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Enrolment in Canadian universities rose 0.9% in the academic year 2006/2007, the second smallest growth rate since 2000.
Young adults aged 18 to 21 accounted for 90% of this growth as their numbers increased 2.1% to 427,400.
Enrolment, which was on the decline throughout the mid-1990s, has picked up in the last 10 years. This was due largely to a higher number of these students aged 18 to 21, whose rate of growth outpaced that of total enrolment.
Female students accounted for 58% of all registrations in 2006/2007, a proportion that has remained steady since 2001.
In 2006/2007, 611,700 women were registered, up 1.1% from the previous academic year, while the number of male students rose 0.7% to 445,300.
Undergraduate and graduate enrolment
Total undergraduate enrolment amounted to 811,800, up 1.1% from the previous academic year. Women accounted for 59% of the total undergraduate enrolment.
Undergraduate enrolment among men increased 1.1%, compared with a 1.0% increase for women, which was half their rate of growth in the previous academic year.
About 95,700 students were enrolled in a master's program in 2006/2007, up 1.8% from the previous academic year. Women accounted for just over 54% of enrolment at the master's level.
At the doctorate level, enrolment of 36,800 in 2006/2007 was virtually unchanged from the previous academic year. This was the smallest increase in enrolment in doctoral programs since 1999/2000.
Men still outnumber women in doctorate programs, although their proportion has been on the decline. In 2006/2007, men accounted for less than 54% of doctorate registrations, down from 60% in 1995/1996.
Full- and part-time enrolments
Full-time university enrolment rose 0.8% to 788,000 in 2006/2007.
The number of full-time registrations rose in four provinces: Prince Edward Island (+3.3%), Ontario (+2.7%), Manitoba (+1.2%), and Quebec (+0.8%).
The largest decline in full-time registration occurred in New Brunswick at 4.8%, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (-3.0%), British Columbia (-2.4%), and Nova Scotia (-2.1%).
Part-time university enrolment increased 1.2% to 269,300. The largest gains were in Prince Edward Island (+20.8%) and Alberta (+13.3%). Universities in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Quebec recorded declines in part-time enrolment.
Fields of study
The top three fields of study by numbers of registrants (social and behavioral sciences and law; business, management and public administration; and the humanities) accounted for nearly one-half (49%) of total enrolment in 2006/2007.
A record 187,300 students were registered in social and behavioral sciences, and law, up 4,700 from the previous academic year. This field of study accounted for almost 18% of total enrolment.
Enrolment in business, management and public administration reached 174,700, an increase of 6,300.
Enrolment fell in four fields (personal improvement and leisure; humanities; physical and life sciences, and technologies; and mathematics, computer and information sciences).
Note to readers
Data for the University of Regina are not included in estimates of counts for 2005 and 2006. National trend analysis involving years prior to 2005 compared with 2005 or 2006 will be affected insignificantly by this absence.
The 2006/2007 data for the University of British Columbia are preliminary. Enrolment counts for certain universities are based on estimates.
University enrolment data for 2006/2007 are obtained using information from the Postsecondary Student Information System, formerly the Enhanced Student Information System, and from the University Student Information System.
The data are subject to revision.
The decline in mathematics, computer and information sciences field continued a long-term trend. In 2006/2007, 33,900 students were enrolled in the field, down 7.4% from 2005/2006 and well below the peak of 46,000 in 2001/2002. The field accounted for 3.2% of total enrolment in 2006/2007, the lowest proportion since 1992.
The table 477-0013 will soon be available on CANSIM.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5017.
Data tables are available from the Summary tables module of our website.
For general information, to order data, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-800-307-3382; 613-951-7608; fax: 613-951-4441; educationstats@statcan.gc.ca), Culture, Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics.
