Science Majors Prefer Computer Science Departments, Humanities Majors Favor University Brands

Analysis of Preferred Majors in Regular Admissions at Major Universities Over the Past 3 Years
Natural Sciences: 10 out of 30 Preferred Majors Are Computer-Related
Humanities: Foreign Language-Related Majors Rank Top for 3 Consecutive Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] In the regular admissions of major universities, natural science majors preferred departments with high employment rates, while humanities majors showed a preference for university brand names.

According to Jongno Academy on the 24th, an analysis of the preferred natural science majors (excluding medical fields) at 10 universities in the Seoul area (Kyung Hee University, Korea University, Sogang University, Seoul National University, University of Seoul, Sungkyunkwan University, Yonsei University, Ewha Womans University, Chung-Ang University, Hanyang University) for the 2023 academic year regular admissions revealed that computer-related departments ranked first.

The preferred departments were based on a total of 30 departments that ranked 1st to 3rd in competition rates at each university.

In the natural sciences, computer-related departments accounted for 6 out of the 30 popular departments across the 10 universities (20.0%), followed by semiconductor-related departments (4 departments, 13.3%) in second place, and artificial intelligence (AI)-related departments (3 departments, 10.0%) in third place.

In the 2021 academic year, the top departments by competition rate were in the order of life sciences, computer science, and food science, while in 2022, AI, life sciences, and computer science ranked highest.

Over the past three years, computer-related departments have consistently been popular at these universities, with semiconductor-related departments entering second place this year being a notable feature. Departments such as architecture and mechanical engineering tended to be less favored among the top departments at each university.

Lim Sung-ho, CEO of Jongno Academy, explained, "There appears to be a clear preference for departments advantageous for employment and those linked to government policies and large corporations," adding, "AI-related departments have also consistently maintained top rankings."

On the 23rd, parents and examinees are receiving college entrance consultations at the 2019 Regular Admission Counseling Fair hosted by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, held at the 2nd Exhibition Hall of Kintex in Ilsan. / Goyang = Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In the humanities, foreign language-related departments have ranked at the top for three consecutive years at each university, showing a tendency to prefer university brand names over department characteristics.

In the 2023 regular admissions competition rates at 11 universities including the 10 major universities in Seoul and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, foreign language departments (7 departments, 20.6%) showed the highest preference. This was followed by social sciences (6 departments), business administration (5 departments), child and family studies (3 departments), and education (3 departments) in order of the number of top-ranked departments.

Looking at the past three years, foreign language departments ranked first among preferred humanities departments, followed by social sciences in second place and business administration in third.

CEO Lim analyzed, "Since humanities students receive lower scores compared to natural science students in the integrated CSAT and cross-application from natural sciences to humanities has increased, there may be a stronger tendency to prefer university brands rather than concentrating on specific departments."

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