There has been a surge of interest in building degrees this year
Early figures from university admissions body UCAS suggest that the number of students being accepted onto undergraduate degree courses in construction in autumn 2015 has risen noticeably.
Since the release of A-level results earlier this month, UCAS has announced that 7,550 students have been accepted onto degrees in subject group K – architecture, building and planning.
This represents an increase of 8% compared to this time last year, although students are still being placed through the clearing process.
In comparison, there has been an overall 3% increase in the number of applicants being accepted across all subjects.
Within category K, it is not yet known how the increase has been distributed across architecture, construction and surveying courses.
However, if building-related courses received an 8% boost in line with the category as a whole, this would mean the number of first year undergraduates would reach around 2,700, compared to 2,510 last year.
"Nothing we are doing is different. Grade requirements have stayed the same, the course content is relatively unchanged and we haven’t been trying to recruit more, but we have had a really healthy return this year."
Professor Jacqui Glass MCIOB, Loughborough University
Professor Jacqui Glass MCIOB, associate dean (enterprise) at Loughborough University’s school of civil and building engineering, said that her colleagues had experienced a surge in interest in building degrees in the 2014-15 application period.
Speaking to Construction Manager, she said: “We have definitely had more people applying to our construction programmes and have definitely had more people accepting offers this year.
“Nothing we are doing is different. Grade requirements have stayed the same, the course content is relatively unchanged and we haven’t been trying to recruit more, but we have had a really healthy return this year.”
Glass attributes the increase partially to positive press that Loughborough has received over the past year, but more importantly to the increased visibility of the profession. “The industry is buoyant. 17- and 18-year-olds are walking past building sites and seeing changes happen to their localities. Construction has become much more visible.
“However, there is still work to be done – some careers advisers still steer applicants to the more traditional engineering courses as they still don’t understand some construction careers,” she added.
The UCAS figures show increased numbers of applicants placed on K category courses from England (6%), Wales (11%) and Northern Ireland (15%). However, there was no increase in the number of placed students from Scotland.
Internationally there is an increase of 12% of applicants being accepted from EU countries and an increase of 17% of applicants being accepted from countries outside the EU.
Courses in the subject group K are divided into two categories: K2 includes degrees in building surveying, quantity surveying, building technology, building, construction management and conservation of buildings; and K1 includes architecture, architectural technology and interior architecture.
Full figures that will include final applicant and acceptance totals in both the K1 and K2 categories will be published by UCAS on 17 December.
Last year there was an increase of 40 students starting degrees on building-related subjects (K2) compared to 2013.
However, 2014 was the first year there was not a decrease in the numbers entering the building degrees since 2008 and the total figure of 2,550 was still a long way short of pre-crash levels.
In 2008 there were close to double the number of students starting building degrees, with 4,370 enrolling.
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