The short version
- 142,416 people have applied for a study place in higher education via Samordna admissions, an increase of 4.7 per cent from last year.
- The proportion of male applicants has fallen to below 40 per cent. Health subjects have 77 per cent female applicants, while technology subjects have 67 per cent male applicants.
- Decrease in the number of applicants who have teacher training as their first choice for the fifth year in a row, 4.2 per cent fewer than last year.
Sea view
The applicant numbers for universities, colleges and vocational schools in Norway are clear.
– It is a concern that the proportion of male applicants has fallen to below 40 per cent, including for the Men’s Committee which recently presented its report, said Director of the Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, Sveinung Skule, when he presented the figures at a press conference on Friday.
In 2024, 85,536 women and 56,880 men will have applied for admission to undergraduate studies at universities and colleges through Samordna admissions. This amounts to a female share of 60.1 per cent and a male share of 39.9 per cent.
– Among those who have health subjects as their first choice, there are 77 per cent women, and in the technology subjects it is the opposite with 67 per cent male applicants, added Skule.
– For nursing subjects, there is a growth in male applicants, which is very nice to see. Someone gets to do something about the gender balance.
More people are applying for child protection studies.
– It could be the “Pørni effect”, said Education Minister Oddmund Hoel (Sp).
See the press conference directly at the top of this case.
Fewer are applying for teacher training
There is concern that for the fifth year in a row there has been a decline in applicants who have teacher training as their first choice.
– There are 4.2 per cent fewer than last year, and it will be a big challenge to fill the study places there. The consolation is that the decline is smaller this year than in the past, said Skule.
The TV series Pørni starring Henriette Steenstrup was launched in 2022. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB
This year, 142,416 people have applied for a study place in higher education via Samordna admissions. There are 6 36 more than last year, and an increase of 4.7 per cent.
The rise is greatest in the subject areas of history, economics and social science.
On 20 July, all applicants will find out whether they have entered the lines they have applied for.
More will study nursing
After several years of decline, the number of applicants for nursing education is now increasing.
The number of male applicants increases by almost fifty percent to nursing education in Oslo, this year’s applicant figures for OsloMet show.
- Have you applied for higher education this year? Her you can check the applicant numbers on the lines you have applied for.
– We are very happy to see that so many people want to study nursing at OsloMet. The need for nurses is great throughout the country, and will increase in the coming years. This is both a good and safe educational choice and a choice that is important for society, says headmaster Christen Krogh in a press release.
Other female-dominated courses at OsloMet also have more male applicants this year. Nearly 19 per cent of applicants to child protection are men, compared to 15 last year.
In residential care, 33 per cent of applicants are men, while almost 20 per cent of those who have applied for social work are men.
– Nursing is in a positive development. More than 10 more than last year have nursing as their first choice, Skule said at the press conference on Friday.
Director of the Directorate for Higher Education and Skills
Sveinung Skule
These studies are most popular
The most popular study this year is jurisprudence at the University of Oslo. 2102 people have chosen the study program as their first choice. There are 224 planned study places.
In second place is jurisprudence at the University of Bergen. There are 2055 applicants who have the study as their first choice, and 374 study places.
The civil economics degree at NHH in Bergen is the third most popular, with 1,729 first-choice applicants and 450 places.
Fewer will become primary school teachers
For the fifth year in a row, the number of applicants to teacher education programs has fallen.
The number who have set teacher education as their first choice has decreased by 4.2 per cent from 2023.
The decline is particularly critical for primary school teacher training courses for grades 1–7. and 5–10 steps. There, the number of first-choice applicants is down by 11 and 12 per cent from last year.
– The teaching profession is a great profession and one of our most important. Therefore, the continued decline in the number of applicants is dramatic, says head of the Education Association, Geir Røsvoll, in a message.
He calls for political measures.
– Now there must be effective measures that can provide both better pay and working conditions for teachers, whether they work in schools or in kindergartens, Røsvoll believes.
Oddmund Hoel announces concrete changes in the hope of reversing the trend.
– We have struggled with teacher recruitment for several years. The steps taken by the previous government, such as making it a master’s degree and introducing grade requirements, are a medicine we have little faith in, Hoel said at the press conference and continued:
– Should we think completely new and take bolder measures? The grade requirements introduced by the previous government are an obstacle for motivated applicants, not least those who already work at the school. The government allows exemptions from the character requirements to get more people into this important profession.