The number of women applying for and completing university courses has been increasing in recent years and research by the National Center for Education Statistics shows that of the 19.7 million students attending universities in the autumn of 2020, 11.3 million of them were female students.
Going to university can be an exciting yet daunting time that involves leaving your old school and friends and family behind whilst relocating to an unfamiliar city or town. However, the benefits are well known to outweigh any short-term discomfort, as universities are the established and recognized route to obtain professional qualifications and vital experience in your chosen field of work. Students with relevant qualifications and higher grades are often more likely to earn higher salaries and achieve career success.
There are thousands of universities in the United States ranging in areas of expertise, size, and quality. The courses on offer span a vast array of fields and subjects so it can be easy for any young woman to find a course that matches their academic preferences and career aspirations.
One thing you must take into account when deciding which university and course to choose is all the costs related to studying for a degree which includes tuition fees, weekly food costs, and accommodation expenses. Try to make a maximum yearly budget first then search for universities that are within your financial limits to avoid getting into more debt than is necessary.
If you are looking around to find enjoyable, interesting, and rewarding university courses or researching career paths, then here are some courses that are particularly popular with women.
Veterinary Science
There are several courses to choose from but the main thing is to do your homework. Doing some research on which college major to choose will help you to make the right choice by taking a look at the courses that are popular choices for other people. One of the major courses that have been popular with girls for many years is veterinary science, with the option of becoming a vet, nurse, or technician.
The number of male veterinary students has been on the decline for years whilst the proportion of women signing up for the degree has been around 80% in the last few years. However, when it comes to the workforce their labor market in the veterinary field is made approximately 55% women and 45% male according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, and later research showed that 90% of veterinary nurses and technicians are female.
Psychology
When taking both degrees and doctorates into account the estimated percentage of women enrolled in psychology courses at universities is 74% with variations in different subfields. Many psychology students will choose to specialize in the later years of their degree in areas such as clinical psychology, child and adolescent psychology, cognitive psychology, counseling, and education.
Medicine
There is a whole range of job positions available in the health care sector such as:
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However, each specialized area of medicine will require years of study to obtain the relevant degree and permission to practice. This hasn’t stopped a large number of girls enrolling to be doctors and in recent years almost half of all medical students have been women. Some medical fields are dominated by male doctors whilst others such as allergies, gynecology, immunology, obstetrics, and pediatrics are popular career paths for women.
Teaching
Job positions in schools at all levels in the education system are predominantly filled by women so naturally, education degrees are a popular choice for many young women when it comes to enrolling at a university. One of the reasons teaching is a common career path for many women is because traditionally it is considered to offer a higher salary compared to most other jobs and better job security.
During the last few years of an education degree, students are expected to specialize by age range or subject area before then getting at least one year of on-the-job classroom experience to become fully qualified.
Languages
The majority of university language courses are known to have a 70/30 ratio of female to male students, some theories put this down to how the different sexes process language differently with women showing better ability at using encoding skills and processing abstract snippets of language.
You can study almost any language at university, although the courses with the greatest attendance are French, German, and Spanish, and of course, English if you are a female overseas student.
Completing a language degree can help open up various job opportunities including customer service representative, flight attendant, interpreter, hospitality manager, journalist, and teacher.
Business
Around of 40% business school students are women in the U.S each year, although that number is steadily increasing year on year. Degrees in business are known to be quite specialized and common areas of expertise are entrepreneurship, human resource management, operations, international business, marketing, and project management.
Obtaining a business degree is of course very valuable as it can provide opportunities to work in the majority of sectors and different locations.
Accounting
Approximately 40% of all accountants are female and every year the number of women enrolling for accountancy courses at university is increasing. Many female accountants note that the career allows for a healthy work-life balance especially for those with a family.
Social Science
Slightly less popular than other fields such as medicine and psychology, social science courses usually have an enrollment that is around 40% female.
Social science is a broad subject consisting of many specialized disciplines including anthropology, economics, history, law, linguistics, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. Therefore, the job opportunities that obtaining a social science degree may provide are:
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Choosing the right university course can be a challenge especially if you want to start thinking about which courses are the most rewarding or give the best job prospects. One way to help you decide which courses might work for you is to take a look at established courses that are popular with other women.
WRITTEN BY
Daria Brown