Big rise in students applying to study artificial intelligence

FALL IN NUMBER WANTING TO STUDY COMPUTING DEGREES

- By MARTYN LANDI

APPLICATIONS to study artificial intelligence (AI) at UK universities have risen by up to 15 per cent this year, even as the overall number applying for broader computing degrees has fallen.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) data provided to the Press Association news agency showed that applications for degrees in Al rose by 15 per cent among women, compared with a 12 per cent rise among men.

Al degrees only account for about five per cent of all computing applications, with computer science, computer games and animation and software engineering making up the bulk of such courses.

But falls in each of these subjects means applications to computing degrees in general have fallen ten per cent this year.

The drop follows five years of growth in the subject.