School-leavers dream of studying medicine, IT, civil engineering at TUT, UT
The latest survey conducted by the market research company Turu-uuringute AS indicates that high school graduates prefer to continue their education in major universities.
According to the university and specialty selection survey, 72 percent of this year's school-leavers prefer TUT and 67 percent prefer the University of Tartu (UT) for continuing their studies. TUT was the first choice for 36 percent and the UT for 33 percent of the school-leavers. These were followed by Tallinn University and foreign universities in general.
According to Karin Reivart, Research Manager of Turu-uuringute AS, approximately 50 percent of the boys give TUT as their first choice, while girls prefer the UT.
According to the survey, the main criterion in the selection of a university is compliance of the taught specialties with the interests of the young people. Other important criteria are the high level of education provided and a good reputation. Also, nearly half of the respondents were of the opinion that the education must correspond to their skills and abilities, have value and potential in the society, and ensure a stable job after completion of studies.
The graduates rank medicine and informatics together with business information technology as the two most popular subjects, followed by construction and architecture, education, social work, electromechanics, integrated engineering, law, economics, and international relations.
Majority of the boys rank IT, electromechanics, construction and architecture highest, whereas the top three in the girls' preferences are medicine, teacher training with social work, and law.
Editor: S. Tambur