New data released by the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) shows that not only has acceptance rates for people studying computing courses reached its highest level since 2019, but there is also a record number of women pursuing computing.

That said, the number of women studying computing is significantly unrepresentative, and the same being true for engineering and technology degrees.

Across the UK this year, a total of 26,430 students have been accepted onto computing courses, with a further 24,130 onto engineering and technology courses. In 2022, the numbers were 24,910 and 24,810 respectively, while in 2019 it was 23,060 and 23,770.

In terms of gender, the number of women accepted onto computing degrees this year is 5,520, while for engineering and technology this is 5,100. Comparatively, 20,910 men have been accepted onto computing courses, and 19,030 on engineering and tech courses.

In spite of these numbers, there has been a clear upward trajectory in the number of women being accepted to study computing. For instance, in 2022, the number was 4,830, meaning there’s been an increase of 690 in 2023. In 2019, the number was 4,040.

Last month, DIGIT reported on separate UCAS data, which found that 18-year-old UK school leavers have made a record number of computing course applications.

The British Computer Society (BCS) pointed to the rise of AI as an underlying reason for this increase in applications.

Specifically, Rashik Parmar MBE, chief executive of BCS, said: “Teenagers in the UK know that AI will change the world forever; it shouldn’t surprise us to see this soaring demand for computing degrees.

“AI is already reshaping how cancer is diagnosed, how we tackle climate change, how we work and how we communicate. The thousands of young men and women applying for computing through UCAS do so because they want a say in this future.”

However, and again, UCAS’ data reflected how computing and tech in general remains a male-dominated area: out of all the computing applications made by UK 18-year-olds, only 18% came from women, marking a 1% increase compared to 2022, and a 2% increase from 2021.

Recommended reading

• Women in Tech: Is Actual Progress Being Made?
• Social Enterprise Overtakes Universities in Teaching Women to Code
• UCAS: Record Number of Students Apply for Computing Courses

Computing in schools in Scotland

Last year, in a move to help increase computing uptake in Scotland, the Scottish Government plugged £1.3 million into computer science provisions in schools in response to recommendations made in the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER).

The STER report, published in 2020 and authored by chief entrepreneurial advisor Mark Logan, also advised that the Scottish Government could inspire more girls to consider computing classes and courses, not least through information campaigns.

“By the time pupils take the Higher Computing Science qualification, only 16% of them are female on average; a ratio that worsens as they continue on through university and into industry. Put simply, gender role stereotyping removes almost half of our best future engineers,” the report read.

“It would be economically and societally beneficial if Scotland was to lead on addressing this aberration. Gender role stereotyping is established by society during the primary-school years, and it is here that work should be particularly focussed.

“We recommend that the Scottish Government conduct a sustained public information campaign aimed at countering role stereotyping as it relates to science, Computing Science and engineering, enlisting role models and others as part of that campaign.”

Organisations such as dressCode — which has been around since 2018 — are already doing important work on this front. For instance, DIGIT reported on dressCode’s hackathon event held at the University of Glasgow earlier this year, which offered young women an introduction to careers in computing.