Table 1
| 2001/2002r | 2004/2005r | 2005/2006r,1 | 2006/20071 | 2001/2002 to 2006/20072 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | % change | change in number | ||||
| Total3,4 | 886,700 | 1,019,800 | 1,047,700 | 1,057,300 | 19.2 | 170,600 |
| Male | 376,900 | 431,500 | 442,400 | 445,300 | 18.2 | 68,400 |
| Female | 509,600 | 588,000 | 605,000 | 611,700 | 20.0 | 102,100 |
| Full-time3,4 | 635,100 | 760,400 | 781,500 | 788,000 | 24.1 | 152,900 |
| Male | 276,100 | 329,400 | 338,800 | 340,500 | 23.3 | 64,400 |
| Female | 358,900 | 430,900 | 442,600 | 447,300 | 24.6 | 88,400 |
| Part-time3,4 | 251,600 | 259,400 | 266,200 | 269,300 | 7.0 | 17,700 |
| Male | 100,800 | 102,100 | 103,600 | 104,800 | 4.0 | 4,100 |
| Female | 150,700 | 157,100 | 162,400 | 164,400 | 9.1 | 13,600 |
| Undergraduate level3 | 680,700 | 788,800 | 803,400 | 811,800 | 19.3 | 131,200 |
| Full-time3 | 528,200 | 633,400 | 647,900 | 653,300 | 23.7 | 125,100 |
| Male | 223,300 | 266,300 | 273,000 | 275,000 | 23.1 | 51,600 |
| Female | 304,800 | 367,100 | 374,900 | 378,300 | 24.1 | 73,400 |
| Part-time3 | 152,500 | 155,400 | 155,600 | 158,500 | 4.0 | 6,000 |
| Male | 59,800 | 60,500 | 60,200 | 62,000 | 3.6 | 2,200 |
| Female | 92,700 | 94,800 | 95,300 | 96,500 | 4.2 | 3,900 |
| Graduate3 | 124,600 | 151,000 | 153,700 | 156,100 | 25.3 | 31,500 |
| Full-time3 | 84,700 | 107,600 | 111,400 | 113,300 | 33.6 | 28,500 |
| Male | 43,100 | 54,500 | 55,900 | 56,100 | 30.3 | 13,100 |
| Female | 41,700 | 53,100 | 55,500 | 57,100 | 36.9 | 15,400 |
| Part-time3 | 39,900 | 43,300 | 42,300 | 42,900 | 7.5 | 3,000 |
| Male | 18,300 | 19,100 | 18,100 | 17,800 | -2.7 | -500 |
| Female | 21,600 | 24,200 | 24,200 | 25,100 | 16.1 | 3,500 |
Table 2
| 2001/2002r | 2005/2006r,1 | 2006/20071 | 2001/2002 to 2006/2007 | 2005/2006 to 2006/2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | % change2 | ||||
| Total3 | 886,700 | 1,047,700 | 1,057,300 | 19.2 | 0.9 |
| Male | 376,900 | 442,400 | 445,300 | 18.2 | 0.7 |
| Female | 509,600 | 605,000 | 611,700 | 20.0 | 1.1 |
| Personal improvement and leisure | 100 | 300 | 200 | 254.5 | -29.7 |
| Male | 0 | 100 | 100 | 560.0 | -13.2 |
| Female | 0 | 200 | 100 | 175.0 | -39.7 |
| Education3 | 69,500 | 74,000 | 74,500 | 7.2 | 0.7 |
| Male | 17,000 | 17,700 | 17,800 | 4.5 | 0.6 |
| Female | 52,500 | 56,300 | 56,700 | 8.1 | 0.8 |
| Visual and performing arts, and communications technologies3 | 27,900 | 37,200 | 37,500 | 34.4 | 0.8 |
| Male | 9,500 | 12,600 | 12,900 | 34.9 | 2.3 |
| Female | 18,400 | 24,600 | 24,600 | 34.2 | 0.0 |
| Humanities3 | 133,100 | 165,100 | 160,500 | 20.6 | -2.8 |
| Male | 50,000 | 63,400 | 61,400 | 22.8 | -3.2 |
| Female | 83,200 | 101,600 | 99,100 | 19.2 | -2.5 |
| Social and behavioural sciences, and law3 | 138,600 | 182,600 | 187,300 | 35.2 | 2.6 |
| Male | 48,500 | 63,700 | 65,000 | 34.1 | 2.0 |
| Female | 90,100 | 118,900 | 122,300 | 35.8 | 2.9 |
| Business, management and public administration3 | 141,500 | 168,400 | 174,700 | 23.4 | 3.7 |
| Male | 62,800 | 79,200 | 82,800 | 31.8 | 4.5 |
| Female | 78,700 | 89,200 | 91,900 | 16.8 | 3.0 |
| Physical and life sciences, and technologies3 | 78,300 | 94,500 | 93,600 | 19.6 | -1.0 |
| Male | 35,100 | 42,400 | 42,000 | 19.6 | -0.8 |
| Female | 43,100 | 52,100 | 51,500 | 19.5 | -1.2 |
