世界各国最受欢迎的大学专业分别是哪些？答案可能会让你大吃一惊！（上）
What are the most popular college majors in the world and why? The answers may surprise you! (partⅠ)

China: 7 out of the Top 10 are STEM majors, showing absolute dominance

According to China University Alumni Association, among those who score well enough in China’s highly competitive exam system to get into university, 19.39% choose to study Economics and 19.06% select Business Management, which means business & management related majors account for almost half of the popular majors.

The third most popular major in China is Informatics Engineering (6.87%) followed tightly by Law (6.53%). From No. 5 to No. 10, the most popular majors are almost all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors such as Biological Sciences (5.93%), IT and Computer Sciences (5.72%), Architecture (3.84%), Physics (3.37%) and Automation Engineering (3.23%).

It’s not until No. 11 that some social science majors such as Chinese language and literature, foreign language studies and journalism appear.

Chinese higher education emphasizes STEM education due to historical reasons.

When the Chinese started their reform and opening-up policy in the 1980s, the country urgently needed scientific professionals for industrial development, and the Chinese preference for STEM is rooted in that period.

"Master mathematics, physics and chemistry, you can find a position all over the country” was one of the most famous national slogans.

US: Health, Psychology, Biology, American students like to explore human beings

Business and Management are the most popular subjects in the US (289,384 degrees).

Health-related programs such as Nursing are next in line (141,632 degrees). Psychology and Biological and Biomedical Sciences run almost neck and neck (127,066 degrees and 120,375 degrees, respectively).

The 5th place belongs to Engineering, with 117,553 degrees awarded.

Social science majors such as Education (102,219) follow up, and the difference between Communications (98,949) and Finance and Accounting (98,663) is rather small.

A little bit surprisingly, Anthropology and Sociology (57,630) beat Computer Science (55,843) and have moved into the top 10.

The trends in prevailing college majors in the US connect directly to the average starting salary.

Graduates with a degree in Business Administration receive $41,245 as a starting salary with an average mid-career salary of $70,694.00, higher than the average level of compensation of graduates in any other major, which is the biggest motivation that drives not only American students but most youngsters around the world.

The traditional high demand for medical services has helped to spur the popularity of medical and health-related programs.

According to market research, doctors and nurses almost never face the unemployment issue: even when economic crises take place, medical workers usually are able to keep their jobs.

Notably, in the US, a general psychology degree will open doors for students to find jobs in social work, marketing and human resources, similar to Education and Communications.

The UK: Social science receives a relatively warm response

Respecting the UK, data from the British Higher Education Statistics Agency illustrate that Business & Administrative studies are the most popular subjects (342,970).

Subjects allied to Medicine and Biological Sciences are the second and third (288,065 and 233,970 respectively).

Social Studies receive a warm welcome among young people as well (229,360). The 5th, 6th and 7th are respectively Creative Arts & Design (178,415), Engineering & Technology (164,975) and Education (145,445), and the differences among them are similar.

The other two subjects that have over 100,000 students are Computer Science (107,250) and Languages (103,545). Physical Science (95,720) is also close to this number.

Social Studies are more popular in the UK than in America.

For example, UK universities are among the oldest universities that offer law courses.

Therefore, reflecting this long and rich tradition, UK law degrees have become very popular (and indeed highly competitive) for its students.

Another large absolute increase can be found in Creative Arts & Design degrees.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency attributes this popularity to the increase in part-time students, among which there was a 19% increase in students studying Creative Arts & Design between 2015/16 and 2016/17.