Summary of trends in university MFL acceptances, 1996 to 2004 (Table 2)

From 1996 to 2004, total HE student acceptances have increased by +33%. The picture of student acceptances for languages shows:
•	Overall increases in accepted applicants for Spanish, Chinese, Modern Middle Eastern and African studies
•	Overall decreases in accepted applicants for French, German, Italian, Scandinavian and Asian studies
•	Fluctuations in accepted applicants for Portuguese, Japanese, Russian & Eastern European languages
See Table 2 and graphs on page 8

In more recent years, the picture shows that language student acceptances have started to even out and in some cases slowly pick up:
•	2004 entry saw increases, compared with 2003, in acceptances for all languages except four (German, Scandinavian, Russian and African studies)
•	These late increases are most seen in single and joint honours students.
•	However, large increases are necessary to get back up to 1996 levels.

Early signs from UCAS data for 2005 entry show numbers may be up again (single and major hons figures only available at present)

Note that the differences between the figures in this document and UCAS published figures is that this data includes Single, Joint, Major and Minor applications and acceptances by language. UCAS data is for major subject of study only, usually Single and Major hons.

This data is the final figures for each year.

Statistics from UCAS on Modern Languages applications & acceptances to UK universities (annual update for 2004/5 REVISED)

These figures were purchased by the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies from UCAS and give a more detailed break down than the standard published UCAS figures. The analysis has been carried by CILT, The National Centre for Languages. UCAS data is different to HESA data, for more details please see the separate paper for a comparison of UCAS language student accepts with HESA student registrations, 2001/2 at http://www.cilt.org.uk/research/statistics/education/ucasvhesa.rtf 

Table 1: All subjects and all QRT
Figures for all UCAS subjects and the QRT groups (Languages & Related Disciplines) as a whole are given in Table 1 at the bottom of this page and are also included in the graphs at the end of the document. The QRT grouping is not MFL exclusive and includes English, Literary studies and American studies amongst other related disciplines. See note 4 below for a complete list of the subjects in groups QRT counted in Table 1. The analysis includes full time undergraduate first-degree students.

Tables 2 and 3: Acceptances and Applications by language
Figures are broken down by language: covering all 14 language categories.
The percentages in these tables produce a picture of the overall trends in each language over the past nine years. The following percentage trends are reported in the tables:
-	Unweighted student percentages express total student counts each year as a percentage of that in 1996. A student studying the language is counted as 1 regardless of whether they are a single honours, major, minor or balanced subject combination student. (If there are no students in 1996, the next year with students is taken for the percentage base)
-	% change 1996 - 2004 by language and balance of degree shows the total student numbers as a percentage change expressed separately for single honours, major, minor and balanced combinations (comparison years are 2004 with 1996). This allows us to analyse whether a decrease in, for example, single honours German was offset by an increase in major honours German.

Notes:
1.	Each candidate is allowed up to 6 applications. The application data (Table 3) is not therefore an indication of numbers of students or applicants.
2.	The year in each case is that of entry to university. 
3.	Full time first-degree students only are included.
4.	Subjects in groups QRT are as follows: Q1 Linguistics, Q2 Comparative Literary studies, Q3 English, Q4 Ancient Language studies, Q5 Celtic studies, Q6 Latin studies, Q7 Classical Greek studies, Q8 Classical studies, Q9 Others in Linguistics, Classics and related subjects, R1 French, R2 German, R3 Italian, R4 Spanish, R5 Portuguese, R6 Scandinavian studies, R7 Russian and East European studies, R9 Others in European Languages, Literature and related subjects, T1 Chinese, T2 Japanese T3 South Asian studies, T4 Other Asian studies, T5 African studies, T6 Modern Middle Eastern studies, T7 American studies, T8 Australasian studies, T9 Others in Eastern, Asiatic, African, American and Australasian Languages, Literature and related subjects.

