Discipline Deep Dive - UK Computer Science PGR

Previously in the Discipline Deep Dive series, we investigated the current state of UK PGT Computer Science audiences. A dynamic area of study that is growing in interest faster than any other discipline in UK PGT, driven primarily by Artificial Intelligence and related fields.

Here we’ll do the same for PGR. With research into Computer Science breaking new ground seemingly every week, what does the audience look like for UK PGR institutions? What fields of study are they most interested in? And what are their preferences in projects and programmes?

Our Share of Search and Pulse data can answer those questions with a detailed view of the state of the UK PGR Computer Science discipline as we enter Q3 2024.

As mentioned, in UK PGT, no discipline area is growing as fast as Computer Science (+8%). In fact, that growth is even more pronounced at PGR level.

Comparing Q2 of 2024 to Q2 of 2023, we see that interest in Computer Science has grown a remarkable +33%, outpacing all other discipline areas (the next strongest growth comes from Business & Professional at +5%). This is still the case when we drill down into our audiences. Domestically growth is at +38%, while internationally it is +26%.

We found the PGT Computer Science audience to be relatively young when compared to overall PGT audiences. Computer Science at PGR level is similar in that regard, however, the differences are slightly less pronounced.

Our Pulse data shows that 59% of the Computer Science PGR audience are under 35, whereas for all UK PGR that figure is 53%. Conversely, only 4% of the Computer Science audience are aged 55+, compared to 7% for all PGR. Subtle yet significant differences.

The audience is predominantly male. Around two-thirds of our Pulse respondents (67%) identify as male, and HESA data from 19/20 to 21/22 shows eventual enrolments to be 71% male. That suggests there’s possibly a small group of prospective female students who are not, for some reason, progressing to enrolment.

In terms of research opportunities, the Computer Science audience is remarkably similar to the audience for all PGR. Around 80% are seeking full time opportunities and around 64% would like them to be based on campus.

However, there are notable differences if we drill down into domestic and international preferences.

Domestic audiences are 20% more likely to seek part time opportunities, and a whopping 40% more likely to seek flexible methods of conducting their research (either blended or fully online). Their most popular option being blended opportunities, which are sought after by 42% of the domestic audience.

The Computer Science PGR audience are more likely to be motivated by Challenge (+9%) and Subject Interest (+4%) while also being less likely to consider Cost a concern (-6%). That being said, as with all audiences Cost is still the largest area of concern.

Along with promising growth figures, the HESA data also reveals an interesting quirk of UK PGR discipline areas. Through 19/20 to 21/22, Computer Science was the only PGR discipline area to be made up of more international enrolments (55%) than domestic (45%). Total numbers are rising for both, but proportionally it could be argued that the international audience is actually more important than the domestic audience in UK Computer Science PGR.

So, where is this audience coming from?

Our Share of Search data shows that around 51% of international Computer Science interest comes from Asia and 14% from Africa. When we compare these proportions to the Share of Search for all PGR, we find at Asian interest accounts for a higher proportion of interest in Computer Science (+4%), while African interest accounts for a lower proportion (-3%). Interest from other major audiences, such as Europe and North America, is of a similar proportion to their interest in all UK PGR.

But what about interest from individual countries?

In terms of countries, India and Pakistan have the largest individual audiences. Though, since having a similar Share of Search last year, the Indian searching audience is now almost 5% larger than its neighbour. It’s also worth noting that another South Asian country, Sri Lanka, cracks the top ten, too.

The rest of the top ten is a mixture from across the globe, with German interest having grown the most and French interest having fallen the furthest.

Finally, what specialisms are these growing audiences drawn to?

Unsurprisingly, like with PGT, AI is the dominant subject of interest in Computer Science PGR. It alone garners over half of all interest in the discipline area, having seen near exponential growth in interest during the last few years.

In fact, it is now the most popular subject area in all UK PGR.

During Q1 2022, AI was the 32nd most popular PGR specialism regardless of discipline area, having a 1.45% share of all UK PGR searches. By Q2 2024, its popularity had risen enough to become the most popular of all PGR specialisms, with a 6.45% share of all searches (that’s a growth rate of +260% in only two years!).

Other Computer Science specialisms that have seen major growth during this time span include Cyber Security (+185%), Machine Learning (+68%) and Data Science (+47).

• Computer Science is experiencing far stronger growth than any other discipline area.

• It is a young and predominantly male audience.

• AI is now the most popular of all specialisms in UK PGR and growth doesn’t appear to be slowing yet.

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