Resea ch Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Fowle , S., Rich, J., & Mi chell, J. (2025). A ac i eness
O Enginee ing: Can Supply Mee Demand in UK Unde g adua e Highe
Educa ion. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.),
SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion
(SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631559.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
ATTRACTIVENESS OF ENGINEERING: CAN SUPPLY MEET
DEMAND IN UK UNDERGRADUATE HIGHER EDUCATION
S Fowle a,
1
, J Rich b, J Mi chell c
a Enginee ing P o esso s’ Council, London, England, 0009-0007-5319-6931
b Enginee ing P o esso s’ Council, London, England, 0009-0005-4462-2666
c Uni e si y College London, London, England, 0000-0002-0710-5580
Con e ence Key A eas: The a ac i eness o Enginee ing; (Sus ainabili y and
socie y in enginee ing; Con inuing educa ion and li e-long lea ning in enginee ing)
Keywo ds: A ac i eness Admissions Demand Supply Financial-sus ainabili y
ABSTRACT
This pape in es iga es unde g adua e enginee ing admissions in he UK, ocusing
on supply and demand dynamics wi hin he sec o .
In e es in UK unde g adua e enginee ing educa ion appea s o be gaining
momen um. Despi e ising applica ions, enginee ing admissions ha e emained
s a ic as uni e si ies a e ac i ely limi ing s uden in ake. Assessing he abili y o
highe educa ion ins i u ions o mee his demand is c ucial, pa icula ly in ligh o
inancial ins abili y ac oss uni e si ies.
T adi ionally, esea ch in o he a ac i eness o enginee ing educa ion has cen ed
on inc easing s uden in e es and pa icipa ion. Howe e , uni e si y and applican
beha iou s a e changing. Using seconda y quan i a i e analysis o i e yea s o
UCAS da a, his pape highligh s inc easing ejec ion a es, a g owing end o
applican s igno ing o declining o e s, and a shi in accep ed quali ica ions. These
changes will ha e angible impac s on he size and shape o enginee ing highe
educa ion.
Financial cons ain s and ins i u ional s a egies a e now shaping admissions ends
mo e han applican demand and we need o u n ou a en ion o he sec o ’s
1
Co esponding Au ho
Ini ials Las name
e-mail add ess.
capaci y o accommoda e ising demand. This is impo an , as who we admi impac s
e e y hing we do he ea e .
1 INTRODUCTION
S udies in o he a ac i eness o enginee ing educa ion o po en ial s akeholde s
end o p esen a de ici model, on he assump ion ha mo e enginee ing g adua es
a e needed o add ess skills sho ages and mee he needs o global challenges
(Boles & Whelan, 2016, Ka is e al 2018). Wi hin he li e a u e, he objec i e is
wi nessed as he p omo ion o enginee ing educa ion – h ough ini ia i es such as
a ge ed ma ke ing (Hawash, 2007), imp o ed enginee ing cu icula and digi al
access (Mielikäinen, 2021), b ead h o s udy (Alpay, 2012), and access o women
(Ga cía-Peñal o, 2022). Ac oss Eu ope he e ha e been ini ia i es o g ow he
enginee ing wo k o ce, including he Enginee ing Syne gy G oup o he Tuning
P ojec (Ma ioli and Augus i 2003), he Lisbon Agenda, Eu ope 2020 s a egy
[Schumann e . Al 2010) and a icula ed ecen ly by Enginee s Eu ope (2024).
Howe e , li le conside a ion has been gi en o he capaci y o enginee ing educa ion
o g ow h o i s abili y o mee inc easing demand. Wi h an inc ease o 14% in
applica ions o s udy unde g adua e enginee ing in he UK o 2025 (UCAS, 2025)
we a e a an impo an junc u e o es he heal h o UK highe educa ion when i
comes o mee ing he demand o unde g adua e enginee ing.
The inancial ou look o mos o UK highe educa ion is bleak. O icial da a shows
o e a hi d o UK p o ide s we e unning a de ici o 2023-24 (HESA, 2024, O ice
o S uden s, 2024) wi h epo s o up o h ee-qua e s o uni e si ies a isk o
unning de ici s in 2025 (Je eys & S andley, 2024). A leas se en y ins i u ions a e
making signi ican s a cu s. (Ke nohan, 2024)
Meanwhile, he e is deep conce n in he sec o abou he a o dabili y o enginee ing
amid he inc easing inancial p essu e on p o ide s. In he UK, enginee ing a ac s a
high-cos unding elemen in addi ion o ee income, bu oge he hese do no co e
eaching cos s wi h an es ima ed sho all o £7.5 housand pe s uden pe yea
(Enginee ing P o esso s’ Council, 2024). The consequence has long been
sys ema ic p o ide subsidy o enginee ing ui ion om class oom-based subjec s,
in e na ional ec ui men and esea ch ac i i ies. This model is unsus ainable in he
cu en inancial and poli ical clima e, and a close look a UK unde g adua e
enginee ing supply and demand is c i ical o he u u e o he sec o .
