Class of 2022: Business, admin, and law studies account for majority of all tertiary level graduates

Business, administration and law were the most popular fields of studies for all tertiary level graduates, with 34.6 per cent graduating in respective fields in 2022.

Figures published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) revealed that in 2022, 5,472 students graduated, registering a decrease of 2.2 per cent over the previous year.

Health and welfare was the second most common field of study with graduates, with 19.6 per cent of students graduating in that field last year. This was followed by education (10 per cent), social sciences, journalism, and information (9.4 per cent) along with arts and humanities (6.7 per cent). Least popular fields of studies were agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary amounting to only 0.3 per cent of tertiary level graduates.

During the same period, 15.4 per cent of graduates attained a qualification in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Of these, 597 were males while 247 were females. This marks a 2.9 per cent increase in female STEM graduates over the previous year. Conversely, male STEM graduates decreased by 1.8 per cent.

Overall, the largest share (58.5 per cent) of tertiary graduates attained a qualification of ISCED level six meaning bachelor’s degree or equivalent. This figure was followed by 33.1 per cent of total tertiary graduates who attained a qualification at ISCED level seven, meaning master’s or equivalent.

Generally, the majority of graduates were female, with a registered figure of 55.6 per cent. Females surpassed males in all levels of tertiary education except for ISCED eight, meaning studies at PhD levels.

In addition, most tertiary level graduates were aged between 20 and 29 years, with a stark majority of 72 per cent.

On another note, 24.8 per cent of 2022’s tertiary level graduates were foreign students, a notable increase of 10.6 per cent over the previous year. EU citizens comprised the largest proportion of all foreign tertiary graduates (57.8 per cent).