Table 1: All subjects and all QRT	Full time first degree students	
Applications (Degree only)		1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	
All QRT Languages & Related Disciplines*		116515	121004	112090	104658	98222	95713	93553	95044	99671	
% change since 1996			+4%	-4%	-10%	-16%	-18%	-20%	-18%	-14%	
All Subjects (degree only)		1901875	1991921	1940057	1886776	1856725	1868968	1903224	1986229	2052704	
% change since 1996			+5%	+2%	-1%	-2%	-2%	0%	+4%	+8%	
Accepted Applicants (Degree only)		 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 		
All QRT Languages & Related Disciplines*		18177	19197	18052	17299	17052	17420	16784	16747	16993	
% of 1996			+6%	-1%	-5%	-6%	-4%	-8%	-8%	-7%	
All Subjects (degree only)		273032	308236	302683	307677	311635	329218	344581	355531	362985	
% change since 1996			+13%	+11%	+13%	+14%	+21%	+26%	+30%	+33%	
* Includes Single and Major QRT subjects and balanced combinations within QRT

Table 2: Acceptances	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	
2004	     %change 2003-04	      %change 1996-2004	
R1 French		Single Subject	823	791	688	661	609	519	510	489	515	+5.3%	-54%	
		Major	207	199	159	143	171	174	175	171	131	-23.4%	-55%	
		Balanced Combination	3789	3734	3407	3143	2817	2747	2756	2568	2692	+4.8%	-29%	
		Minor	836	1019	907	816	723	637	669	618	541	-12.5%	-35%	
		Total	5655	5743	5161	4763	4320	4077	4110	3846	3879	+0.9%	-31%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+2%	-9%	-16%	-24%	-28%	-27%	-32%	-31%			
R2 German		Single Subject	298	299	278	252	231	228	176	186	171	-8.1%	-58%	
		Major	42	55	48	72	65	58	73	57	67	+17.5%	+21%	
		Balanced Combination	1622	1602	1452	1390	1239	1193	1149	1095	991	-9.5%	-39%	
		Minor	326	387	313	336	272	257	255	186	155	-16.7%	-52%	
		Total	2288	2343	2091	2050	1807	1736	1653	1524	1384	-9.2%	-40%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+2%	-9%	-10%	-21%	-24%	-28%	-33%	-40%			
R3 Italian		Single Subject	112	106	86	96	89	68	69	70	72	+2.9%	-64%	
		Major Subject	17	23	16	21	15	16	26	16	15	-6.3%	-53%	
		Balanced Combination	673	736	738	668	633	620	632	540	572	+5.9%	-15%	
		Minor Subject	35	66	82	91	83	82	58	44	46	+4.5%	+31%	
		Total	837	931	922	876	820	786	785	670	705	+5.2%	-16%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+11%	+10%	+5%	-2%	-6%	-6%	-20%	-16%			
R4 Spanish		Single Subject	214	199	193	221	215	213	227	212	247	+16.5%	-13%	
		Major	35	44	40	44	60	68	86	92	109	+18.5%	+134%	
		Balanced Combination	1621	1656	1770	1783	1659	1697	1847	1702	1791	+5.2%	+10%	
		Minor	245	358	277	352	380	353	400	327	334	+2.1%	+36%	
		Total	2115	2257	2280	2400	2314	2331	2560	2333	2481	+6.3%	+17%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+7%	+8%	+13%	+9%	+10%	+21%	+10%	+17%			
R5 Portuguese		Single Subject	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		-	
		Major Subject	0	1	2	2	2	2	1	4	4	0.0%	+300%	
		Balanced Combination	112	98	112	116	119	114	139	98	144	+46.9%	+29%	
		Minor Subject	16	8	9	13	6	1	0	1	2	+100.0%	-88%	
		Total	128	107	123	131	127	117	140	103	150	+45.6%	+17%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-16%	-4%	+2%	-1%	-9%	+9%	-20%	+17%			
R6 Scandinavian studies		Single Subject	37	44	21	28	23	25	16	22	17	-22.7%	-68%	
		Major	8	19	13	6	9	4	23	17	10	-41.2%	-13%	
		Balanced Combination	20	13	11	15	17	7	11	14	10	-28.6%	-50%	
		Minor	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	-	-	
		Total	65	76	45	49	49	36	51	53	46	-13.2%	-29%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+17%	-31%	-25%	-25%	-45%	-22%	-18%	-29%			

