These are the degree subjects with the most guys and the most girls

Over 80 per cent of engineering students are male, new stats have revealed, making it the most male-dominated uni subject and confirming just about every stereotype you’ve ever held about the subject.

Meanwhile, over 80 per cent of psychology and veterinary students are female, showing the split can go both ways.

New stats released today by uni data boffins HESA show which subjects have the starkest gender divide – and which lectures to stay away from to avoid a sausage fest.

“The industry as a whole needs to do some soul-searching to find out why boys and men don’t seem drawn to psychology,” John Barry, Chair of the Male Psychology Section at the British Psychological Society, told The Tab. “One thought is that within some schools of thought there are negative views of masculinity, creating the impression that psychology is not a place where men are understood or valued.”

Along with engineering, computing and maths are the most male-dominated subjects. The most evenly split subject was biological sciences, with a near 50-50 split.

And while the gender divide in certain subjects gives rise to plenty of stereotypes about the people you’ll bump into on campus, people are working to change that.

The number of female engineering students has increased by nearly a fifth in the previous two academic years, says Elizabeth Donnelly, CEO of the Women’s Engineering Society.

“We are making steady progress in our aim for a world where women are as likely as men to study engineering,” Donnelly told The Tab. G

“Greater numbers of men study engineering or computing than any other STEM subject, and aside from subjects allied to medicine and psychology, the numbers of female engineering and computing students are comparable to other STEM subjects

The University of Sunderland has introduced the world’s first undergrad module in male psychology, covering the evolutionary explanation for men’s behaviour, and explanations for why problems like men’s suicide are so persistent.

“As would be expected, the intake of students was predominantly female,” Barry said. “But we are hoping that increasingly modules like this will attract more men, and that this module will appear in more universities over the coming years.”

The courses with the highest percentage of male students:

1. Engineering: 80.18 per cent
2. Computing: 79.92 per cent
3. Maths: 62.66 per cent
4. Architecture: 61.9 per cent
5. Physical sciences: 59.41 per cent
6. Business and management: 51.66 per cent
7. Biological sciences: 50.83 per cent

The courses with the highest percentage of female students:

1. Veterinary sciences: 81.68 per cent
2. Psychology: 81.16 per cent
3. Subjects allied to medicine: 79.12 per cent
4. Teaching: 77.11 per cent
5. Languages: 71.03 per cent
6. Humanities: 70.3 per cent
7. Social sciences: 66.42 per cent

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