The number of applicants for agricultural subjects in higher education has decreased in recent years, but the trend appears to be reversing, informs Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
For their studies this autumn, 546 people have applied for agricultural subjects as their first choice in higher education. There are 28 more applicants than in 2023. The numbers are almost on par with the applicant numbers in 2019.
Great interest in forestry
There has been a great deal of interest in forestry at the Norwegian University of Environmental and Biosciences (NMBU) this year.
87 people had forestry as their first choice at NMBU. There are 19 more than last year and a doubling from 2019.
The university had originally calculated 35 study places for forestry in 2024, but due to the interest, 70 applicants were offered study places.
– The arrows increase for forestry, but decrease for animal science
The rector at NMBU confirms that forestry studies are increasing at them, but emphasizes that the arrows are pointing downwards for both animal science and plant science.
Plant science had 25 places and made offers to 13 students.
Animal science had 25 places and offers to 21 students.
On these lines, vacant places are not filled, which they believe could be serious for the entire industry.
– We see that fewer are applying for animal and plant science, while many are interested in biology. This may indicate that it is not the interest in the subject area that is the problem, but the expectations and the impression among the applicants, says Rector Siri Fjellheim at NMBU to NTB.
– Perhaps many applicants think that you can only become a farmer if you study plant and animal science. But we train professionals for the entire large apparatus in and around food production and agriculture. The job opportunities after studying plant or animal science are many and good, she adds.
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2024-08-17 01:16:56
