The number of PhD degrees awarded in mathematics and the natural sciences decreased significantly in 2022, mainly because fewer foreign nationals defended their dissertations.
In 2022, 258 doctoral degrees were awarded in Norway in mathematics and natural sciences, down from 319 the previous year, according to a report on the state of higher education presented Monday.
Much of the decline is due to fewer foreigners completing doctoral degrees in these subjects.
In 2021, foreign nationals were behind 200 out of 319 doctoral degrees, while in 2022 they were behind 154 out of a total of 258, according to the Norwegian research team’s statistics.
A total of 1,559 PhDs were awarded last year, down 42 from the previous year.
Technology passes
Technology subjects, unlike mathematics and natural sciences, are enjoying steady growth and have more PhD degrees awarded than mathematics and natural sciences in 2022.
10 years ago, the situation was different, when mathematics and natural sciences received twice as many PhDs in technology.
Technology is now the third largest field of study for PhDs, after medicine and health and social sciences. Mathematics and science dropped to fourth place.
Retreat in several areas
The Status Report provides figures for 2022 and an overview of developments over time in a number of areas in the university and college sector.
According to the report, higher education in 2022 will be marked by a decline in several areas.
Most of the decline can be seen as an adjustment towards the normal or expected level after several parameters in the status report were disproportionately high during the pandemic. In this sense, the numbers are no drama, writes the Higher Education and Skills Directorate (HK-dir).
Figures in the report are from HK-dir Higher Education Database, Statistics Norway, Research Council, Nokut, Nifu and Sikt.
A separate report on flexible learning
Among the areas that saw declines were applicant numbers and student numbers, student satisfaction reported by measure of study and credits per academic staff.
At the same time, the pandemic has given rise to a number of other areas, among others, the pandemic has accelerated work on flexible study options.
HK-dir announces that there will be a separate analysis of flexible study options in September 2023. This will form part of the basis for the Ministry of Education’s work with the Parliamentary Notice for Vocational Education to come in 2024.
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One in three leaves the academic field after public defense
The investment was voted in favor of Parliament
Last week, a majority in Parliament’s Education and Research Committee rejected a Tory proposal for a new science strategy.
The Conservative Party wanted, among other things, to increase the number of science classes in secondary schools and set demands for qualified teachers and the need for more education, but Labor, the Center Party, the Socialist Left Party and Reid voted against it. Proposal or offer.
In a statement, committee members from the ruling parties wrote that the previous Tory strategy did not lead to a noticeable change in pupils’ achievement, interest or motivation for science subjects in the previous period.
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In an article in Khrono earlier this year, Rector Svein Stølen at the University of Oslo and Ann Borg at NTNU, as well as NHO Director Ole Erik Almlid, expressed great concern about the poor science subjects in secondary school.
They pointed to statistics from the Norwegian Directorate of Education showing that 13 percent of students in junior programs choose to study mathematics for the sake of science, while 7 percent study physics.
It is not enough to occupy places in science courses in universities and colleges. In 2022, there were 7,250 study places in Norway that required applicants to fully immerse themselves in mathematics for science, while there are only about 6,200 students studying this subject each year. This is critical, they noted, but it could get worse.
This year’s number of applicants to higher education through Samordna Admissions shows that the number of applicants with science subjects (mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics) as their first choice this year is down 6.6 percent from last year.
There are 3,565 first-choice applicants for 2,515 study places in Scientific Studies, compared to 3,815 applicants for 2,649 study places in 2022.
1 in 4 choose a flexible or part-time education
It also appears from the case reports that various forms of flexible learning are becoming increasingly popular. From 2019 to 2021, the number of students in decentralized and online education increased by 33 percent, much more than the overall student growth.
The pandemic has accelerated work to provide flexible education. The numbers for 2022 suggest that these shows are here to stay, HK-dir director Sveinung Skule says in a press release.
In 2022, 25% of all students attended a decentralized or online education, or studied part-time.
According to figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Norway is among the countries with the highest proportion of part-time students in higher education. It is particularly the institutions with a large component of vocational education that have the largest proportion of students with flexible offers. Students in flexible education are older than the average student age, and 7 out of 10 students in flexible education are over 30 years old.
The need for flexible education is increasing as more people want to study and combine that with work and family, where they live. I believe that flexible education is one of the keys to educating enough people for important social care professions across the country. We have to make the pie bigger, reach more people who don’t have the chance to get a full-time education or commute, Minister for Research and Higher Education Ola Burton-Meaux says in a press release.
Corresponding ● Stollen, Borg and Milad
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