greatest percentage of international students. In fact, most of the people studying a UK Masters degree in Business & Management will be international students.

Other very international subjects include Engineering and Mathematics (where the majority of Masters students are from outside the UK) as well as Computer Science, Media and the Creative Arts.

Where is this data from?

We've worked out the most popular postgraduate subjects using information published by the UK's Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). They collect data and publish official statistics for UK higher education.

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