R7 - Russian and East 		Single Subject	122	162	95	93	94	62	84	68	91	+33.8%	-57%	
European studies		Major Subject	4	11	12	9	10	12	5	15	13	-13.3%	+75%	
[pre-JACS, 2002/3 R8+T1]		Balanced Combination	273	278	291	205	246	216	242	271	258	-4.8%	-5%	
		Minor Subject	19	54	51	74	109	90	59	74	50	-32.4%	+163%	
		Total	418	505	449	381	459	380	390	428	412	-3.7%	-1%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+21%	+7%	-9%	+10%	-9%	-7%	+2%	-1%			
R9 Other European Languages		Single Subject	907	890	749	542	487	393	423	448	438	-2.2%	-52%	
(includes European Studies)		Major Subject	100	173	136	144	151	133	122	150	144	-4.0%	+44%	
[pre-JACS 2002/3 T2]		Balanced Combination	711	841	834	732	741	615	637	740	685	-7.4%	-4%	
		Minor Subject	482	498	427	372	471	366	362	283	277	-2.1%	-43%	
		Total	2200	2402	2146	1790	1850	1507	1544	1621	1544	-4.8%	-30%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	9%	-2%	-19%	-16%	-32%	-30%	-26%	-30%			
T1 Chinese		Single Subject	72	77	95	71	58	58	80	70	78	+11.4%	-13%	
		Major Subject	29	22	24	15	13	22	23	19	6	-68.4%	-86%	
		Balanced Combination	64	76	95	83	88	80	87	100	101	+1.0%	+58%	
		Minor Subject	0	0	5	3	1	5	66	29	58	+100.0%	-	
		Total	165	175	219	172	160	165	256	218	243	+11.5%	+47%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+6%	+33%	+4%	-3%	0%	+55%	+32%	+47%			
T2 Japanese		Single Subject	73	85	71	75	69	83	91	111	143	+28.8%	+73%	
		Major	18	10	12	6	6	13	11	13	1	-92.3%	-94%	
		Balanced Combination	136	158	118	123	106	127	138	130	152	+16.9%	+12%	
		Minor	45	49	50	41	32	26	36	34	36	+5.9%	-20%	
		Total	272	302	251	245	213	249	276	288	332	+15.3%	+22%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+11%	-8%	-10%	-22%	-8%	+1%	+6%	+22%			
T3+T4 Asian studies		Single Subject	42	62	49	48	39	38	22	26	47	+80.8%	-60%	
[pre-JACS, 2002/3 T5]		Major Subject	0	0	0	0	1	18	30	7	1	-85.7%	-	
		Balanced Combination	37	54	33	35	35	45	60	63	56	-11.1%	+51%	
		Minor Subject	82	81	83	76	96	70	65	15	23	+53.3%	-72%	
		Total	161	197	165	159	171	171	177	111	127	+14.4%	-21%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+22%	+2%	-1%	+6%	+6%	+10%	-31%	-21%			
T5 African studies		Single Subject	35	26	22	23	23	23	14	13	23	+76.9%	-74%	
		Major	0	0	0	0	6	4	12	18	16	-11.1%	+150%	
		Balanced Combination	19	46	54	36	26	30	38	47	28	-40.4%	+47%	
		Minor	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	-	-	
		Total	54	72	76	59	55	57	67	78	67	-14.1%	+24%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+33%	+41%	+9%	+2%	+6%	+24%	+44%	+24%			

T6 Modern Middle Eastern		Single Subject	90	59	68	42	87	123	116	145	157	+8.3%	+30%	
      studies		Major Subject	12	13	26	13	13	14	13	13	8	-38.5%	-92%	
		Balanced Combination	111	128	116	114	109	110	134	149	174	+16.8%	+57%	
		Minor Subject	1	10	8	12	10	13	15	14	10	-28.6%	-	
		Total	214	210	218	181	219	260	278	321	349	+8.7%	+63%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-2%	+2%	-15%	+2%	+21%	+30%	+50%	+63%			
T9 Other non_European		Single Subject	878	840	850	871	933	886	851	888	849	-4.4%	-21%	
     languages		Major	183	238	208	181	130	131	43	39	48	+23.1%	-76%	
[pre-JACS, 2002/3 T9 Other or		Balanced Combination	700	625	604	501	493	449	392	333	300	-9.9%	-57%	
unspecified modern languages}		Minor	753	627	525	508	417	434	268	261	240	-8.0%	-68%	
		Total	2514	2330	2187	2061	1973	1900	1554	1521	1437	-5.5%	-43%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-7%	-13%	-18%	-22%	-24%	-38%	-39%	-43%			

