2020 University Admission Quotas Decrease by 30,000 Compared to 10 Years Ago

Enrollment Quota for 4-Year Universities at 30,520, Enrolled Students Decrease by 31,561
Medical and Engineering Enrollment Increase by 7,107 and 3,895
Humanities and Social Sciences Enrollment Decrease by 10,184 and 15,376

On the 6th, when the 2021 academic year early admission essay exam was held, examinees who finished the test were leaving Sungkyunkwan University in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Universities that conducted the essay exam on this day prohibited parents and vehicles other than examinees from entering the campus to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The number of university admission quotas and enrollees has decreased by more than 30,000 compared to 10 years ago. While the number of enrollees in engineering and medical-related majors increased significantly due to employment rates, those in humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and arts and physical education decreased.

On the 26th, Jongno Academy Haneul Education analyzed the admission quotas and enrollees of 4-year universities in 2020 and 2010, finding that admission quotas decreased by 30,520 and enrollees by 31,561.

The increase or decrease in the number of enrollees by major was clearly distinguished according to employment rates. The number of enrollees in medical and engineering fields, which have relatively high employment rates of 84.4% and 67.0%, increased by 7,107 and 3,895 respectively. On the other hand, the number of enrollees in humanities with an employment rate of 55.6% and social sciences with 61.4% decreased by 10,184 and 15,376 respectively compared to 10 years ago. Natural sciences (59.7%), arts and physical education (62.5%), and education (47.3%) decreased by 7,772, 6,315, and 2,916 respectively.

Comparison of university admission quotas and number of admitted students 10 years ago based on 2020 (Source=Jongro Academy Haneul Education)

The major with the largest increase in enrollees by field is the applied software major in the engineering field. The number of departments increased from 74 to 168, more than doubling, and the number of enrollees increased more than fourfold from 1,374 to 5,503. This is due to the surge in demand for personnel in software fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), leading more universities to establish these majors. Since 2011, Sungkyunkwan University, Jeonbuk National University, and Chungbuk National University established software majors, followed by Chung-Ang University in 2014 and Kyungpook National University in 2015. Other universities with software majors include Kyung Hee University, Kwangwoon University, Kookmin University, Myongji University, Sangmyung University, Seokyeong University, Seoul Women’s University, Sejong University, Sookmyung Women’s University, Soongsil University, and Ewha Womans University.

The nursing major in the medical field increased from 132 to 143 departments, and the number of enrollees rose by 56.5% from 6,902 to 10,800. This is interpreted as a result of increased demand in the medical and health sectors, leading to expansions and new department establishments. Although the humanities field generally saw a decrease in enrollees, psychology-related departments more than doubled from 41 to 85, and enrollees increased from 1,130 to 2,187, roughly doubling. This reflects the growing need for psychology experts in areas such as psychological and emotional anxiety, stress, and consumer psychology analysis in companies.

As of 2020, major fields of study with an increase of more than 1,000 in both university admission quotas and the number of admitted students compared to 10 years ago (Source: Jongro Academy Haneul Education)

As of 2020, major fields of study where the university admission quota and number of admitted students decreased by more than 1,000 compared to 10 years ago (Source: Jongro Academy Haneul Education)

Among majors with admission quotas reduced by more than 1,000, the largest decrease was in the information and communication engineering major. Over 10 years, the number of departments decreased from 386 to 273, and enrollees dropped by 40.8% from 12,329 to 7,718. The popularity of software engineering led to a decrease in admission quotas for the similar information and communication engineering major.

In the humanities field, the English language and literature major saw significant decreases in departments and quotas. The number of departments dropped from 266 to 210, and enrollees decreased by 39.2% from 8,207 to 5,043. Due to low employment rates in language and literature fields and reduced demand for these majors, consolidation and other measures led to a decrease in admission quotas.

Since last year, the boom in establishing ICT-related departments such as AI and big data continues. Newly established departments in the 2021 academic year include ▲Korea University’s Department of Data Science ▲University of Seoul’s Department of Artificial Intelligence ▲Hanyang University’s Department of Psychological Brain Science ▲Chungnam National University’s Department of Artificial Intelligence ▲Chonnam National University’s Department of Artificial Intelligence. Among industry-academia linked contract departments are Yonsei University’s Department of System Semiconductor Engineering and Korea University’s Department of Semiconductor Engineering. In the 2022 academic year, Kyung Hee University’s Department of Big Data Applications and Dongguk University’s Department of AI Convergence are scheduled to be established.

Oh Jong-woon, Evaluation Director at Jongno Academy Haneul Education, explained, "Due to the recent decline in the school-age population, local universities that were hit hard in recruiting freshmen for the 2021 academic year face the urgent task of overcoming the crisis through establishing or expanding departments that can enhance future university competitiveness or restructuring departments." He added, "As alternatives to overcome the decline in university-age population, expanding the attraction of international students, strengthening demand-oriented higher education competitiveness, and structural reforms of universities that align with the times are important."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.