Last year UK universities awarded more taught postgraduate degrees than undergraduate degrees for the first time on record, new data shows.

Institutions awarded 467,765 taught master¡¯s degrees in 2023-24 on the back of a 15 per cent year-on-year increase, compared with 465,240 first degrees, which increased by only 5 per cent, according to released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa).

The number of taught postgraduate degrees awarded annually has increased 67.3 per cent since 2019-20, when the total stood at 279,575, according to the Hesa statistics.

Much of the growth has been driven by international students, with cash-strapped universities keen to capitalise on the lucrative fees paid by overseas postgraduates.

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Among all full-time postgraduate students in 2023-24, 68 per cent were from countries outside the UK and European Union, with domestic recruits representing 29 per cent of the total, and EU nationals 4 per cent.

In contrast, undergraduate enrolment is 84 per cent domestic, with 3 per cent from the EU and 13 per cent from further afield.

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Total higher education enrolments stood at 2.9 million in 2023-24, down 1 per cent year-on-year. New enrolments on taught postgraduate degrees?decreased 6 per cent, reflecting the impact of the ban on most master¡¯s students from overseas bringing dependants with them.

Undergraduate recruitment was down 1 per cent, while postgraduate research recruitment increased 4 per cent.

Qualification awards in 2022-23 were affected by a marking and assessment boycott conducted by members of the University and College Union, which could go some way towards explaining the spike seen in 2023-24.

The Hesa release also confirms that 29 per cent of undergraduate finishers were awarded a first-class degree in 2023-24, down on 30 per cent the year before, and a third successive drop since the Covid-era peak of 36 per cent in 2020-21.

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The proportion of graduates awarded a 2:1 or 2:2 degree held steady at 48 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com