Table 3: Applications (NOTE: UP TO 6 APPLICATIONS PER CANDIDATE ALLOWED)	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	
2004	% change 2003-04	   % change 1996-2004	
R1 French		Single Subject	4035	4114	3577	3314	3000	2690	2447	2566	2701	+5%	-33%	
		Major	1195	1161	1315	1187	1135	980	918	905	973	+8%	-19%	
		Balanced Combination	27879	25888	23433	21147	19091	18530	18171	17292	16951	-2%	-39%	
		Minor	6953	6961	6431	6078	5185	4577	4292	4183	3864	-8%	-44%	
		Total	40062	38124	34756	31726	28411	26777	25828	24946	24489	-2%	-39%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-5%	-13%	-21%	-29%	-33%	-36%	-38%	-39%			
R2 German		Single Subject	1379	1402	1188	1152	1153	1188	837	932	883	-5%	-36%	
		Major	280	338	348	397	343	358	330	375	381	+2%	36%	
		Balanced Combination	11545	11062	9931	9210	8218	7833	7571	6978	6449	-8%	-44%	
		Minor	2621	2591	2368	2376	1903	1819	1586	1397	1138	-19%	-57%	
		Total	15825	15393	13835	13135	11617	11198	10324	9682	8851	-9%	-44%	
Unweighted (student numbers)			0%	-3%	-13%	-17%	-27%	-29%	-35%	-39%	-44%			
R3 Italian		Single Subject	378	408	305	316	301	285	294	221	249	+13%	-34%	
		Major Subject	112	120	86	98	101	112	119	98	82	-16%	-27%	
		Balanced Combination	4620	4609	4497	4066	3942	3779	3687	3258	3295	+1%	-29%	
		Minor Subject	323	585	531	594	617	490	390	326	305	-6%	-6%	
		Total	5433	5722	5419	5074	4961	4666	4490	3903	3931	+1%	-28%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+5%	0%	-7%	-9%	-14%	-17%	-28%	-28%	 		
R4 Spanish		Single Subject	1067	1146	1257	1317	1204	1238	1245	1171	1372	+17%	+29%	
		Major	236	276	394	351	323	416	504	539	571	+6%	+142%	
		Balanced Combination	10330	10332	10577	10351	10041	10379	10508	10071	10401	+3%	+1%	
		Minor	1892	2219	2257	2402	2490	2216	2031	1963	1985	+1%	+5%	
		Total	13525	13973	14485	14421	14058	14249	14288	13744	14329	+4%	+6%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+3%	+7%	+7%	+4%	+5%	+6%	+2%	+6%			
R5 Portuguese		Single Subject	0	0	0	0	0	14	0	0	0	-	-	
		Major Subject	9	12	16	8	11	14	9	10	12	+20%	+33%	
		Balanced Combination	686	738	687	683	726	662	834	616	713	+16%	+4%	
		Minor Subject	107	100	105	93	49	20	14	6	8	+33%	-93%	
		Total	802	850	808	784	786	710	857	632	733	+16%	-9%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+6%	+1%	-2%	-2%	-11%	+7%	-21%	-9%			
R6 Scandinavian studies		Single Subject	124	143	81	88	68	124	69	74	50	-32%	-60%	
		Major	15	28	27	20	13	19	119	93	112	+20%	+647%	
		Balanced Combination	79	70	66	78	93	82	63	90	70	-22%	-11%	
		Minor	15	6	5	0	3	7	4	3	97	+3133%	+547%	
		Total	233	247	179	186	177	232	255	260	329	+27%	+41%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+6%	-23%	-20%	-24%	0%	+9%	+12%	+41%			
R7 - Russian and East 		Single Subject	495	476	366	304	314	236	243	243	281	+16%	-43%	
European studies		Major Subject	29	46	66	29	43	52	43	55	50	-9%	+72%	
[pre-JACS, 2002/3 R8+T1]		Balanced Combination	1814	1793	1660	1348	1391	1264	1365	1508	1577	+5%	-13%	
		Minor Subject	41	107	215	216	189	306	265	331	364	+10%	+788%	
		Total	2379	2422	2307	1897	1937	1858	1916	2137	2272	+6%	-4%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+2%	-3%	-20%	-19%	-22%	-19%	-10%	-4%			