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 Enginee ing admissions
The esea ch is based on seconda y quan i a i e analysis o UCAS applica ions and
admissions da ase s om 2019 o 2023. Bespoke da a was de i ed using he UCAS
Exac se ice o speci y unique da a combina ions o unde s and he Enginee ing
ma ke and wha he ull landscape looks like in p ac ice. An ini ial in es iga ion in o
he possibili ies o he da a a ailable was unde aken o cons uc esea ch
ques ions, and o de ine he da a equi ed o answe hem. This was a complex
p ocess and demanded ex ensi e consolida ion o expe ience and discussion.
The ange o popula ions used in he da a de e mined he p ecise implemen a ion o
analysis agains each da ase (whe e he e we e some limi a ions). To maximise he
use alue o he da ase s, se e al ad anced use -de ined a iables we e also
secu ed, including subjec g oupings as well as e inemen o s anda d a iables and
he in oduc ion o quali ica ion and subjec combina ions.
Finally, he s a is ics upon which o epo we e chosen om a u he menu o
op ions. Fo mos da ase s, he p ojec included a iables spanning he whole
applica ion p ocess. Unless speci ied, all da ase s we e based on he UCAS
Unde g adua e Scheme End o Cycle poin wi h a s a yea o 2019 and an end yea
o 2023.
O e one housand da a iles we e conside ed o enable bo h mul i a ia e analysis
and p ecise analysis by each combina ion o a iables wi hin each se . The da a is
ounded a sou ce o comply wi h da a p o ec ion legisla ion
2.2 Resea ch ques ions
• Wha is he applica ion, o e and accep ance pa e n o applican s o
unde g adua e enginee ing?
• Wha a ainmen is equi ed in p ac ice o en y o unde g adua e enginee ing (as
opposed o published en y equi emen s)?
• Whe e a e he leaks in he p ocess and how ha e hese changed?
3 RESULTS
3.1 Figu es
In 2023, o e 56,000 hope uls each made an a e age o h ee o mo e sepa a e
applica ions o unde g adua e Enginee ing (o a maximum o i e choices). Tha ’s a
17% inc ease in people applying o s udy enginee ing and a 10% inc ease in
applica ions (choices) o indi idual Enginee ing cou ses since 2019.
Howe e , UK admissions o unde g adua e Enginee ing ha e been b oadly s a ic
o e hese i e yea s. Despi e heigh ened s uden in e es , he olume ul ima ely
accep ed o UK unde g adua e Enginee ing emains cons an . (Figu e 1.) The e a e
no s uden numbe con ols on uni e si y places in England and Wales. In 2023/24,
85.6% o UK enginee ing s uden s s udied in England and Wales. Sco land (11.9%)
and No he n I eland (2.5%) do ha e a capped numbe o places o UK and EU
s uden s.
Fig. 1. Enginee ing applica ions, applican s and accep s, 2019 o 2023
By he end o he 2023 UK unde g adua e admissions cycle jus o e hal o
enginee ing applican s had been accep ed o Enginee ing,1.3% ewe han in 2019.
Admissions a e inc easingly concen a ed in a smalle numbe o p o ide s,
di e en ia ed by a i (a ainmen ).
The olume o p o ide cou se o e s o applican s has inc eased since 2019, bu
only by a ound 4%, while he numbe o applican s ejec ed in he main scheme has
inc eased much mo e sha ply; by 29% in-cycle o 2023 and, by he end o he
admissions cycle as pos - esul s mo emen se les, by 20%. This means ha
demand p essu e is being ac i ely mi iga ed supply-side, whe e UK uni e si ies a e
choosing no o accep as many enginee ing s uden s as hey migh .
The olume o applican s declining an enginee ing o e has inc eased by 10% since
2019. Fu he mo e, he numbe o enginee ing o e s igno ed by applican s has
inc eased by 60% o e i e yea s, esul ing in la e p o ide unde s anding o hei
likely coho .
In 2023, jus one in ou p o ide o e s on o enginee ing cou ses we e i mly
accep ed by applican s and his pa hway accoun ed o 75% o hose placed on
unde g adua e enginee ing cou ses (wi h he emaining accoun ed o by hose
op ing o a ese e choice).
One in h ee applican s wi h an in e es in Enginee ing a applica ion s age who
en e ed highe educa ion de e ed o ano he subjec in 2023 and, o mos , he o he
subjec was con i med ea ly in he applica ions p ocess. The scale o hese could-be
enginee s who go on o s udy ano he subjec has g own om one in ou in 2019. In
he pas i e yea s, o e 55,000 Enginee ing applican s ha e gone on o s udy
ano he subjec . These po en ial enginee s a e inc easingly de e ing o Compu ing
(10.3% o accep ed applican s who had applied o Enginee ing in 2023);
A chi ec u e, Building and Planning (4.2%); Spo and Exe cise Sciences (2.9%); and
C ea i e a s and design cou ses (2.3%). Despi e o e -making in women’s a ou ,
women we e mo e inclined han men o end up s udying a non-enginee ing subjec ;
one in wo did no go on o unde g adua e enginee ing (up om one in h ee in
2019).
