Ever wondered where most girls choose to go to university? Well, we’ve got the low down on the unis with the most female students. What’s the gender gap like in higher education in the UK? Let’s find out.
9. University of the Arts, London
Percentage of female students: 75%
Percentage of male students: 25%
Second in the world for Art and Design, the University of the Arts, London, is renowned for its creative courses. It has over 18,000 students studying art, design and other creative degrees. In fact, this is precisely why the university has a large gender disparity: 75% of the students within the university are female.
8. Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Percentage of female students: 76%
Percentage of male students: 24%
Following on, we have Queen Margaret University, based in Musselburgh, Edinburgh. It is split into two schools, the school of the arts and sciences, and the school of health sciences. The university offers a huge range of allied health professional degrees. These include nursing, dietetics, and occupational therapy and physiotherapy. These are all careers most often pursued by women, yet again explaining the gender gap within the student population.
7. Newman University
Percentage of female students: 76%
Percentage of male students: 24%
Newman University’s most popular 3 courses are a Master’s of Business Administration, BSc Psychology and BSc Mathematics. The Birmingham-based university has a wide range of courses outside of these, but these are the most subscribed to. Therefore, this makes sense since 80% of psychology students are typically female!
6. Leeds Arts University
Percentage of female students: 77%
Percentage of male students: 22%
A large and well-known arts university, Leeds Arts University offers a range of incredible courses, including things like animation, comic and concept art and even creative writing. In fact, the university only offers creative and arts courses, which explains the gender gap. Arts degrees are typically taken by more female students than male, even though the art industry does not reflect that.
5. The Royal Veterinary College
Percentage of female students: 79%
Percentage of male students: 21%
The Royal Veterinary College, based in Camden, is the oldest and largest veterinary college in the English-speaking world. It is connected to the University of London and it provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing. Likewise, it is one of the best universities in the UK for biosciences.
This sole focus on veterinary sciences is exactly why there is such a difference between the number of female and male students at the RVC. The veterinary career is 60% female, and so the university’s disparity reflects that.
4. Writtle University College
Percentage of female students: 79%
Percentage of male students: 21%
Writtle University College is based in Chelmsford, Essex. It is set on a 200-hectare estate in the countryside and is focused on agriculture, land-based, environmental and animal courses. The university has state-of-the-art facilities in such fields. This includess animal units, landscaped gardens, a farm, glasshouse, labs, and sports facilities.
However, many of these courses lead to careers that are consistently dominated by men, such as groundskeeping, gardening, farming and other land-based work. So it’s unclear why the university has such a wide gender gap.
3. Bishop Grosseteste University
Percentage of female students: 80%
Percentage of male students: 19%
Following on, Bishop Grosseteste University is well-known for its excellent education courses. In fact, the university has been teaching education for over 150 years. The university does offer a wide range of other courses, but arguably it’s most popular are the BEd courses. Hence the gender disparity at the university, with many more women studying and pursuing careers in education than men.
2. Courtauld Institute of Art
Percentage of female students: 81%
Percentage of male students: 19%
Based in London, the Courtauld Institute of Art is a prestigious college of the University of London. It offers a range of undergrad, postgrad, diploma and doctorate courses. This inclused history of art, conservation of wall painting, curating and conservation of easel paintings. The university has great study abroad opportunities and students have access to the Courtauld gallery.
Whilst many people would assume that the art industry is led by women, and that would explain the disparity here, this is, in fact, false. 2% of the art market is created by women. However, many more women choose to study art, with female students making up 60-75% of those studying art at university.
1. Stranmillis University College
Percentage of female students: 82%
Percentage of male students: 18%
In first position, we have Stranmillis University College; a reasonably small university based in Belfast. It offers courses in early-childhood studies, post-primary, health and physical activity and sport at the undergraduate level. There are great opportunities at the university, especially for those looking to study abroad, with the university offering chances to study in the US, Europe or Asia.
The focus on BEd courses may explain the heavily female student population, with education being a much more female-led career. In fact, 75% of classroom teachers in the UK are women.
So, those are the UK unis with the most female students and therefore, the biggest gender gap. Check out our list of the degrees with the most female students for more information and the unis that have awards for promoting gender equality.
If you want to know more about gender equality in higher education, read more about recent research that reveals a worrying amount of male students think unis do TOO MUCH to tackle misogyny! What are your thoughts?