R9 Other European Languages		Single Subject	5276	5007	3857	3086	2499	2175	2255	2150	2350	+9%	-55%	
[pre-JACS, 2002/3 T2]		Major Subject	633	587	832	848	741	638	653	732	757	+3%	+20%	
Includes European studies		Balanced Combination	3585	4317	4197	3790	3417	3236	3261	4223	4056	-4%	+13%	
		Minor Subject	3229	2864	2517	2512	2669	2170	2391	2069	1690	-18%	-48%	
		Total	12723	12775	11403	10236	9326	8219	8560	9174	8853	-3%	-30%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	0%	-10%	-20%	-27%	-35%	-33%	-28%	-30%			
T1 Chinese		Single Subject	371	386	434	328	253	286	355	359	353	-2%	-5%	
		Major	141	115	119	91	64	90	80	101	57	-44%	-60%	
		Balanced Combination	499	488	495	400	357	410	359	481	590	+23%	+18%	
		Minor	64	91	38	45	29	29	69	120	209	+74%	+227%	
		Total	1075	1080	1086	864	703	815	863	1061	1209	+14%	+12%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	0%	+1%	-20%	-35%	-24%	-20%	-1%	+12%			
T2 Japanese		Single Subject	452	456	360	338	367	434	469	606	730	+20%	+62%	
		Major Subject	86	83	95	64	50	62	66	71	36	-49%	-58%	
		Balanced Combination	1049	942	829	722	693	733	771	752	873	+16%	-17%	
		Minor Subject	468	598	394	345	309	218	294	246	305	+24%	-35%	
		Total	2055	2079	1678	1469	1419	1447	1600	1675	1944	+16%	-5%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	+1%	-18%	-29%	-31%	-30%	-22%	-18%	-5%			
T3+T4 Asian studies		Single Subject	144	106	125	115	101	109	69	60	73	+22%	-49%	
[pre-JACS, 2002/3 T5]		Major	3	0	0	0	0	18	45	65	57	-12%	+1800%	
		Balanced Combination	303	229	223	217	196	282	295	354	328	-7%	+8%	
		Minor	461	389	393	427	371	342	357	81	142	75%	-69%	
		Total	911	724	741	759	668	751	766	560	600	7%	-34%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-21%	-19%	-17%	-27%	-18%	-16%	-39%	-34%			
T5 African studies		Single Subject	155	90	75	69	64	70	52	55	65	18%	-58%	
		Major Subject	0	0	0	0	47	57	62	76	53	-30%	+13%	
		Balanced Combination	240	286	226	207	153	213	211	210	186	-11%	-23%	
		Minor Subject	0	0	1	0	0	10	10	1	0	-	-	
		Total	395	376	302	276	264	350	335	342	304	-11%	-23%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-5%	-24%	-30%	-33%	-11%	-15%	-13%	-23%			
T6 Modern Middle Eastern		Single Subject	267	251	232	221	237	312	366	500	568	14%	+113%	
      studies		Major	64	55	52	53	36	65	75	85	85	0%	+33%	
		Balanced Combination	782	691	693	605	563	643	673	729	1001	37%	+28%	
		Minor	0	57	28	30	29	28	43	113	90	-20%	+58%	
		Total	1113	1054	1005	909	865	1048	1157	1427	1744	22%	+57%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-5%	-10%	-18%	-22%	-6%	+4%	+28%	+57%			
T9 Other non_European		Single Subject	4313	4064	3640	3504	3722	3483	3479	3854	4110	7%	-5%	
     languages		Major Subject	837	1113	1004	904	671	580	280	221	225	2%	-73%	
[pre-JACS, 2002/3 T9 Other or		Balanced Combination	3444	3602	2916	2197	1958	1999	1855	1507	1384	-8%	-60%	
Unspecified modern languages}		Minor Subject	4670	3606	3586	3122	2767	2801	1550	1320	1163	-12%	-75%	
		Total	13264	12385	11146	9727	9118	8863	7164	6902	6882	0%	-48%	
Unweighted (student numbers)		% of 1996	0%	-7%	-16%	-27%	-31%	-33%	-46%	-48%	-48%			

														

 

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