University offers fall slightly as students flock to health and drift from tech

University offers fall slightly as students flock to health and drift from tech

An official release by ACTAC revealed that 265,046 undergraduate offers were made for degrees commencing in Semester 1 of 2026, with health courses the most popular area of study while computer science courses experienced further declines. This is a 2.3% decline from last year’s figures, potentially indicating the impacts of government-imposed enrolment controls and an increased focus in filling domestic places. As seen in Figure 2 below, health-related courses were most popular, making up 22.2% of all offers, with ‘society and culture’ which includes law, arts and psychology coming in at 21.8%.

The popularity of health-related courses is attributed to a combination of the recent pandemic and the plentiful career pathways offered in the industry, as an ageing population and skills shortages increase demand.

Conversely, IT related degrees saw a 0.7% drop in offers, with no clear reason for the decline which has been a trend for several years. Possible explanations include a shift away from full undergraduate Computer Science degrees toward AI or cybersecurity training delivered through TAFE, embedded in other university programs, or offered as micro-credentials. Regardless of the cause, this is creating concern amid a strong demand for AI and other technology skills and the increasing importance of cybersecurity.

Overall, the data reveals that students are responding strongly to market signals, observing the demand for jobs in healthcare and less opportunity to break into a the competitive tech industry.