ChatGPT era data suggests more students applied to AI-exposed degrees

In short: After ChatGPT launched in 2022, UK university applications rose for degrees linked to jobs that use or are affected by AI the most.

What's going on

A new working paper looked at five years of UK university application data from UCAS, the central system students use to apply to undergraduate courses. The researchers studied applications from 2020 to 2025.

They grouped degrees by both subject and university, for example “medicine at Edinburgh” or “computer science at Warwick.” They then estimated how “exposed” each degree is to AI, meaning how likely the related jobs are to include tasks that AI can help with (like a calculator helping with maths, but for writing, coding, or analysis).

The big change came after ChatGPT’s release in late 2022. Instead of avoiding AI-exposed subjects, students leaned toward them. The paper says that a one-step increase in a degree’s AI exposure was linked to a 6 percent rise in applications in the post-ChatGPT cycles. The increase showed up across men and women, different ethnic groups, and both STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and maths) and non-STEM subjects.

The study also notes a concern. Entry-level job opportunities have weakened for graduates from the most AI-exposed degrees. The authors suggest students may be moving toward subjects where the first jobs after graduation are becoming harder to get.

What to watch

Later data may change the picture. The FT reports early signs that interest in computer science is dropping in both the US and the UK compared with peaks in 2024, even while overall enrolment is slightly rising. If more students start hearing about slower hiring for junior roles, application choices could shift again.

Source: Financial Times