| Mathematics, computer and information sciences3 | 46,000 | 36,600 | 33,900 | -26.4 | -7.4 |
| Male | 32,800 | 26,700 | 24,600 | -25.0 | -7.6 |
| Female | 13,200 | 9,900 | 9,300 | -29.8 | -6.9 |
| Architecture, engineering and related technologies3 | 74,800 | 85,500 | 85,800 | 14.6 | 0.3 |
| Male | 57,400 | 67,500 | 67,600 | 17.6 | 0.0 |
| Female | 17,400 | 18,000 | 18,200 | 4.4 | 1.1 |
| Agriculture, natural resources and conservation3 | 14,900 | 15,300 | 15,500 | 3.7 | 1.6 |
| Male | 7,000 | 6,800 | 6,800 | -2.7 | 0.2 |
| Female | 8,000 | 8,500 | 8,700 | 9.3 | 2.6 |
| Health, parks, recreation and fitness3 | 81,000 | 104,200 | 108,500 | 33.9 | 4.0 |
| Male | 24,400 | 29,400 | 30,600 | 25.4 | 4.2 |
| Female | 56,600 | 74,800 | 77,800 | 37.5 | 4.0 |
| Personal, protective and transportation services | 1,200 | 1,800 | 2,200 | 88.9 | 27.1 |
| Male | 800 | 1,000 | 1,300 | 52.1 | 24.0 |
| Female | 300 | 700 | 1,000 | 181.4 | 32.5 |
| Other3 | 79,700 | 82,200 | 83,100 | 4.2 | 1.1 |
| Male | 31,400 | 31,900 | 32,500 | 3.5 | 1.8 |
| Female | 48,200 | 50,100 | 50,500 | 4.7 | 0.8 |
Table 3
| 2001/2002r | 2005/2006r,1 | 2006/20071 | 2001/2002 to 2006/2007 | 2005/2006 to 2006/2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number | % change2 | ||||
| Canada | 886,700 | 1,047,700 | 1,057,300 | 19.2 | 0.9 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 16,300 | 18,300 | 17,800 | 9.4 | -2.9 |
| Prince Edward Island | 3,400 | 3,800 | 4,000 | 19.2 | 5.7 |
| Nova Scotia | 40,600 | 43,300 | 42,500 | 4.7 | -2.0 |
| New Brunswick | 24,300 | 25,000 | 23,800 | -2.3 | -5.0 |
| Quebec | 240,700 | 266,000 | 266,700 | 10.8 | 0.3 |
| Ontario | 335,700 | 431,000 | 441,500 | 31.5 | 2.4 |
| Manitoba | 34,100 | 39,600 | 40,100 | 17.5 | 1.3 |
| Saskatchewan | 32,100 | 20,600 | 20,600 | ...3 | ...3 |
| Alberta | 79,100 | 91,700 | 94,400 | 19.4 | 2.9 |
| British Columbia | 80,400 | 108,200 | 105,900 | 31.7 | -2.2 |
| Full-time students | |||||
| Canada | 635,100 | 781,500 | 788,000 | 24.1 | 0.8 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 13,500 | 15,000 | 14,500 | 7.5 | -3.0 |
| Prince Edward Island | 2,800 | 3,300 | 3,400 | 21.0 | 3.3 |
| Nova Scotia | 32,500 | 35,400 | 34,700 | 6.8 | -2.1 |
| New Brunswick | 19,600 | 20,600 | 19,600 | 0.1 | -4.8 |
| Quebec | 144,200 | 168,600 | 169,900 | 17.8 | 0.8 |
| Ontario | 254,400 | 348,300 | 357,500 | 40.5 | 2.7 |
| Manitoba | 24,800 | 28,900 | 29,300 | 17.9 | 1.2 |
| Saskatchewan | 24,300 | 15,800 | 15,700 | ...3 | ...3 |
| Alberta | 60,200 | 68,000 | 67,600 | 12.3 | -0.7 |
| British Columbia | 58,900 | 77,700 | 75,800 | 28.8 | -2.4 |
| Part-time students | |||||
| Canada | 251,600 | 266,200 | 269,300 | 7.0 | 1.2 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 2,700 | 3,300 | 3,300 | 18.8 | -2.4 |
| Prince Edward Island | 600 | 500 | 600 | 10.0 | 20.8 |
| Nova Scotia | 8,100 | 7,900 | 7,800 | -3.9 | -1.5 |
| New Brunswick | 4,700 | 4,400 | 4,100 | -12.1 | -6.3 |
| Quebec | 96,500 | 97,400 | 96,800 | 0.4 | -0.6 |
| Ontario | 81,300 | 82,800 | 84,000 | 3.2 | 1.4 |
| Manitoba | 9,300 | 10,700 | 10,800 | 16.4 | 1.6 |
| Saskatchewan | 7,800 | 4,900 | 4,900 | ...3 | ...3 |
| Alberta | 19,000 | 23,700 | 26,900 | 41.8 | 13.3 |
| British Columbia | 21,500 | 30,500 | 30,100 | 39.6 | -1.5 |