The esea ch shows ha h ee qua e s o 18-yea -olds accep ed o unde g adua e
enginee ing held A le els in 2023. A le els a e comple ed o e wo yea s and
s uden s usually s udy h ee subjec s, bu can s udy ewe (o , some imes, ou ). In
his epo , only he highes 3 g ades a e conside ed (de i ed om he UCAS
applica ion), whe e A*A*A* is he maximum achie emen . Nea ly one in en accep ed
applican s wi h 3 A le els o highe p esen ed wi h A*A*A*; mo e han one in h ee
held s aigh As o highe ; and mo e han hal we e high achie e s (ABB+). In
unde g adua e enginee ing, jus one in i e o e all held one o mo e D g ade.
The g ade p o iles o hose accep ed o UK unde g adua e Enginee ing a e on a
downwa ds ajec o y. Be ween 2019 and 2021, he numbe and p opo ion o bo h
high achie e s and hose achie ing he highes g ades inc eased. They ha e since
dec eased yea -on-yea . (Figu e 2).
Fig. 2. Enginee ing accep ances by A le el a ainmen , 2019 o 2023
The inc ease in applica ions o Enginee ing being d i en by 18-yea -olds (+18%
since 2019) and he p edominance o he 18-yea -old A le el coho who, in 2023,
we e mo e success ul o accep ance han i e yea s ago, appea s o ha e con ac ed
he unde g adua e Enginee ing ma ke o o he quali ica ions. The BTEC Ex ended
Diploma accep ance ou e, in pa icula , has con ac ed by nea ly a hi d since 2019;
a decline mos p onounced ollowing he 2021 Go e nmen announcemen ha
public unding would be emo ed om “low-quali y” le el 3 cou ses ha o e lap wi h
A le els and T Le els. BTEC applican s a e inc easingly placed in Clea ing. BME
applican s and hose wi h disabili ies a e o e ep esen ed in BTEC Ex ended
Diploma admissions coho s.
In 2023, o e hal o Enginee ing applica ions we e made o high- a i p o ide s, wi h
o e a qua e made o medium- a i and a i h o low- a i p o ide s. High
achie e s (wi h 3 A le els) domina ed he accep ances o highe - a i p o ide s; non-
high achie e s (wi h 3 A le els) we e he modal accep ance coho among medium-
a i p o ide s; and hose whe e no A le els we e achie ed we e he mos common
accep ances a he lowe - a i p o ide s. (Figu e 3.)
Fig. 3. Enginee ing accep ances by achie emen and p o ide a i , 2023
Meanwhile, he gap be ween high- and non-high-achie ing A le el Enginee ing
ec ui s closing a high- a i p o ide s and inc easing a medium- and low- a i
p o ide s. (Figu e 4.)
Fig. 4. Enginee ing accep ances by achie emen and p o ide g oup, 2023
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
1. Highe a i g oup 2. Medium a i g oup 3. Lowe a i g oup
Enginee ing, accep ances by achie emen & p o ide a i 2023
No A le el achie ed
Non-high achie e s
High achie e s
2 A le els
1 A le el
The numbe o Enginee ing applica ions om hose aged 20+ has allen by 9% since
2019, wi h jus 13% o applica ions o Enginee ing in 2023 om hose aged 20 o
o e . (Figu e 5.)
Fig. 5. Enginee ing, applica ions by age, 2023
4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Al hough enginee ing applica ions ha e inc eased subs an ially since 2019, UK
admissions o unde g adua e Enginee ing ha e been b oadly s a ic o e hese i e
yea s; demand appea s o be ou s ipping supply, wi h p o ide s ejec ing mo e
applica ions. P essu e on places is being ac i ely mi iga ed supply-side, whe e UK
uni e si ies a e choosing no o accep as many enginee ing s uden s as hey migh .
Meanwhile, applican beha iou is changing. Fewe enginee ing applica ions pe
capi a sugges s ha in e es in enginee ing may be inc easingly specula i e a he
ou se . The inc ease in applican s declining o igno ing an enginee ing has a
consequen ial e ec on p o ide planning o labo a o y spaces, acili ies, licensing
cos s, as well as s a ing.
In 2023, jus one in ou p o ide o e s on o enginee ing cou ses we e i mly
accep ed by applican s (and his pa hway accoun ed o 75% o hose placed on
unde g adua e enginee ing cou ses). In he pas i e yea s, o e 55,000 Enginee ing
applican s ha e gone on o s udy ano he subjec . Despi e o e -making in women’s
a ou , women we e inc easingly mo e inclined han men o end up s udying a non-
enginee ing subjec . I e o s make enginee ing mo e a ac i e is a ac ing, bu no
con e ing ce ain coho s, his may be a e lec ion o he sec o s abili y o adap and
he le els o esilience o ex e nal p essu es.
Success me ics, o example, d i e p o ide beha iou s as hey compe e among
hemsel es o applican s. O ice o S uden s (2004) indica e ha con inua ion o
ull- ime i s -deg ee s uden s in enginee ing (combined wi h echnology and
compu ing) has des abilised since 2019 and a gap has eme ged wi h enginee ing
