The 27 least popular UK university courses, which fewer than 200 students pick
Only 135 students chose Italian this year
27 UK university courses were chosen by 200 or fewer undergraduate students this year, UCAS data shows. The least popular subjects include many modern languages, as well as some rather niche STEM pathways.
The least popular course to study at a UK university is minerals technology. Just five undergrads signed up for it in 2025, out of the 577,725 who headed off to university.
Many modern language courses were chosen by under 200 freshers, including African and modern Middle Eastern studies, Celtic studies, Italian studies, Slavic studies and Welsh studies. Studying modern languages has become much less popular in the UK. In 2019, 19,930 students were accepted onto undergrad courses in language and area studies through UCAS. Yet In 2025, only 15,115 were. The University of Edinburgh, the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham axed several languages courses in 2026 due to low numbers.
This data refers to how many students were accepted onto undergraduate courses through UCAS in the 2025 admissions cycle. Approximately a third of Scottish students don’t apply through UCAS, so aren’t included in these figures. The numbers have been rounded to the nearest multiple of five.
Here are the least popular UK university subjects:
27. Biotechnology – 200 people
=25. Information services – 195 people
=25. Rural estate management – 195 people
24. Food and beverage production – 190 people
Students testing what food and beverages are produced in York, clearly for academic purposes
23. Landscape design – 170 people
22. African and modern Middle Eastern studies – 150 people
21. Slavic studies – 145 people
20. Italian studies – 135 people
19. Agricultural sciences – 115 people
=17. Food and beverage studies (non-specific) – 110 people
=17. Maritime technology – 110 people
=15. American and Australasian studies – 95 people
=15. Forestry and aboriculture – 95 people
Aboriculture is tree-growing, by the way
14. Operational research – 85 people
13. Heritage studies – 80 people
12. Publishing – 70 people
11. Polymers and textiles – 60 people
=8. Gaelic studies – 50 people
=8. Naval architecture – 50 people
=8. Plant sciences – 50 people
7. Welsh studies – 45 people
A Cardiff University student and a magnificent dragon at Cardiff Castle
6. Physical sciences (non-specific) – 40 people
=4. Celtic studies (non-specific) – 35 people
=4. Hair and beauty sciences – 35 people
3. Toxicology – 25 people
2. Community nursing – 15 people
1. Minerals technology – 5 people
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