ABS analyses a number of data sources to provide the latest market intelligence to our members. Slides and data on the latest information are available through the below links. Passwords for the 'members only' spreadsheets have been emailed to our contacts at member institutions.
We are now also able to offer bespoke data analysis for members - please get in touch for more details.
For any queries relating to data or surveys please contact Joe Clark, Policy Officer on jclark@the-abs.org.uk or 020 7388 0007.
Downloads
ABS market intelligence report on 2008/09 HESA data
ABS HESA student data analysis (members only)
ABS HESA student data analysis - overseas domicile (members only)
ABS HESA student data analysis - finance & accounting (members only)
ABS HESA staff data analysis (members only)
ABS HESA research income data analysis (members only)
ABS HESA data by institution (members only)
ABS National Student Survey analysis
ABS quick student number survey - Oct 2009 (members only)
ABS QR funding survey - Oct 2009 (members only)
Latest student numbers - 2008/09 HESA data
Business and management education delivered by ABS members continues to be the most popular single subject of study for students in UK universities. From the latest data available, in the academic year 2008/09, 1 in 7 of all students were studying business and management. This represents 248,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) students at all levels of Higher Education: from Foundation Degree, through traditional three and four year undergraduate courses, specialist Masters, MBAs and Doctorates.
Undergraduate
During the last fourteen years, the period for which data is available, the number of undergraduate students studying for a degree in the UK has increased by 35% while those studying business and management has grown by 74%.
Business and management Foundation Degrees have seen healthy growth since their introduction in 2001/02, with over 6,500 students starting one in 2008/09.
Business and management students are much more likely to take a sandwich year to gain valuable work experience than students studying other disciplines, with 22% of first degree students choosing this option.
Postgraduate taught
There has been spectacular growth in students taking postgraduate taught (PGT) qualifications in recent years, which include the MBA and specialist qualifications in finance, marketing and human resource management. While the number of students studying for all PGT level qualifications in UK universities has risen by 63% in the last fourteen years, business and management has seen a 94% rise with 58,000 FTE students registered in 2008/09. MBA students number around 32,000 with a third each studying full-time, part-time and by distance learning. Around 2,500 students are registered on Executive MBA programmes.
Postgraduate research
Business and management has not traditionally had large numbers of postgraduate research students studying for PhDs and DBAs compared to other subjects, but there has been growth in this area. The 83,000 FTE postgraduate research students attending UK universities in 2008/09 represent a 40% increase over the last fourteen years. During the same period, business and management has seen 86% growth, with 4,200 FTEs registered in 2008/09.
International
As befits the area of study in the global era, a third of business and management students come from outside the UK, and a quarter from outside the EU. In 2008/09 students from over 200 different countries came to the UK to study this subject, from Azerbaijan to Zambia, with students from China, India, Nigeria, Germany and France the most numerous. There are also over 1,000 students from the USA studying business and management here. UK Business Schools and Departments of Management are clearly providing an education that is attractive and relevant to students from across the globe.
Data Source: HESA Student/Staff/Finance Records 1994/95 - 2008/09. HESA cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived from the data by third parties.