Public postsecondary enrolments and graduates, 2010/2011

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Just over 1,955,300 students were enrolled in Canadian public postsecondary institutions during the academic year 2010/2011, a 2.7% increase from the previous year.

Canadian students made up 91.5% of total enrolments and international students 8.5%.

Enrolments increased in every province except New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, where they remained relatively stable.

Women accounted for 56.5% of the national enrolment total compared with 43.5% for men. This ratio has remained constant over the past decade.

Enrolment increased in all 13 fields of study, but 3 accounted for nearly half of total enrolment for 2010/2011. They were the humanities (18.3%); business, management and public administration (17.6%); and social and behavioural sciences and law (12.8%). These have been the top three fields of study for over a decade.

With respect to graduates, nearly 447,700 students received a certificate, diploma or degree from a public postsecondary institution in 2010, up 4.1%.

The roughly 260,900 female graduates represented 58.2% of the total, continuing a long trend in which female graduates have outnumbered their male counterparts.

In 2010, three fields of study accounted for about 50% of those receiving qualifications. They were business, management and public administration (22.1%); social and behavioural sciences and law (14.7%); and health, parks, recreation and fitness (13.6%).

Female graduates outnumbered men in every field of study except in mathematics, computer and information sciences; architecture, engineering and related technologies; personal, protective and transportation services; agriculture, natural resources and conservation; and personal improvement and leisure.