Title: Highest Demanding Degree Programs for University Access in Catalonia Revealed
Introduction: The recently released data on university access in Catalonia has unveiled the most sought-after degree programs and the number of students who have secured their desired study placements. As expected, health sciences and business administration continue to dominate the list of preferred fields of study.
Main Body:
1. Medicine (Campus Clínic) at UB Tops the List: The Medicine degree program offered at the UB (University of Barcelona) has once again emerged as the most highly sought-after program, with a record-breaking cut-off mark of 13,040 (13,240 in 2022) among degrees offering more than 40 places.
2. Health Sciences and Business Administration Dominate: As seen in previous years, the most requested study centers are those offering degrees in health sciences such as medicine, psychology, nursing, and dentistry, alongside fields like business administration and management, law, and architecture.
3. High Demand for Specific Programs: The UB’s Medicine (Campus Clínic) program, with 200 available places, received 1,668 applications. Psychology at UB followed with 1,167 applications for 432 places, while Business Administration and Management, also offered at UB, received 1,013 applications for 780 places.
4. Over 80% of Pre-Registered Students Secure Placements: Out of the 57,263 students who pre-registered for degree studies across seven Catalan public universities (UB, UAB, UPC, UPF, UdL, URV, UdG) and the University of Vic-Central de Catalunya (UVic-UCC), 82.95% (47,501 students) have successfully secured a place. Among them, 62.80% (29,830 students) obtained their first preference.
5. University Assignments: The breakdown of students assigned to different universities is as follows: 11,998 at UB, 9,716 at UAB, 6,763 at UPC, 4,167 at UPF, 3,146 at UdL, 4,334 at UdG, 3,867 at URV, 3,065 at UVic-UCC, and 445 at mixed centers.
6. Competitive Cut-Off Grades: Following Medicine (Campus Clínic) at UB, other highly demanded degree programs include Medicine at UPF (12,980), Mathematics at UPC (12,925), Medicine (Campus Bellvitge) at UB (12,893), Medicine at URV (12,768), and Medicine at UAB (12,713).
7. Double Degree Programs in High Demand: Four of the top 10 degree programs with the highest cut-off marks are double degrees. These include Physics and Mathematics at UAB (13,436) and UB (13,318), Law and International Relations at UAB (13,084), and Computer Engineering and Mathematics at UB (12,920).
8. Decrease in Cut-off Marks: This year, most of the degrees in the top 10 list have slightly lower cut-off marks compared to 2022. In fact, 50.19% (268) of the offered programs saw a decrease in cut-off grades, while 26.6% (142 programs) witnessed an increase, and 23.2% (124 programs) remained unchanged.
9. Applicant Profile: The majority of applicants (47,677) originated from PAU (University Access Examination) and Higher Level Training Cycles, followed by 1,419 university students seeking a second degree. Additionally, 828 individuals from the tests for people aged over 25 and 45, and 7,339 university students requesting a change of degree study participated in the admission process.
Conclusion: The annual data on university access in Catalonia highlights the demand for specific degree programs and sheds light on the preferences and trends in fields of study among students in the region. The top-ranking programs, particularly in health sciences and business administration, continue to attract numerous applicants, while the overall cut-off marks have seen slight variations compared to the previous year.