All the Oxbridge courses where girls are still given less firsts than boys in 2024

So, a new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) alerted the world to how way more men get firsts at Oxbridge than girls do. At some courses at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, male students are twice as likely to get a first in their degree than the female students. Like, in 2024.

The report reckons the reasons for this are that Oxbridge courses are still very exam-focused. Men usually do better in exams, and women usually do better in coursework. The majority of the high-up academic staff are men. More traditional lecturers prefer a more confident and less considered style of essay writing, which traditionally male students have leaned towards. In 2024, there are legit still Oxbridge professors telling female students to “write like a man” if they want more marks.

All that said, there are a few Oxbridge courses which buck this trend, where more girls are getting firsts than boys (yay!). 29.3 per cent more female students get firsts in manufacturing engineering than the male students. Yay for the women in STEM. Slightly more female students get firsts at Cambridge in Classics, modern and medieval languages, and management. At Oxford, the girlies do a bit better than the boys at medical sciences and biology.

So, here are the Oxbridge courses ranked by how many per cent more male students get firsts than female or non-binary students. The data for Cambridge comes from 2024, and the data for Oxford is from 2022. If the number is negative, it’s one of the rare Oxbridge courses where more girls get firsts than boys.

44. Manufacturing engineering, Cambridge – -29.3 per cent

43. Classics, Cambridge – -9.9 per cent

42. Medical sciences, Oxford – -9.0 per cent

Most Read

On and off: The relationship status of each MAFS UK 2024 cast member and who’s dating now

Kieran and Kristina reveal whether they went to that festival together after MAFS UK reunion

Adam told us what happened to the disappearing red wine stains on his jacket during MAFS

41. Modern and medieval languages (MML), Cambridge – -1.3 per cent

40. Management, Cambridge – -1.1 per cent

39. Biology, Oxford – -1.0 per cent

38. History and modern languages, Cambridge – 0.4 per cent

At least the Cambridge humanities girlies have a vibey museum to wander through?

37. Economics and management, Oxford – 1.0 per cent

36. Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic (ASNAC), Cambridge – 1.3 per cent

35. Engineering, Oxford – 2.0 per cent

34. English, Cambridge – 2.7 per cent

33. Chemical engineering, Cambridge – 4.3 per cent

32. English language and literature, Oxford – 6.0 per cent

31. Natural sciences, Cambridge – 6.3 per cent

30. Psychological and behavioural science (PBS), Cambridge – 6.4 per cent

=28. Geography, Oxford – 7.0 per cent

=28. Music, Oxford – 7.0 per cent

27. Music, Cambridge – 8.8 per cent

26. Education, Cambridge – 9.5 per cent

@cambridgetabtv

STEM or humanities, which one do you think? #cambridgeuniversity #students #interviews #icks #foryou #oxbridge

♬ original sound – Cambridge Tab TV

25. Law, Oxford – 10.0 per cent

24. Human, social and political science (HSPS), Cambridge – 10.7 per cent

23. Economics, Cambridge – 11.6 per cent

22. Engineering, Cambridge – 11.8 per cent

=19. Law, Cambridge – 12.5 per cent

=19. Land economy, Cambridge – 12.5 per cent

=19. History of art, Cambridge – 12.5 per cent

18. History, Cambridge – 12.7 per cent

17. Computer science, Cambridge – 12.9 per cent

16. Chemistry, Oxford – 13.0 per cent

15. Architecture, Cambridge – 13.4 per cent

14. Biochemistry, Oxford – 14.0 per cent

13. Geography, Cambridge – 14.3 per cent

12. History, Oxford – 18.0 per cent

=10. Philosophy, politics and economics (PPE), Oxford – 19.0 per cent

=10. Physics, Oxford – 19.0 per cent

Let this pretty pic of Oxford take your mind off these problems xxx

9. Mathematics, Cambridge – 19.1 per cent

8. Mathematics, Oxford – 20.0 per cent

7. Modern languages, Oxford – 21.0 per cent

6. Linguistics, Cambridge – 21.1 per cent

5. Philosophy, Cambridge – 21.7 per cent

4. Classics, Oxford – 29.0 per cent

3. Archaeology, Cambridge – 29.8 per cent

2. Asian and Middle Eastern studies, Cambridge – 32.2 per cent

1. Theology, Cambridge – 43.3 per cent