Asian international students in the UK are increasingly bypassing traditional academic subjects in favour of more career-orientated courses, with new data showing a sharp pivot towards computing and healthcare.

Enrolment data for 2023-24 shows a surge in students prioritising fields with clear employment outcomes, particularly those from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, according to?an by ApplyBoard, a global student recruitment platform.

Arts and humanities subjects are suffering in favour of programmes aligned with global labour market needs and post-study work opportunities, it says.

Among Indian students, nearly one in four chose computing and IT courses or health and medicine.

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While business and law remain the most popular overall, interest in engineering has dropped significantly ¨C from 12 per cent in 2019-20 to just 7 per cent last year.

More than 50 per cent of students from Pakistan continue to pursue business and law, but computing and IT now accounts for 13 per cent of enrolments, as engineering enrolments decline.

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Nepal has seen one of the most dramatic shifts. In 2023-24, 15 per cent of Nepalese students chose computing and IT ¨C a tenfold increase since 2019-20.

Bangladeshi students followed a similar path, with 12 per cent now opting for computing and IT programmes, up from 9 per cent four years ago.

The Philippines stands out in health and medicine, with 38 per cent of students entering this field ¨C nearly triple the share from 2019-20 and the highest among emerging markets.

In Sri Lanka, 15 per cent of new students in the UK entered computing and IT in 2023-24, well above the global average.

The changes suggest a growing awareness among students of the UK¡¯s skill gaps and evolving labour market needs.

The tech sector, now valued at over ?1.2 trillion, continues to expand, while the NHS faces a critical shortage of healthcare staff.

Recent Ucas data showed that 4,700 international students applied to UK nursing programmes by the June 2025 deadline ¨C up 19 per cent year-on-year.

Health and medicine and computing and IT together accounted for over a fifth of all new international entrants to the UK last year, with their share slowly rising over the past five years.

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Meanwhile, enrolments in the arts, social sciences and humanities have dropped by nearly five percentage points since 2019-20.

This shift in demand comes as the UK government prepares to reduce its post-study work visa from two years to 18 months.

ApplyBoard said the patterns present both a risk and an opportunity for universities ¨C particularly as demand from some South Asian markets, including Nepal and Pakistan, begins to stabilise.

Targeted engagement with these countries, especially around computing and healthcare, could help institutions meet recruitment targets while strengthening the diversity of their international cohorts, the firm added.

While UK universities adjust to these evolving trends, new data from Keystone Education Group highlights a parallel transformation taking place in East Asia.

From March to June 2025, student search interest in the ¡°Asian Tigers¡± ¨C Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea ¨C grew by 19 per cent, surpassing traditional regional powers like Japan and China, the figures show.

Hong Kong led with a 125 per cent jump in searches, followed by Singapore at 33 per cent and Taiwan at 6 per cent.

South Korea entered Keystone¡¯s top 10 global study destinations for the first time.

These destinations are increasingly attracting international students ¨C not just from the region but globally ¨C?owing to strong university systems, favourable visa policies and targeted government investment, Keystone said.

Indian and Indonesian students are driving much of the interest, reflecting a growing preference for high-quality education that is geographically closer.

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tash.mosheim@timeshigehreducation.com